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Understanding Fatty Liver Disease: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

CamJuly 2, 2023DIagnostic

Introduction

Fatty liver disease, also known as hepatic steatosis, is a condition characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver cells. It is a prevalent condition that can range from benign to more severe forms, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This article aims to provide an overview of fatty liver disease, including its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and available treatments.

Causes of Fatty Liver Disease

Alcohol Consumption: Excessive alcohol intake is a leading cause of fatty liver disease. Alcohol metabolism puts a strain on the liver, leading to fat accumulation over time.

Obesity and Poor Diet: Obesity, especially when accompanied by a high intake of unhealthy fats and sugars, increases the risk of developing fatty liver disease. Insulin resistance and metabolic disorders are often associated with this condition.

Type 2 Diabetes: Individuals with diabetes have a higher likelihood of developing fatty liver disease due to insulin resistance and altered lipid metabolism.

Medications: Certain medications, such as corticosteroids, tamoxifen, methotrexate, and antiretroviral drugs, may contribute to the development of fatty liver disease.

Genetics: Genetic factors can influence an individual’s predisposition to fatty liver disease. Some individuals may have a higher susceptibility to accumulating fat in the liver.

There can be various other causes ranging from air pollution to cement and fine dust. Proper cleaning of surfaces where dust particles can accumulate reduces those risks. Therefore, it’s a good practice to periodically go for carpet cleaning, floor cleaning, and cleaning any other surface you can think of.

Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

In its early stages, fatty liver disease may not cause noticeable symptoms. However, as the condition progresses, the following symptoms may manifest:

– Fatigue and weakness

– Abdominal discomfort or pain in the upper right quadrant

– Elevated liver enzymes in blood tests

– Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) in severe cases

Diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease

Medical History and Physical Examination: The doctor will review your medical history, including alcohol consumption, medications, and any underlying medical conditions. They will also perform a physical examination to assess the liver’s size and check for signs of liver disease.

Blood Tests: Liver function tests and blood tests can help evaluate liver enzymes, cholesterol levels, and markers of inflammation.

Imaging Tests: Ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can provide visual evidence of fat accumulation in the liver and determine the severity of the disease.

Liver Biopsy: In some cases, a liver biopsy may be performed to assess the extent of liver damage and determine the presence of inflammation or fibrosis.

Treatment and Management of Fatty Liver Disease

Lifestyle Modifications: The primary treatment approach for fatty liver disease involves lifestyle changes. These include:

Weight loss: Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular exercise can help reduce liver fat and improve overall health.

Healthy Diet: Adopting a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats while avoiding sugary foods, processed snacks, and excessive alcohol consumption.

Regular Exercise: Engaging in regular physical activity, such as aerobic exercises and strength training, can help improve insulin sensitivity and promote weight loss.

Management of Underlying Conditions: If fatty liver disease is associated with conditions like obesity, diabetes, or high cholesterol, it’s important to manage these conditions through medication, lifestyle changes, and regular monitoring.

Medications: In some cases, medications may be prescribed to manage specific aspects of fatty liver disease, such as insulin-sensitizing agents or cholesterol-lowering drugs. However, the efficacy of these medications is still being studied.

Close Monitoring: Regular follow-up appointments with your healthcare provider are crucial to monitor the progression of fatty liver disease, assess treatment effectiveness, and make any necessary adjustments to the management plan.

Conclusion

Fatty liver disease is a common condition that can range from benign to potentially serious forms. Adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, regular exercise, and weight management, plays a pivotal role in preventing and managing fatty liver disease. It is essential to consult with a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis, personalized treatment plan, and ongoing monitoring to ensure optimal liver health and overall well-being.

Hair Regeneration

CamSeptember 11, 2015Treatments

This just in from Johns Hopkins Hospital researchers in Baltimore, MD. It may be possible to regrow hair in people. The target is for injury and burn victims that need to regrow hair and skin and not scar tissue. This would be a major benefit to a lot of people. Who knows, maybe it could be used for people who are going bald as well, but the research didn’t deal with this at all.

