Evaluation of High Levels of Triglycerides in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is starting as accumulation of fat in the hepatocytes (steatosis) which is a sub-clinical condition in those who are not consuming alcohol. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition of steatosis, associated with inflammation of liver cell. This is a clinical form of NAFLD, which is regarded as a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver [1]. This distinction between simple steatosis and NASH is important because the natural history of these categories differs substantially. Patients with simple steatosis usually have a benign prognosis from the point of view of liver disease [2-5]. In contrast, up to 20% of patients with NASH may ultimately develop advanced liver disease [2,4-6]. The prognosis of NASH-related cirrhosis is poor: It results in liver failure or liver-related death in approximately one third of cases [7,8]. Hepatocellular cancer is also a recently recognized complication of NASH-related cirrhosis [7,9].