World Liver Day 2022: What Causes Fatty Liver Disease

World Liver Day: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition in which fat accumulates in the liver, and represents a range of liver disorders affecting people who drink little to no alcohol.

World Liver Day is celebrated every year on 19 April to spread awareness about liver related diseases. The liver is the largest gland and second largest organ in the human body. It plays an important role in digestion.

Structure And Functions Of Liver

The weight of an adult human liver is about 1.2 to 1.5 kg. Located in the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm, the liver has two lobes, known as the right and left lobes.

The liver consists of structural and functional units known as hepatic lobules. The hepatic lobules can be pentagonal or hexagonal in shape.

They are made up of hepatic cells arranged in the form of cords. The blood-filled spaces between the liver cords are called sinusoids. The hepatic cord is enlarged capillaries lined with endothelium.

A hepatic cord is composed of hepatic cells arranged in a chord pattern. The blood-filled space between the cords of the liver is called a sinusoid. The bone of the liver is enlarged capillaries lined with endothelium.

Each hepatic lobule is covered by a thin connective tissue sheath called Gleason’s capsule, which is a feature of the mammalian liver.

Mammalian liver also contains phagocytic cells called Kupffer cells. These cells feed on damaged white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs) and bacteria. Kupffer cells are the macrophages of the liver.

Liver cells secrete bile, which is carried through the hepatic ducts to the gallbladder. Bile is an alkaline and yellowish green liquid. It is devoid of enzymes, but helps in emulsification of fats due to the presence of bile salts.

The gallbladder is a thin muscular sac with a capacity of 30 to 50 ml, and is where bile is stored and concentrated. The ducts from the gallbladder, and the hepatic duct from the liver make up the common bile duct.

Bile salts such as sodium taurocholate and sodium glycocholate act on fats and break them down into fine droplets through a process called emulsification.

The liver performs many complex functions, including fighting infections and diseases, controlling blood sugar, removing toxins from the body, controlling cholesterol levels, helping blood clot, and releasing bile.

Diseases Of The Liver

When people do not follow a healthy lifestyle or consume excessive amounts of alcohol, liver damage can occur. Some examples of liver diseases are jaundice, fatty liver and hepatitis. The five main types of hepatitis viruses are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D, and hepatitis E.

World Liver Day: Hepatitis

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a variety of infectious viruses and non-infectious agents. Sometimes its effect on health can prove to be fatal.

All of these strains cause liver disease. However, they differ in important ways, including mode of transmission, disease severity, geographic distribution, and methods of prevention.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause chronic disease in millions of people and together are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and viral hepatitis-related deaths.

Despite the fact that hepatitis may occur with few to no symptoms, it is usually accompanied by jaundice, anorexia (lack of appetite), and malaise.

Some forms of hepatitis can be prevented through vaccination. According to the WHO, 4.5 million premature deaths in low- and middle-income countries could be prevented by 2030 through vaccinations, diagnostic tests, medicines and education camps.

According to Dr Nandi, more than 115,000 people die every year due to complications related to hepatitis B in India, and about 40 million people in the country are carriers of the virus but remain asymptomatic and are unaware of the risk to others. . He added that the hepatitis B vaccine is usually given to children for vaccination, but it is not popular among adults.