Therapist Unlimited Blog

Those people who are not smokers but are regularly inhaling second hand smoke better do something on their situation before things got get worse.
This developed after a recent research has shown that even second-hand tobacco smoke exposure can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common disease and rising cause of chronic liver injury in which fat accumulates in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol.
A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside has found out that fat has accumulated in the liver cells of mice exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke for a year in the lab.
The researchers explained such fat buildup is a sign of NAFLD, leading eventually to liver dysfunction.
In their study, the researchers focused on two key regulators of lipid (fat) metabolism that are found in many human cells as well: SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) that stimulates synthesis of fatty acids in the liver, and AMPK (adenosine monophosphate kinase) that turns SREBP on and off.

People better avoid inhaling second hand smoke since it could lead to a liver disease.

The researchers revealed based on their study they discovered that second-hand smoke exposure inhibits AMPK activity, which, in turn, causes an increase in activity of SREBP.
The team said when SREBP is more active, more fatty acids get synthesized.
The team addded the result is NAFLD induced by second-hand smoke.
Manuela Martins-Green, a professor of cell biology, who led the study revealed their study provides compelling experimental evidence in support of tobacco smoke exposure playing a major role in NAFLD development.
Green added their work points to SREBP and AMPK as new molecular targets for drug therapy that can reverse NAFLD development resulting from second-hand smoke.
She said drugs could now be developed that stimulate AMPK activity, and thereby inhibit SREBP, leading to reduced fatty acid production in the liver.
The researchers revealed their study emphasizes that discouraging cigarette smoking helps prevent not only cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease and cancer, but now also liver disease.
Second-hand smoke is the combination of smoke exhaled by a smoker and smoke given off by the burning end of a tobacco product.
Lingering in the air long after tobacco products have been extinguished, it is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers in the vicinity.
According to medical facts, second-hand smoke is a major toxicant that affects children, the elderly and nonsmokers living in the household of adults who smoke.
Many state and local governments have passed laws prohibiting smoking in public facilities.
Diseases associated with second-hand smoking include cancer, heart disease, atherosclerosis, pneumonia, bronchitis and severe asthma.
Despite the large body of scientific evidence documenting the effects of passive or active smoking on the heart and lungs, reports investigating how smoking causes liver injury are scant.