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Ailmemts & Remedies

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH

Definition:

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH is a common, often “silent” liver disease. It resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol. The major feature in NASH is fat in the liver, along with inflammation and damage. Most people with NASH feel well and are not aware that they have a liver problem. Nevertheless, NASH can be severe and can lead to cirrhosis, in which the liver is permanently damaged and scarred and no longer able to work properly.

NASH affects 2 to 5 percent of Americans. An additional 10 to 20 percent of Americans have fat in their liver, but no inflammation or liver damage, a condition called “fatty liver.” Although having fat in the liver is not normal, by itself it probably causes little harm or permanent damage. If fat is suspected based on blood test results or scans of the liver, this problem is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). If a liver biopsy is performed in this case, it will show that some people have NASH while others have simple fatty liver.

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Both NASH and NAFLD are becoming more common, possibly because of the greater number of Americans with obesity. In the past 10 years, the rate of obesity has doubled in adults and tripled in children. Obesity also contributes to diabetes and high blood cholesterol, which can further complicate the health of someone with NASH. Diabetes and high blood cholesterol are also becoming more common among Americans.

.Biliary system

Symptoms:
NASH is usually a silent disease with few or no symptoms. Patients generally feel well in the early stages and only begin to have symptoms—such as fatigue, weight loss, and weakness—once the disease is more advanced or cirrhosis develops. The progression of NASH can take years, even decades. The process can stop and, in some cases, reverse on its own without specific therapy. Or NASH can slowly worsen, causing scarring or “fibrosis” to appear and accumulate in the liver. As fibrosis worsens, cirrhosis develops; the liver becomes seriously scarred, hardened, and unable to function normally. Not every person with NASH develops cirrhosis, but once serious scarring or cirrhosis is present, few treatments can halt the progression. A person with cirrhosis experiences fluid retention, muscle wasting, bleeding from the intestines, and liver failure. Liver transplantation is the only treatment for advanced cirrhosis with liver failure, and transplantation is increasingly performed in people with NASH. NASH ranks as one of the major causes of cirrhosis in America, behind hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease.
Liver Damage

.Liver Biopsy

Causes
Although NASH has become more common, its underlying cause is still not clear. It most often occurs in persons who are middle-aged and overweight or obese. Many patients with NASH have elevated blood lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides, and many have diabetes or pre-diabetes, but not every obese person or every patient with diabetes has NASH. Furthermore, some patients with NASH are not obese, do not have diabetes, and have normal blood cholesterol and lipids. NASH can occur without any apparent risk factor and can even occur in children. Thus, NASH is not simply obesity that affects the liver.

While the underlying reason for the liver injury that causes NASH is not known, several factors are possible candidates:

*insulin resistance

*release of toxic inflammatory proteins by fat cells (cytokines)

*oxidative stress (deterioration of cells) inside liver cells

Diagnosis
NASH is usually first suspected in a person who is found to have elevations in liver tests that are included in routine blood test panels, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST). When further evaluation shows no apparent reason for liver disease (such as medications, viral hepatitis, or excessive use of alcohol) and when x rays or imaging studies of the liver show fat, NASH is suspected. The only means of proving a diagnosis of NASH and separating it from simple fatty liver is a liver biopsy. For a liver biopsy, a needle is inserted through the skin to remove a small piece of the liver. NASH is diagnosed when examination of the tissue under the microscope shows fat along with inflammation and damage to liver cells. If there is fat without inflammation and damage, simple fatty liver or NAFLD is diagnosed. An important piece of information learned from the biopsy is whether scar tissue has developed in the liver. Currently, no blood tests or scans can reliably provide this information.
Treatment
It is important to stress that there are currently no specific therapies for NASH. The most important recommendations given to persons with this disease are to

*reduce their weight (if obese or overweight)
*follow a balanced and healthy diet
*increase physical activity
*avoid alcohol
*avoid unnecessary medications
These are standard recommendations, but they can make a difference. They are also helpful for other conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

A major attempt should be made to lower body weight into the healthy range. Weight loss can improve liver tests in patients with NASH and may reverse the disease to some extent. Research at present is focusing on how much weight loss improves the liver in patients with NASH and whether this improvement lasts over a period of time.

People with NASH often have other medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or elevated cholesterol. These conditions should be treated with medication and adequately controlled; having NASH or elevated liver enzymes should not lead people to avoid treating these other conditions.

Experimental approaches under evaluation in patients with NASH include antioxidants, such as vitamin E, selenium, and betaine. These medications act by reducing the oxidative stress that appears to increase inside the liver in patients with NASH. Whether these substances actually help treat the disease is not known, but the results of clinical trials should become available in the next few years.

Another experimental approach to treating NASH is the use of newer antidiabetic medications—even in persons without diabetes. Most patients with NASH have insulin resistance, meaning that the insulin normally present in the bloodstream is less effective for them in controlling blood glucose and fatty acids in the blood than it is for people who do not have NASH. The newer antidiabetic medications make the body more sensitive to insulin and may help reduce liver injury in patients with NASH. Studies of these medications—including metformin, rosiglitazone, and pioglitazone—are being sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and should answer the question of whether these medications are beneficial in NASH.

Click for alternative medication for NASH..……………….………(1)……(2)

Hope Through Research:-
What is most needed in the management of NASH is more research to better understand the liver injury found in this disease. When the pathways that lead to the injury are fully known, safe and effective means can be developed to reverse these pathways and help patients with NASH. Recent breakthroughs in mapping the human genome and uncovering the individual steps by which insulin and other hormones regulate blood glucose and fat could provide the necessary clues.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funds the NASH Clinical Research Network, which comprises eight clinical centers located throughout the United States and a coordinating center at Johns Hopkins University. The NASH network researches the nature and underlying cause of NASH and conducts clinical studies on prevention and treatment. More information on the NASH Clinical Research Network and the locations of the clinical centers are available at www.nashcrn.com.

