Steatohepatitis

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Steatohepatitis is a type of liver disease, characterized by inflammation of the liver with concurrent fat accumulation in liver ("steato", meaning fat, "hepatitis", meaning inflammation of the liver). Classically seen in alcoholics, steatohepatitis also is frequently found in people with diabetes and obesity. When not associated with excessive alcohol intake, it's referred to as "non-alcoholic steatohepatitis", or NASH. Steatohepatitis of either etiology may progress to cirrhosis, and NASH is now believed to be a frequent cause of unexplained cirrhosis (at least in Western societies).

Steatohepatitis is characterized microscopically by hepatic fat accumulation (steatosis), mixed lobular inflammation, ballooning degeneration of hepatocytes (sometimes with identifiable Mallory bodies), glycogenated hepatocyte nuclei, and pericellular fibrosis. The "chicken wire" pattern of the pericellular fibrosis, which affects portal areas only secondarily in later stages, is very characteristic and is identified on trichrome stains.

Contents

Differential Diagnosis of Steatohepatitis

Cardiovascular No underlying causes
Chemical / poisoning No underlying causes
Dermatologic No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat No underlying causes
Endocrine No underlying causes
Environmental No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic No underlying causes
Genetic No underlying causes
Hematologic No underlying causes
Iatrogenic No underlying causes
Infectious Disease No underlying causes
Musculoskeletal / Ortho No underlying causes
Neurologic No underlying causes
Nutritional / Metabolic No underlying causes
Oncologic No underlying causes
Opthalmologic No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity No underlying causes
Psychiatric No underlying causes
Pulmonary No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte No underlying causes
Rheum / Immune / Allergy No underlying causes
Trauma No underlying causes
Miscellaneous No underlying causes

Treatment

Recent studies suggest that diet, exercise, and especially antiglycemic drugs may alter the course of the disease. A randomized controlled trial found that "pioglitazone led to metabolic and histologic improvement in subjects with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis".[1]

Prognosis

A retrospective cohort study concluded that "liver failure is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in NASH-associated cirrhosis. The prognosis is either similar or less severe than HCV-cirrhosis."[2]

References

  1. Belfort R, Harrison SA, Brown K, et al (2006). "A placebo-controlled trial of pioglitazone in subjects with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis". N. Engl. J. Med. 355 (22): 2297–307. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa060326. PMID 17135584.
  2. Hui JM, Kench JG, Chitturi S, et al (2003). "Long-term outcomes of cirrhosis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis compared with hepatitis C". Hepatology 38 (2): 420–7. doi:10.1053/jhep.2003.50320. PMID 12883486.

See also

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