The discovery was in mice, however humans have the same compounds in their bodies so it should work in humans as well. The article was in the Cell Stem Cell journal on August 5, 2015. It turns out their is a protein that in the skin regeneration process is a master regulator.

By building a medication around this protein, there would be great possibilities to stimulate follicle and skin growth and decrease scarring during wound healing.

TLR3 & Wound Healing

The research started looking at double stranded RNA (dsRNA) because it is released during wound healing. Interestingly dsRNA is how some viruses store genetic information and the immune system picks up on this. The dsRNA is sensed by a protein called TLR3. Normally it realizes that there is an invading organism and turns on the immune system. In wound healing it instead turns on IL6 and STAT3 and promotes hair follicle regeneration. TLR3 also activates other molecules that help in skin and hair development.

You don’t think about it, but a lot of problems are caused by scarring. Some of which people don’t think about because it isn’t visible like a scar on the skin. A heart attach is a good example. Doctors are good at restoring blood flow but the long term problems are caused by scarring of the heart muscle so it is no longer as efficient. If a drug could be developed that helped tissue regrowth and decreased scarring it would have major benefits beyond just cosmetic.

They looked at two groups of mice. One could regrow hair after an injury and the other inbred group could not. They found that TLR3 levels were 3 times as high in the mice that could regenerate hair.

dsRNA Regeneration Effects

They also found that if they added dsRNA to the wound more hair follicles grew. If they added a substance that broke up dsRNA many fewer follicles were formed. It is their guess that procedures such as chemical peels and dermabrasion work due to the dsRNA process.

Useful results from this research may come faster than usual because work is already being done on drugs to promote TLR3 because of its involvement with immune activation. These same drugs can now be checked for their ability to stimulate skin and hair growth. However, Dr. Garza, the lead researcher pointed out that because of the pathways involved it may not have any impact on male pattern baldness and have no effect on other situations not involving scarring.

Blue Pill and Malaria

CamJuly 27, 2015Parasites

There has been negative publicity recently about that ubiquitous blue pill because some people feel that taking it could lead to susceptibility of getting melanoma. Of course, some lawyers are very excited about this and are busy bringing lawsuits even though there is no definitive answer yet one way or the other. But that hasn’t stopped them from going ahead with lawsuits.

However, the big news is about the blue pill and how it can fight against malaria. It is almost like it creates a fence to block the malaria parasite. It seems to be particularly effective against one of the worst strains of malaria which has become good at evading the immune system. There are many articles about this all over the internet, such as one from CNBC.

This strain, Plasmodium falpicarum, is particularly deadly because it produces a chemical that makes the red blood cell look as if it is not infected. The blue pill (begins with a V) prevents it from producing that compound so the body can identify the infected cells.

Malaria is transferred to a person from an infected mosquito. The parasite then moves to the person’s liver and multiplies and goes back in the blood stream. (It is more complicated than this, but this basic outline is all that is needed to get the idea of what is going on.) When another mosquito bites the infected person, the new mosquito becomes infected and can then pass on the parasite to other people.

Strangely, because of what V is famous for, it also makes the red blood cell stiff, but only if it is infected. That means the infected cells can be filtered out more easily and the infected red blood cells aren’t flowing through the capillaries and therefore the malaria parasite can’t be passed on to the next mosquito that bites the person. Over time, this will halt the spread of malaria.

It is very important, because malaria can potentially infect half the world’s population and kills about 500,000 per year and makes many more sick.

8 Tips on How You Can Live a Cancer-Free Life

CamJanuary 4, 2018Cancer

Cancer cases are still on the rise with 14 million new incidences reported in 2012. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects a 70% increase in the number of cancer cases in the next two decades. How can you lower your risk to ensure you live a cancer free life? Here is how to better your health and lower risk of acquiring cancer.

