What are the symptoms of NASH?

Many patients with NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, don't experience any symptoms until it's too late. John Merendino, MD, explains common symptoms of NASH and what you can do to protect your liver following a diagnosis.

Transcript

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By the time it's become a more advanced condition, it can lead to some liver dysfunction or even liver

00:06

failure.

00:13

As is true with many conditions in the early stages, NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or fatty liver

00:21

doesn't really have any symptoms. And of course, that's one of the big problems. They include things like fatigue, or not having very much energy.

00:29

As the condition progresses people may even develop cirrhosis, then they can become jaundiced,

00:35

and people feel profoundly fatigued. They're just not able to function properly, even with a great deal of sleep.

00:46

A major study funded by the National Institutes of Health was called the Diabetes Prevention Program. In that study, people who were overweight maybe

00:55

40 or 50 pounds only had to lose about 5% to 7% of their body weight to see a major improvement

01:03

in their diabetes and the metabolic problems that accompany diabetes, including fatty liver.

01:12

You tend to lose the fat cells from your liver first as you lose weight. In fact, patients who lost about 5% of their body weight

01:21

reduced the likelihood that they would progress to type 2 diabetes by almost 2/3.

01:28

And weight loss leads to a reduction in fat from the liver and an improvement in fatty liver. [MUSIC PLAYING]