Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver condition in the United States, which approximately 25% of the adult population living with the condition. NAFLD means that people living with this condition have fat in their liver with little to no inflammation of the liver and are mostly not progressing to cause liver damage.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) on the other hand is a more severe form of NAFLD and around 20% of adults living with NAFLD also have NASH. People living with NASH have hepatitis, which means inflammation and/or swelling of their liver, leading to liver cell damage. This condition can cause further conditions such as fibrosis. NASH may be difficult to identify until later stages in the disease. The disorder is expected to increase by 63% until 2030 and is expected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States between 2020 and 2025.
Causes of NASH
Experts are not sure why some patients living with fatty liver disease also have NASH. Research suggests that this might be related to certain genes. Patients with fatty liver disease are more likely to also have NASH when they have conditions such as obesity, high levels of cholesterol in their blood, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndromes, or high blood pressure.
Symptoms
The difficulty with NASH is that it is a silent disease, and it is often only discovered in later stages of the condition that people have an inflammation in their liver. Patients who experience symptoms are often complaining about feeling tired or about pain in their upper right side of the abdomen.
Medical Research for NASH
Because not a lot is known about the development of NASH yet, clinical research is essential in order to develop new solutions and treatments for people living with the condition. Do you want to be part of medical innovation and become part of medical history? Sign up here and sign up as a volunteer.
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