Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Key points

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the most common cause of liver disease in the developed world. It is largely caused by obesity and describes a spectrum of disease ranging from:
• steatosis - fat in the liver
• steatohepatitis - fat with inflammation, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), see below
• progressive disease may cause fibrosis and liver cirrhosis NAFLD is thought to represent the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and hence insulin resistance is thought to be the key mechanism leading to steatosis…
• hyperlipidaemia