Check your body weight

Dietary risks account for one-third of cancer deaths, according to WHO. If you are overweight, place your focus on weight loss. Ensure that you eat a well-balanced diet and take anti-cancer foods such as garlic, dark leafy greens, onions, and turmeric.

Strive to exercise frequently

Prolonged sitting is related to poor health. Slot some time into your daily schedule and do 30 minutes or more of physical exercise. You can choose to walk, garden, or dance.

Give up smoking

Tobacco causes 22% of cancer diseases globally. Join the more than 1,000 Americans who give up the habit daily. Usually, it takes six to seven attempts before you can stop altogether. Talk to a health-care provider or join a quit-smoking program for further assistance.

Limit alcohol consumption

If you must take alcohol, do not exceed two drinks. Avoid events where there is a high likelihood of alcohol consumption.

Shield yourself from the sun

Basking in the sun is only healthy before 10 am and after 4 pm. Too much exposure to the sun causes skin cancer and sometimes melanoma. Protect children from an early age as they are at a higher risk of skin damage.

Avoid Sexually Transmitted Infections

Different diseases are linked to sexually transmitted infections like human papillomavirus (HPV). Use a condom and practice safe sex.

Keep off industrial chemicals

Personal-care products that contain parabens and phthalates are harmful to your health. Also, ensure that you are not in direct contact with pesticides and insecticides. If your workplace exposes you to toxic products, use protective masks on face.

Have screening tests

Go for check-ups and know your status. If the cancer is found early, treatment is possible. Get cancer tests guidelines from a health care professional to keep up with the schedule. Common tests are for;

Breast cancer
Cervical cancer
Lung cancer(especially for heavy smokers)
Colon and rectal cancer

While cancer cases continue to claim lives worldwide, there are things you can do to lessen your risk of falling victim to cancer. Follow the above eight tips and be well on your way to a healthier you.

HPV Vaccine – Important or Not?

CamMay 11, 2017General

HPV Vaccine, is it mandatory and Why?

(Human Papillomavirus Vaccine) HPV vaccine is important as it protects against cancers that is caused by HPV infection. HPV is a common virus; that almost one in four in the United States is affected. HPV infection in women may cause vulvar, vaginal and cervical cancers, in men penile cancer and both women and men can suffer with cancer of the throat, anal cancer and genital warts.

It is recommended to get HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12 for boys and girls so that they are not exposed to virus. HPV vaccine in the preteen years produces robust immune response. Older teens get health check-ups very rarely and if you know you never had the vaccine shot, consult your nurse or doctor and get it administered.

The normal course of HPV vaccine is in 3 shots. The routine practice is that the second shot is given after the first shot in 1 or 2 months. After 6 months, the third shot is given exactly after the first shot. It is recommended to receive the HPV vaccine full series. Young men and women can get vaccinated through ages 21 and 26.

HPV in the United States is the most sexual commonly transmitted infection and most sexually active person also becomes infected in life at some time. The virus causes more than 90 percent cervical cancers and cancers of the penis, vulva, anus, vagina and oropharynx, including the tongue and tonsils base and the back of the throat. It also causes genital warts.

The HPV immunization is at a low rate among young teens as it is expensive and relatively new. The society updated its guideline immunization recently and it is observed that the effectiveness is low with the age and so it highlights the early vaccination importance. Another obstacle is the belief that it promotes teenage promiscuity.

There was publicity initially on preventing sexually transmitted disease, but doctors affirm it is a vaccine to prevent cancer. Multiple studies reveal absolutely no negative impact on sexual activity when the HPV vaccine is given to girls.

Parental support for having vaccinated against HPV for 11 and 12 year old children is weak. Several states propose vaccination as mandatory for school entry, and many parents of children ages also “opt out” this provision.

Exercise’s Effects on Cancer

CamMarch 7, 2016Cancer

Cancer can be exacerbated by inflammation and exercise is known to cause inflammation. So shouldn’t exercise make cancer worse? On the contrary, it seems to make it better, but why?

It turns out that in studies they have found that people who regularly exercise and less likely to get cancer and if they have cancer, they are less likely to die.

