Lipid profile variations in non alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

NAFLD is characterised by fatty infiltration of the liver, mostly in the form of triglycerides, which exceeds 5% of the liver weight. Insulin resistance impairs the suppression of lipolysis, and this leads to an increased release of free fatty acids from adipose tissue so that more are delivered to and taken up by the liver. This excess amount of free fatty acids can overload the hepatic mitochondrial beta oxidation system, the major pathway of fatty acid oxidation in the liver, leading to the accumulation of fatty acids in the liver. The present hospital-based, observational, analytical and comparative study was conducted on 80 subjects including 50 cases of ultrasonographically diagnosed NAFLD and 30 age and gender matched healthy subjects as controls. In this study, lipid profile was assessed in 50 USG diagnosed cases of NAFLD and 30 controls and the results were analysed statistically. The study found a statistically significant change in lipid levels in patients of Non alcoholic fatty liver disease indicating hepatic steatosis. In the present study, increased levels of cholesterol, triacylglycerides, LDL, VLDL and decreased levels of HDL were found. This study concluded that low fat diet, lifestyle modifications, exercises and yoga could be a potential tool to prevent the progression of NAFLD.