Lydia Ramsey
July 6, 2017
Millions of people are living with a “silent” disease they’ve likely never heard of.
NASH, short for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, is a type of liver disease in which liver fat builds up in people.
NASH has become more common in recent years, and it’s estimated to affect about 16 million Americans. It’s a type of a more broad condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects an estimated 64 million Americans. And NASH is set to surpass hepatitis as the biggest reason for liver transplants by 2020.
Right now, the only way to treat NASH is through weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight and diet. It’s often called a “silent” disease because most people don’t know they have it. NASH doesn’t have many symptoms until its later stages, when it leads to problems like cirrhosis and liver failure.