Physical activity and hepatic pathologies
Roy J. Shephard in Physical Activity and the Abdominal Viscera, 2017
This chapter examines interactions between physical activity and some clinically important chronic hepatic disorders, including the metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), various types of hepatic inflammation and resulting fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatic carcinoma, as well as issues of liver transplantation. It looks specifically at the role of inadequate habitual physical activity in the genesis and progression of these various syndromes, and will consider appropriate exercise recommendations for the prevent ion and treatment of such disorders. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was first described in 1980. Liver biopsy and histological assessment provide gold standards for the diagnosis of NAFLD, but in human research the liver fat content is more commonly inferred from proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy or computed tomography. Adipose tissue also manifests insulin resistance in NAFLD. Any given secretion of insulin becomes less effective in increasing muscle glucose uptake and in suppressing the release of fatty acids from fat.
Health Consequences of the Obesity Epidemic
Roy J. Shephard in Obesity: A Kinesiologist’s Perspective, 2018
This chapter looks in more detail at the many adverse health consequences of an increase in body fat content. Adverse physiological consequences of fat accumulation include problems of thermoregulation, an increased energy cost of body displacement, and sleep apnoea. Problems of thermoregulation and the greater energy costs of movement in those who are obese contribute to a vicious cycle of decreased participation in voluntary physical activity and thus growing obesity. A systematic review of 89 studies found that the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus was the most common among 18 adverse health consequences of becoming obese. In essence, the metabolic syndrome describes a clustering of abnormalities commonly associated with central obesity. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition marked by an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, without evidence that the affected individual has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol.
Fatty Liver Disease
David Heber, Zhaoping Li in Primary Care Nutrition, 2017
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease and the third most common reason for liver transplantation. Other common liver diseases, including alcoholic liver disease and viral hepatitis, often occur in obese patients who also have NAFLD.
Serum Nutritional Markers as Prognostic Factors for Hepatic and Extrahepatic Carcinogenesis in Japanese Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Takanori Ito, Masatoshi Ishigami, Yoji Ishizu, Teiji Kuzuya, Takashi Honda, Tetsuya Ishikawa, Hidenori Toyoda, Takashi Kumada, Mitsuhiro Fujishiro
Serum zinc (Zn) levels and the branched chain amino acid/tyrosine molar ratio (BTR) were reported to decrease with the progression of various chronic liver diseases. We investigated the impact of BTR and Zn on the incidence of malignancies in patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A total of 179 Japanese NAFLD patients who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and extrahepatic malignancies developed in 7 (3.9%) and 10 (5.6%) patients, respectively, during the follow-up period (median 7.9 years). Patients with low BTR levels (
Management and diagnosis of fatty liver disease
Published in Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2015
Amanda Tamar Schneier, Caitlin Colleen Citti, Douglas T Dieterich
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a common cause of chronic liver disease and has been an increasingly studied topic of research as the obesity epidemic has been growing. There is a significant morbidity and mortality with uncontrolled steatohepatitis, which can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of this disease has been estimated to be roughly one-third of the western population, thought to be largely due to diet and sedentary lifestyle. Several treatments have been studied including vitamin E, insulin-sensitizing agents and ursodeoxycholic acid; however, the only treatment shown to improve the histologic changes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is weight loss. Given the proven benefit of weight loss, there may be reason to screen at-risk populations; however, limited availability of other disease-modifying treatments may limit the cost–benefit ratios. A better understanding of the diagnosis and management of this condition is required to alter the course of this modifiable disease.
Statins and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a bright future?
Published in Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 2013
Vasilios G Athyros, Niki Katsiki, Asterios Karagiannis, Dimitri P Mikhailidis
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease affecting up to 30% of adults in Western countries. NAFLD and mainly nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are independent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors; more of these patients are expected to die from CVD rather than from liver disease. The effect of statins on newer risk factors that may influence the pathobiology of liver damage in NASH is considered. These include microparticles, inflammasomes, gut–liver axis abnormalities and dietary lipids. Evidence suggests that statins induce NAFLD/NASH resolution and substantially improve symptom-free survival from CVD to a greater extent than in patients without NAFLD. However, large randomized clinical trials are needed to verify these findings.