Pumped Up Mice Have Clues

A recent study has noted that in mice who exercise changes take place including a raised level of insulin, and increases in specific chemicals and immune cells. It is thought that the combination of these can help prevent cancer or ameliorate its effects.

They injected a group of mice with melanoma cancer cells and gave half of them running wheels and the other half no wheel. After only 4 weeks there some stark differences between the two groups. Many more of the non-runners had developed melanoma in this time. In addition, they more lesions and larger lesions than the runners who had developed melanoma. Plus, they were more likely to have metastases.

Adrenaline & Interleukin-6

Adrenaline is produced as a response to stress, including exercise. It was found at higher levels in the runners not just after exercise but throughout the day. The runners also had higher levels of Interleukin-6 than the sedentary mice. IL-6 is a bit odd in that it can raise or lower inflammation based on where in the body and how it starts to work.

Natural Killer Cells

Natural Killer cells (NK cells) were also found at much higher levels in the blood stream of the runners and this might be most important of all because these potent fighters of cancer.

Adrenaline a Key to a Cascade of Effects

The scientists repeated the experiment with a twist. They injected some of the runners with a chemical that blocked adrenaline production and these runners developed cancer at the same rate as the sedentary mice.

They also gave some of the sedentary mice shots of adrenaline to raise their levels to near those of the runners. These mice developed much less cancer than other sedentary mice.

Gene Study

The scientists looked at how certain genes in the mice were working and found that the adrenaline was signaling the IL-6 cells. It was kind of a wake up call putting them at greater attention. The cells were then more responsive so that when cancer began to form they created a faster and larger response by activating the NK cells in the bloodstream.

Since the runners have more adrenaline, IL-6 and NK cells, they were able to combat the melanoma faster and better than the sedentary mice.

Get Some Exercise

There is no guarantee that the effect will be the same in people but it is known that exercise in people also increases adrenaline and NK cells. So it would be a good idea to make sure you get more exercise.

Killing College Kids- Is Yours Next?

CamNovember 7, 2015Cancer

Your college age student could be killing themselves at college and you may never know. How? Tanning beds or salons! Don’t laugh until you read the rest of this.

Tanning Beds Rampant on Campuses

How many of the top 125 colleges in the United States have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing? If you guessed 50% you would be right. Worse, at many of these schools, students’ can use their campus debit cards to pay for tanning sessions.

Why is this bad? You may be surprised to find out that tanning beds has been put in the top class of most virulent carcinogens along with asbestos, plutonium and sun exposure.

Greatly Increased Melanoma Risk

Tanning beds increase the risk of the three most common skin cancers. Just one use of a tanning bed increases the chances of melanoma by 20% and each session after that increases the chances by another 2%. Even scarier, for people in the 18-29 age range who have contracted melanoma, 76% of the cases were tied to the use of tanning beds. We don’t know if you know anything about melanoma, but it is a fast death sentence if not caught soon enough.

Increased Risk for Basal Cell Carcinoma Too

The numbers are similar for basal cell carcinoma. The chance of getting basal cell carcinoma increased by 73% for women who used a tanning bed 6 times a year or more in high school or college.

Females At Greatest Risk Because Greatest Users

Who uses tanning beds. Girls and young women primarily. Of 28 million people in the US who use them each year, 70% are females between 16 and 28.

It is of such concern that 12 states and DC have banned tanning bed use for anyone under the age of 18. This has reduced use but then they get to college and almost half of college students use tanning beds. And 96% of off campus housing facilities supply free tanning to residents. Not healthy.

Typically the tanning beds are poorly supervised, the students don’t wear proper eye protection and the conditions are frequently not very sanitary.

Efforts to Ban – Liability?

There are now efforts to get colleges to ban tanning beds or at least not allow students to pay for tanning services with their college debit card. One very effective way to get colleges to reconsider is to point out that if they don’t change it is very likely that they would held liable if a student was injured or developed skin cancer.

Concerns about tobacco, drugs and alcohol should be expanded to include tanning beds.

