Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun;5(2):123-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.jceh.2015.04.002. Epub 2015 Apr 21.

Rapid Reversal of Liver Steatosis With Life Style Modification in Highly Motivated Liver Donors

Narendra S Choudhary  1 , Neeraj Saraf  1 , Sanjiv Saigal  1 , Dheeraj Gautam  2 , Lipika Lipi  2 , Amit Rastogi  1 , Sanjay Goja  1 , Palat B Menon  1 , Prashant Bhangui  1 , Sumana K Ramchandra  1 , Arvinder S Soin  1
Affiliations

Rapid Reversal of Liver Steatosis With Life Style Modification in Highly Motivated Liver Donors

Narendra S Choudhary et al. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Liver steatosis is the leading cause of donor rejection in living donor liver transplantation. Rapid weight loss is difficult to achieve in a short period of time, moreover it has been thought to worsen liver histology.

Methods: Donors who had significant steatosis based on liver biopsy were recommended 1200 Kcal/day and a minimum of 60 min/day moderate cardio training. Two patients were advised statins for dyslipidemia. None of the donors had metabolic syndrome. A second ultrasound guided liver biopsy was done at 28 ± 10 days. Donors with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis/fibrosis or >30% steatosis were not included.

Results: From July 2010 to January 2015, 16 donors were advised aggressive life style modification after initial biopsy; 15 (10 males, age 27.5 ± 6.5 years, baseline body mass index 28.4 ± 2.1 Kg/M(2)) successfully reduced weight and 14 underwent donation after favorable second biopsy. Mean weight loss was 7 ± 4.3 kg (8.4 ± 4.6%). Second liver biopsy was done at 28 ± 10 days, there was decrease in steatosis in all but one including normalization of liver biopsy in 7 donors. Three donors had mild inflammation on first biopsy and they had improvement in second biopsy. All the donors and their recipients had an uneventful post-operative course.

Conclusion: Steatosis can be reversed in a short duration by aggressive life style modifications in highly motivated liver donors.

Keywords: ALT, alanine transaminase; ALT, aspartate transaminase; BMI, body mass index; LAI, liver attenuation index; LDLT, living donor liver transplantation; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; diet; donor; exercise; life style modification; liver biopsy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection of donors for paired biopsy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chalasani N., Younossi Z., Lavine J.E. The diagnosis and management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: practice Guideline by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Gastroenterological Association. Hepatology. 2012;55:2005–2023. - PubMed
    1. Furuya C.K., Jr., de Oliveira C.P., de Mello E.S. Effects of bariatric surgery on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: preliminary findings after 2 years. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007;22:510–514. - PubMed
    1. Kotecha HL, Saraf N, Saigal S et al. NAFLD is the leading cause of donor rejection in living donor liver transplantation. J Clin Exp Hepatol 3:S3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jceh.2013.03. - DOI
    1. Rafiq N., Younossi Z.M. Effects of weight loss on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Semin Liver Dis. 2008;28:427–433. - PubMed
    1. Limanond P., Raman S.S., Lassman C. Macrovesicular hepatic steatosis in living related liver donors: correlation between CT and histologic findings. Radiology. 2004;230:276–280. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources