Fatty liver can affect brain function. Photo: File
Switzerland: A large proportion of the population worldwide suffers from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition of fatty liver, which is a complex condition in itself. However, it is now known that this condition can affect the brain.
Experts from King’s College in London and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland have said that as fat deposits accumulate on the liver, oxygen supply to the brain can be affected. On the one hand, it results in inflammation, on the other hand, it can lead to other complex diseases including brain degeneration.
This condition of fatty liver is so common that 25% of the world’s population, including Pakistan, suffers from it at some level and 80% of them are overweight and obese.
Experts have conducted experiments on mice in which one group of animals was fed 10 percent and the other 55 percent fat (as dietary calories), which was the total amount of fat, sugar, and fast food.
After 16 weeks, the experts performed several tests on the mice’s liver and brain. Surprisingly, all the high-fat fed mice had higher levels of NAFLD and developed insulin resistance (a diabetes-like condition), and above all, many brain functions were affected. On the other hand, there was no such condition in mice fed a normal healthy diet.
After that, experts from the University of Lausanne discovered that the brains of mice with fatty liver were deprived of oxygen. This is because obesity also narrows the arteries in the brain and is associated with fatty liver.
Mice with fatty livers also appeared to be depressed and unhappy.
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