DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a single, 50-year-old son who had an emergency gallbladder operation a few years ago. The surgeon remarked that he had a fatty liver. His own doctor dismissed any treatment. I am concerned. My son is 6 feet 4 inches and weighs around 170 pounds. He cooks some, but he also eats out. I do not think his doctor is taking this seriously. — G.S.

ANSWER: If the diagnosis of fatty liver was made only by a glance at the liver during an operation, I would ask for more proof of it. Your son can have a blood test that looks for an elevation of liver enzymes. That would be a start in confirming the fatty liver diagnosis.

Does your son drink much alcohol? Alcohol in excess is a big cause of liver fat. He should drink no more than two alcoholic drinks a day.

If he doesn’t abuse alcohol and does have elevated liver enzymes in the blood, then your son could have NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It’s common, and happens mostly to obese people. NAFLD can, in turn, progress to a more serious condition called NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. “Steato” is fat, and “hepatitis” is liver inflammation. NASH happens to 5 percent to 10 percent of those with NAFLD. (Am I losing everyone with these acronyms?) NASH, in turn, can further progress to liver cirrhosis. High blood pressure, diabetes, high blood triglycerides as well as being overweight are factors that favor such a progression.

If I were your son, I’d ask my doctor for a blood test to show the liver’s health or lack thereof. The test is liver enzymes. It’s not expensive. It’s done by all labs. The steps that I would then take would depend on what the liver tests showed.

TO READERS: The topic of chronic fatigue syndrome is something that many people read about with puzzlement. The booklet explaining that condition can be obtained by writing to: Dr. Donohue — No. 304, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am in fairly good health for my 90 years. What I would like to know is, What does salt do to the body, or how does it help it? I looked in my medical book but couldn’t find any useful information. I was once low on salt, or so my blood test showed. The doctor had me drink Gatorade. My stomach doesn’t like all that salt. I never have eaten much salt. — M.S.

ANSWER: Salt, sodium chloride, helps keep the body’s fluid levels at an optimum volume. It keeps blood pressure from dropping too low. The sodium and chloride of salt maintain the body’s electrical balance. Sodium has a positive charge; chloride a negative one. Salt keeps muscles working and participates in the transmission of nerve signals.

Too much salt, on the other hand, is a factor in raising blood pressure. Most of us get far too much.

Has your sodium been rechecked? You might not have to continue with Gatorade if it has. Gatorade was designed for heavily sweating athletes to keep them from dehydrating. It has sodium, chloride and potassium in it, along with some carbohydrates.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please look at the enclosed report and tell me what you think. I had a concussion and took this brain scan. How serious is the hemorrhage reference? — V.R.

ANSWER: In the first paragraph of the report, “no” precedes hemorrhage. In the second paragraph, a passing reference is made to “occasional micro hemorrhages.” Tiny blood vessels have broken. If that happened in the skin, you’d have an almost invisible bruise. I don’t know your age, but this finding could be said of many older people. It’s not a worry.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.