Important Points to Remember:-
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is fat in the liver, with inflammation and damage.

NASH occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol and affects 2 to 5 percent of Americans, especially people who are middle-aged and overweight or obese.

*Nash can occur in children.
*People who have NASH may feel well and may not know that they have a liver disease.
*NASH can lead to cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver is permanently damaged and cannot work properly.
*Fatigue can occur at any stage of NASH.
*Weight loss and weakness may begin once the disease is advanced or cirrhosis is present.
*NASH may be suspected if blood tests show high levels of liver enzymes or if scans show fatty liver.
*NASH is diagnosed by examining a small piece of the liver taken through a needle, a procedure called biopsy.

People who have NASH should reduce their weight, eat a balanced diet, engage in physical activity, and avoid alcohol and unnecessary medications.

There are no specific therapies for NASH. Experimental therapies being studied include antioxidants and antidiabetes medications. (As NASH is common in uncontrolled diabetes. )

For More Information
American Liver Foundation (ALF)
75 Maiden Lane, Suite 603
New York, NY 10038–4810
Phone: 1–800–GO–LIVER (465–4837),
1–888–4HEP–USA (443–7872),
or 212–668–1000
Fax: 212–483–8179
Email: info@liverfoundation.org
Internet: www.liverfoundation.org

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose

Sources:http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/b303.htm

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Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Athlete’s Foot

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The most common fungal infection of the skin, athlete’s foot typically begins between the
toes, causing itching, scaling, and sometimes painful breaks in the skin. This generally
harmless but unusually pesky condition may be relieved with various natural remedies.

Symptoms
Scaling and peeling between the toes. In severe cases, there may be cracks between the
toes. Redness, itching, scaling, and tiny blisters along the sides and soles of the feet.
Soft and painful skin. Infected toenails that can become thickened, discolored, or crumbly.

When to Call Your Doctor
If there’s no improvement in a week to 10 days after starting treatment withsupplements. If home treatment does not provide a complete cure within four weeks. If any area becomes red and swollen, a sign of a more serious bacterial infection.
Reminder: If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before taking supplements.

What It Is
Athlete’s foot” is the common term for a fungal infection called tinea pedis. The fungi
that cause it are tiny, plantlike cells found on the skin of all humans. They can multiply
out of control under certain conditions. The fungi thrive in cramped, damp places, such as
inside shoes and socks. In some people, athlete’s foot occurs entirely between the toes,
where the skin cracks, peels, and becomes scaly. In others, the infection appears on the
soles and sides of the feet or affects the toenails.

What Causes It
The most common fungi causing athlete’s foot are called Trichophytons. Though poorly
ventilated shoes and sweaty socks provide an excellent breeding ground for the fungi,
athlete’s foot is not highly contagious, so walking barefoot in a locker room does not
increase your risk.

How Supplements Can Help
Many doctors prescribe conventional antifungal medications for persistent cases of
athlete’s foot. These drugs can be very effective — and very costly. For the most stubborn cases of athlete’s foot, some doctors are recommending the new oral prescription drug
itraconazole, but it can cause liver damage. For milder cases, supplements can be an
inexpensive way to combat this infection; symptoms should begin to clear up within a week.

Supplements may be useful for other types of fungal skin infections as well. Jock itch, for
example, is caused by the same type of fungus responsible for most cases of athlete’s foot, and the two conditions often occur together. Topical treatments can be applied to the groin area twice a day.
Vitamin C, an antioxidant, promotes immune function and aids the body in fighting fungal infections. It can be taken while using any of the topical supplements listed below.

Tea tree oil, a powerful natural antifungal agent, alters the chemical environment of the skin, making it inhospitable to fungal growth. Effective topical preparations include creams or lotions containing tea tree oil; look for products that contain tea tree oil as one of the top ingredients, or make your own by adding two parts tea tree oil to three parts of a neutral oil, such as almond oil. For an antifungal foot bath, add 20 drops of tea tree oil to a small tub of warm water; soak your feet for 15 minutes two or three times a day. Dry the feet well and dab a few drops of undiluted tea tree oil on the affected areas. If pure tea tree oil irritates your skin, use one of the topical preparations described below.

Rub garlic oil directly onto the affected areas. Garlic contains a natural fungus-fighting substance called allicin that can help to clear up athlete’s foot. You can also try dusting
your feet with garlic powder. Derived from a golden daisylike flower, calendula is another
useful option. Widely available in health-food stores, this herb relieves inflammation and
soothes the skin, which promotes healing.

What Else You Can Do
Keep your feet clean and dry. With a hair dryer set on low, dry your feet. If you prefer to use a towel, launder it after each use. Wear clean, dry socks. Air your shoes after each use, and don’t wear the same pair every day.
Go barefoot when you can, or opt for sandals or other well-ventilated shoes that allow your feet to breathe.
Try over-the-counter antifungal lotions and powders; but avoid those that contain cornstarch, which can encourage fungal growth.Cut your toenails straight across to help prevent fungal infection.

Supplement Recommendations
Vitamin C
Tea Tree Oil
Garlic Oil
Calendula

Vitamin C
Dosage: 1,000 mg twice a day.
Comments: Long-term use may prevent recurrences; reduce dose if diarrhea develops.

Tea Tree Oil
Dosage: Apply to affected areas of skin twice a day.
Comments: Never ingest tea tree oil.

Garlic Oil
Dosage: Apply oil to affected areas of skin twice a day.
Comments: Can be used in place of tea tree oil.

Calendula
Dosage: Apply cream or lotion to affected areas twice a day.
Comments: Standardized to contain at least 2% calendula.

Source:Your Guide to Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs

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