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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a term used to describe the accumulation of fat in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is common and, for most people, causes no signs and symptoms and no complications. But in some people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the fat that accumulates can cause inflammation and scarring in the liver. This more serious form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is sometimes called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. At its most severe, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can progress to liver failure.
- Feldstein AE, et al. Fatty liver disease. The American College of Gastroenterology. http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/fld.asp. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Fatty liver. American Liver Foundation. http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/fattyliver/. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Reid AE. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/115719609-2/0/1389/588.html?tocnode=51641781&fromURL=588.html#4-u1.0-B1-4160-0245-6..50087-1_3674. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/nash/index.htm. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Preiss D, et al. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: An overview of prevalence, diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment considerations. Clinical Science. 2008;115:141.
- Torres DM, et al. Diagnosis and therapy of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Gastroenterology. 2008;134:1682.
- Sheth SG, et al. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Moschen AR, et al. Nutrition in the pathophysiology and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. 2008;11:620.
