NASH

Top 3 Symptoms of NASH | Visualized Health

Reviewed by The Clinical Committee

July 01, 2019

  • NASH is a silent but potentially deadly liver disease that affects millions of people around the world.

  • Most patients with the disease may not know that they have it.

  • While NASH can be deadly, the early symptoms of NASH are hard to notice.

Top 3 Symptoms of NASH

#1

Abdominal Pain

As NASH progresses, patients may feel pain in their upper abdomen. This roughly corresponds to a position in your belly just below your bottom-most rib. A study found that this was the most common symptom leading to a diagnosis of NASH.

Reference: Hepatology

"Forty‐two patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis were followed for a median of 4.5 yr (range = 1.5 to 21.5 yr). Except for two patients with lipodystrophy, all were obeser; 35 o f42 were women, 26 of 32 were hyperlipidemic and 15 were hyperglycemic. Upper abdominal pain was the most common reason for presentation."

#2

Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the few known symptoms of NASH. However, it is unspecific to NASH. Some patients with NASH may report fatigue, but just having fatigue is not enough to indicate NASH. Many other common conditions can cause fatigue.

Reference: Gut (Journal)

"Fatigue is one of the few known symptoms of NASH. However, it is unspecific to NASH. Some patients with NASH may report fatigue, but just having fatigue is not enough to indicate NASH. Many other common conditions can cause fatigue."

#3

Liver Enlargement

In later stages, the liver in NASH can become enlarged, as it becomes filled with fat and scarring begins to set in. While patients likely won’t feel this enlargement, doctors may be able to detect it on a physical exam and medical imaging.

Reference: Journal of Hepatology

"Apart from liver enlargement, detectable in many of these patients, no other typical clinical signs develop until the conventional signs of cirrhosis and its complications."

Top NASH Answers

More Information on NASH:

NASH

Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
TL;DRThe Basics

NASH is a condition caused by the presence of fat in the liver. It is a subset of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Over time, the fat in the liver can lead to liver inflammation, the end stage of which we call NASH.

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