Antibody Issues

CamAugust 31, 2015DIagnostic

There are questions about the reproducibility of antibodies. There are potential major problems because of the change in the the way the antibodies are being produced and the way they are being used.

History of Antibody Research

Antibodies were used over 50 years ago in immunoassays in immunohistochemistry and Western blots. The technology today, ELISA/aPCR, nanoscopy, ChIP sequencing, and nanoimmunoassays are stretching the limits of antibody capabilities.

Mergers

In the 1950s, scientists created their own polyclonal antibodies. In the 70s and 80s different small companies were formed that sold antibodies to researchers. Then pathologists began using the antibodies and the light bulb went off in larger companies that antibodies had market potential. By the 1990s many of the startup companies were being bought out by larger companies.

Quality

The original companies often had the names of the founders and they took great pride in the quality of the product. The merged companies are putting out product but there are questions about the validity and the reproducibility of data generated using the new antibody tools.

Researchers are not blameless. Due to pressures to publish, many just buy something from a catalog instead of taking the time to check and make sure that it is the best product for their intended purpose. Some by on the reputation of the company alone, others buy on price figuring that high priced products must be good.

Expertise?

There is another problem. If the company, because of mergers just sells what it has acquired and has never developed any of these products, they may not have the expertise to give advice to researchers as to what would be best for their intended purpose.

Some of the problems can be overcome by researchers stopping inappropriate short cuts. One of these short cuts is the not used controls. And Western blots have limited use if there aren’t positive and negative controls. If it is done correctly though, it can be very helpful and revealing.

Another problem is that research reagents aren’t adequately scrutinized and tested. Some antibodies are sold by OEMS. Some are bad and some are good. The good ones have excellent quality control. Bad ones look to sell as much as possible and have little or no technical support.

One thing that would improve the situation would be to slow down the rush to market and also to have well defined acceptance criteria.

Vaccines

CamAugust 12, 2015General

It is kind of ironic that the last post talked about malaria. This post will talk about the vaccines for malaria and ebola. The new ebola vaccine is apparently quite effective which is a relief with such a scary disease. The malaria vaccine is effective but not as much as had been hoped for.

Malaria vaccine

Interestingly, this vaccine won’t be given to travelers. It was designed for children of affected regions. This would be Africa, Pakistan and India, the primary places where 80-100% of the people are at risk of contracting malaria. Almost 600,000 people die a year from malaria, mostly kids under 5 from sub Saharan Africa.

Efficacy

The problem is that four shots are needed. Without the final booster shot administered 20 months after the first three shots, you might just as well not bother. There is no significant difference. With the booster shot, severe malaria cases decreased by about a third. Not ideal, but far better than nothing.

Timing

The other problem is the timing. It was found that it was more effective done a bit later and not at the same time that the children got their other vaccine shots. This will create a logistical nightmare for giving the shots. It also means that the youngest children who are very susceptible will not be protected.

Economic Impact

Anthropologists have found that in areas with high malaria, the population was more spread out, there were fewer beasts of burden and the people were never able to organize into a more advanced civilization. Rather amazing that one parasite can have such an effect. Modern technology is helping some and even something as simple as bed netting can be as effective or more so than the vaccine. Will the two of them combined help to bring sub Saharan Africa into the 21st century?

The malaria vaccine has been worked on for 30 years and is the first human vaccine against a parasite. The Ebola vaccine was essentially developed 10 years ago and then just sat.

Ebola Vaccine

The problem is that vaccines are just as expensive to take through the regulatory process but little or no money is made on them. The only reason that the Ebola vaccine that was developed 10 years ago is getting out now is because of the recent Ebola outbreak. If the vaccine had come out when it was developed, it would have saved the lives of thousands of people in this recent outbreak. Recent tests have shown it to be extremely effective.

