A sign of fatty liver disease around the eyes may signal that the condition is becoming ‘fatal’

Fatty liver disease is a progressive disease that eventually leads to scarring of the liver. Symptoms, often absent at first, tend to worsen with each stage of the disease. Skin complications such as xanthelasmas are often seen in the later stages of fatty liver disease.

“Xanthelasmas are accumulations of lipid-laden histiocyte deposits in the upper and lower eyelids,” says the Annals of Hepatology.

There is a strong association between primary biliary cirrhosis and hypercholesterolemia, which may explain the tendency of these patients to develop both xanthelasmas and cutaneous xanthomas.

Xanthoma is the medical term for yellow growths that tend to form in the inner corners of the upper and lower eyelids in a bow-like shape.

In medical settings, they often serve as an early warning that cholesterol has begun to build up in the blood vessels.

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In fact, the Journal of Inflammation Research states that up to 67.9% of patients with cutaneous xanthomas have abnormal blood lipids.

“Therefore, xanthelasmas […] not only affects the cosmetic appearance, but also serves as an alarm signal for hyperlipidemia, ”says the journal.

He adds that other less common skin manifestations associated with the disease include dryness syndrome and vitiligo.

Over time, hyperlipidemia contributes to the formation of hard, sticky plaques on the walls of arteries, reducing the amount of space available for blood flow.

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Steatohepatitis is the medical term for a type of liver disease in which fat builds up inside the liver in people who drink little or no alcohol.

The result is liver inflammation and cell damage that contributes to the scarring of the organ, known as cirrhosis.

The NHS says it can take years for the liver to start scarring, so it’s never too late to start making lifestyle changes.

Regular exercise and limiting fatty foods can help improve a person with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, even if they are not losing weight.