Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: What Is NAFLD?NAFLD is defined by the presence of liver fat in absence of primary causes such as alcohol and hepatitis C. 9 NAFLD exists in three pathologic stages.Hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver, occurs when up to 5.5 percent of the liver parenchyma is occupied by fat.Steatosis is now found in up to 33 percent of adults, 10 16 percent of all children and 38 percent of obese children.8 Of those with steatosis, approximately 5 percent will develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in which steatosis is accompanied by necroinflammation and fibrosis.Finally, up to 25 percent of NASH patients will progress to cirrhosis 9 and cirrhosis can further progress to hepatocellular carcinoma.NASH is projected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation in the U.S. by 2020.11 Thirty to 40 percent of NASH-cirrhotic patients succumb to a liver-related death within 10 years.
Author: Robert H. Lustig
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2986518666