According to researchers, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be treated effectively with a bariatric surgery, which is best known for its ability to help patients get rid of excessive weight.

Researchers at the University of South Florida-Tampa found various other benefits attached to bariatric surgery apart from just helping patients to reduce weight. They found that liver inflammation, reversal of early-stage liver fibrosis, the thickening and scarring of liver tissue were significantly improved by the surgery in question by reducing fat deposits in the liver.

The findings clearly indicate the need of considering bariatric surgery as the treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in severely obese patients, said Michel Murr, MD, lead researcher of the study, professor of surgery and director of Tampa General Hospital and USF Health Bariatric Center.

Researchers reached at the conclusion after comparing liver biopsies from 152 patients. They did one at the time of the bariatric procedure and another after an average of 29 months.

After looking into post-operative biopsies, the researchers found that bariatric surgery helped patients to improve. Fat deposits on the liver resolved in 70% of patients in post-operative biopsies. Moreover, inflammation was improved along with lobular inflammation in 74% of patients. Chronic portal inflammation, on the other hand, resolved in 32% and steatohepatitis resolved in 88%.

"About 30 percent of the U. S. population suffers from NAFLD, and the prevalence of this condition is increasing. Although we often associate fatty liver disease with obese patients, these results suggest that possible signs of liver disease secondary to NAFLD in lean patients should be taken very seriously", said Paul Angulo from the University Of Kentucky Medical Center, in a press statement. These findings are clear implications for future research and current standards of care. It is an illusion to believe that patients with relatively healthy weight are not prone to contract fatty liver disease.