Wednesday, April 02, 2008 Literatus: Liver 'predictions' By Zosimo T. Literatus, R.M.T. Breakthroughs
“EARTH felt the wound,” wrote John Milton in his book Paradise Lost, “and Nature from her seat signing through all her works gave signs of woe, that all was lost.”
Losing one’s liver to non-alcoholic, fatty liver disease may, at times, feel much the same.
The liver is a high-capacity buffer in accumulating fat and redirecting or transforming it later into energy when homeostatic imbalance signals.
Tryglycerides within the fat cells are continuously being processed into fatty acids and glycerol.
However, once overloaded, the liver cells will resist the effect of insulin on it, disabling the body’s’ natural mechanism to maintain equilibrium.
As the buffering capacity of the liver exceeds its limits and most fats start to overflow into the blood, lipids get accumulated in the cardiovascular system and in other organs.
Scientists believe that a fatty liver is a sign, rather than a "tool" for a proper diagnosis.
It is a very important sign in predicting the possibility of diabetes, cardiovascular risk, stroke, cirrhosis, and cancer. Overloading of liver cells can be detected through an increased presence of triglycerides in the blood.
Researcher Madhusuda Girija Sanal of the Special Center for Molecular Medicine in Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) observed four ways this happens.
- First, fat accumulates when lipids and its raw materials are available in increased amounts.
- Second, it collects when its disposal diminished.
- Third, the more fats are synthesized, the more becomes available in excess. Fourth, it stays on when its breakdown stops or drops.
In her recent study, published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology (Feb. 14), Sanal explained that the production of energy in the liver needs supply of fatty acids and glycerol released from fat cells.
When excess lipids occur, macrophages (white blood cells that scavenge the body of harmful materials) engulf the excess and process them, resulting in the formation of toxic free radicals, which destroy these cells as their fat-absorbing capacity reache limit.
The death of macrophages eventually leads to scarring and destruction of the blood vessel walls (atherosclerosis), and an increase risk of death due to cardiovascular accident. Liver sclerosis follows the same process. Both outcomes can be as fatal.
If that so happens because of too much eating (“over-nutrition,” experts would say), life would follow the story of John Gay, published as a short fiction titled “The Sick Man and The Angel,” collected under his book, Fables:
“Is there no hope?” the sick Man said,
The silent doctor shook his head,
And took his leave with signs of sorrow,
Despairing of his fee tomorrow.”
