Treatment of alcoholic fatty liver disease
The main aim of treating alcoholic fatty liver disease is to limit the damage and to help the liver recover from the injury. This is done through:
- Decreasing or stopping alcohol consumption: Alcohol is the main cause of the condition and its ceasing is the main step in treatment. There is no scientifically proven safe level of alcohol consumption. Therefore, cessation of all alcohol is only proven method of treatment.
- Limiting the amount of fats and refined sugars in diet to reduce the load of fat on the liver.
- Some medications can help support the liver in different stages. For example, in the final stages of liver cirrhosis, some medications such as lactulose and rifaximin as well as diuretics help prevent complications of liver disease such as abdominal swelling, constipation, and impairment of cognition. Most patients do not receive such medications unless liver functions are severely impaired
- Liver transplantation remains the final treatment and should be done when the liver condition decompensates and becomes no longer able to perform its basic functions. Most patients are placed on transplantation lists once they develop cirrhosis. You have to know, however, that even the healthiest transplanted liver will always be less capable than your natural liver. Organ rejection can always occur and large doses of immunosuppressive medications are needed for the long-term maintenance of the new organ. Prevention is always better than treatment.