A proposal has been made to create an international fund to support vaccine research and to pay for the regulatory approval process. Countries and drug companies would contribute. The amount of money sought is around $2 billion dollars which may seem like a lot, but considering the cost of clinical trials isn’t that much. Also when you consider that fighting the recent Ebola outbreak cost over $10 billion, it would be an investment that was well worth it.

Novel Mental Illness Solution

CamJuly 4, 2015Mental

Wonder Solution to Mental Illness Too Good to be True?

This one solution promises to treat many kinds of mental illness from depression to schizophrenia to autism. Sounds like patent medicine doesn’t it? But, it isn’t psycotherapy and it isn’t a drug, but once it is explained, it will make sense. It was described in the June 1, 2015 issue of Genetic Engineering News on p. 8.

Brain Waves

It has to do with the electrical properties of the brain and not the chemical or biochemical aspects. Even the genetics doesn’t need to be considered.

Dr. Jin

Yi Jin, MD is the driving force behind this discovery. His father was a philosopher but he was worried when Dr. Jin who had gone to Shanghai Medical University switched from cardiology to psychiatry. His father didn’t believe in psychiatry and didn’t think the mind could understand itself.

Dr. Jin’s focus on the brain started in the 1980s and at this time nothing much had happened in treatments of mental illness for the past 30 years. His father might have a point. Symptoms could be improved somewhat or masked with drugs, but there were not cures.

So what to do? Dr. Jin decided to go off in a different direction since the standard approaches weren’t working. Luckily, Dr. Jin also had a background in electrical engineering and decided to look at the brain from this perspective as well.

MIT & Cybernetics

Dr. Jin was a fan of Dr. Norbert Wiener of MIT whose specialty was cybernetics. He showed the importance of a computer having an internal clock which would coordinate the work to be done. Without this, computers were much less efficient. The information becomes chaotic and is significantly degraded.

As part of his research, Dr. Wiener had found that human brains normally operated at 10 Hz (Hz or Hertz = cycles / second). Dr. Jin looked at this and found that when the frequency is close to this and also when the wave is very regular, it takes the brain / body very little energy to maintain this. The billions of brain cells are working in harmony. But when this is disrupted and the brain has multiple irregular frequencies, the energy required to control the system rises very dramatically. Sometimes the signal even disappears.

Dr. Jin then had the good luck to become a researcher at University of California – Irivine. The reason it was lucky was that he now had access to EEG equipment and a PET scanner, the only one in a department of psychiatry in the world at the time. He could now look at energy flows and measure energy processing in combination with signal processing in the brain to understand how they were interconnected.

This allowed him to make a surprising discovery. People had assumed a brain functioning at a higher metabolic rate would work better. But that turned out to be wrong. Higher metabolic rates tended to correlate with brain waves that were less rhythmical and required more energy and were less efficient. It also turned out that these people tended to have autism, schizophrenia, ADHD, panic attack, PTSD and more.

It turned out the other direction was not good either. Low frequency tended to Alzheimer’s, major depression and being comatose. The ideal turned out to be for 95% of the brain’s waves to be in the 8-12 Hertz range. Outside of that was a marker of mental illness.

Quest for a Cure

That raised the question of where it was possible to influence someone’s brain frequency. For a decade, Dr. Jin tried everything he could think of to affect a change in someone’s energy flows; sound stimulation, light flickering, mechanical tapping and more, but nothing was effective.

In 1997 he was working with Dr. Earl Cowen at the University of Maryland. Dr. Cowen and Dr. Jin found that magnetic resonance therapy stimulated dopamine and was therefore able to decrease depression.

With this awareness, Dr. Jin wondered if this was finally the answer to retraining the brain to have more synchronized brain waves at the right frequency. His team created a machine that generates gentle electric currents.

There is no need for surgery or medication. It is safe and there are no side affects. They have been able to get slower brains to speed up and have higher energy brains slow down. They did a study with children with autism and were able to get 50% of them back into a normal brain pattern. Currently a study is being done at the NIH on PTSD using this method.

Dr. Jin has joined with a Dr. Robert Silvetz and opened the Brain Treatment Center to treat people using this technology.