What Causes Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

A healthy liver contains a limited amount of fat. When fat accumulates in the liver to the tune of over five percent of its weight, it is a fatty liver. A fatty liver can induce an inflammatory response, which causes liver tissue damage. The body repairs this damage with scar tissue, which can progress to cirrhosis and cause the liver to fail. Symptoms of fatty liver disease typically do not manifest until late-stage liver scarring. Most cases are discovered with a routine blood test or when the liver appears abnormal on imaging tests conducted for other reasons. To confirm the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, further blood tests, more imaging tests, and a liver biopsy may be performed. Treatment focuses on preventing further liver damage and failure.