Global Courant
We call him “the great silent enemy”. And to top it off, he affects Hispanics quite a bit.
A study from the University of Texas concluded that the propensity to develop hepatic steatosis, the scientific name, differs between ethnic groups: Hispanics have a higher frequency (45%) in the urban population of the United States.
Hispanics also have a higher prevalence of steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Because? At the moment, it is unknown.
Factors that promote fat deposition in the liver include obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and alcohol intake.
Our large laboratory is capable of storing, synthesizing and eliminating biochemical processes. There is a classification of fatty liver, which is not related to alcohol consumption. And there are two types, one simple, which is fat in the liver, without an inflammatory process, and another where the sequence of three stages begins to be triggered until fibrosis, which is when it becomes hard, cirrhotic and small. And finally, cancer.
Among the causes listed are obesity, being overweight and high cholesterol levels. Apart from that, medications such as corticosteroids or a history of viruses such as hepatitis C. Also a diet high in fat, flour and sugar.
The diagnosis of fatty liver is asymptomatic. It is discovered in a routine clinical evaluation with the primary physician. It is likely that within the screening (screening) you will have an ultrasound, which is still the most sensitive study to detect the disease. With the physical exam, the doctor can detect if the liver is enlarging, as well as check if your eyes are yellow.
Currently, there is no specific treatment. However, you will always have to make a change in lifestyle, take hepatoprotective vitamins and lose weight.
At least, it is necessary to visit the doctor every three months, with sonographic control, and verify that the disease does not progress. There are also liver elastography studies, which is the famous Fibrascam. A non-invasive test, without a biopsy, to determine if the fat in the liver is really causing some type of fibrosis or there is a risk of cancer.
Dr. Acosta Then, Dr. Acosta Then is a bariatric endoscopist, director of the Salutte Clinic Obesity and Specialties Clinic, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. She belongs to the US Bariatric Endoscopy Society and directs the “Happy Weight Without Surgery” program.
It is very important that this disease is not taken lightly, and that a doctor be seen on time.
