Liver Disease, NASH Worst in Obese Adults due to Saturated Fat

• comments
• 
• 

Liver disease brought about by obesity has been found to have been caused by saturated fat, not unsaturated fat, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) wanted to find out why non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH), a condition normally found in obese persons can cause them to need liver transplant.

In their study published in the Journal of Lipid Research, the team analyzed how and why a suspected lipid molecule can cause inflammation in the liver. They made liver biopsies during transplant surgeries and found that the lipid molecule found in the livers of obese NASH patients has doubled the amount.

They conducted further research on two sets of mice fed with high saturated fat and high unsaturated fat. Mice in both groups became obese but the saturated fat group only developed NASH symptoms.

They concluded that saturated fat most likely increases the lipid molecules in the liver which causes inflammation.

"Because the unsaturated fat diet didn't cause NASH, it may provide a clue as to what actually links obesity to disease," Cowart said in the press release. "Even if it's difficult to lose weight, dietary modifications might prevent some disease associated with obesity."

 According to senior author Dr. Kenneth Chavin, also a transplant surgeon at the MUSC, the rate of liver transplants caused by NASH has increased.

"In my 17 years of doing liver transplants, it's gone from 4% of patients to around 20% of patients who get transplants because of NASH," he said, in a statement posted in EurekAlert. "In 10-15 years, because of advances with Hepatitis C, it will probably become the number one reason why patients get transplants."

NASH is a condition characterized by an inflamed liver caused by fat buildup. According to WebMD, fat buildup is common among people but it in some cases it can cause inflammation and damaged cells which can escalate to liver scarring and subsequently to cirrhosis. Other than obesity, people get NASH due to type 2 diabetes insulin resistance, high cholesterol and conditions like metabolic syndrome.

Another co-author Dr. Lauren Ashley Cowart wants to find out why obesity can cause only some people to have the condition but not on others. 

The researchers are conducting further research on how to determine the markers that cause inflammation in NASH. They aim to come up with effective treatment strategies to render liver transplant surgeries on obese people affected by NASH.