Early detection rather than late treatment – the practice of healing

It is better to identify fatty liver and co. early rather than treat it late

About 300,000 people die from liver disease in Europe alone each year. The most common risk factors for the development are excess weight, alcohol consumption, and viral infections. Genetic and autoimmune factors also play a role. Liver disease is often caught too late, and the affected can only be saved with radical treatments such as transplantation or removal of half of the liver. The European Liver Society now wants to focus stronger on early detection.

Experts from the Hannover Medical School, together with the European Liver Commission, have issued a new recommendation to improve liver health. Accordingly, greater emphasis should be placed on early detection of liver disease. The recommendations were recently published in the famous medical journal.scalpelPosted.

The current focus is on treatment

Many liver diseases such as common diseases fatty liver They do not cause any symptoms at an early stage of the disease, which is why they are often recognized only at a very advanced stage, when radical treatment methods are required. The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) would like to focus more on prevention and early detection.

The new recommendations are based on a three-year analysis of the current situation in Europe, conducted by the EASL-Lancet-Liver Commission. The recommendations resulting from the analysis have now been presented in Brussels. Summarizes Professor Dr. Michael B. Mann the main message together. He is president of Hannover Medical School (MHH) and co-chair of the Liver Committee.

Young people often get liver disease

According to EASL, young and middle-aged people are often particularly affected by severe liver disease. The reasons for this are not infrequently the unhealthy eating behavior dating back to childhood and high alcohol consumption. While diseases that can be traced back to an unhealthy lifestyle, such as lung cancer or type 2 diabetes, are more likely to be fatal in older adults, it is not uncommon for severe liver disease to occur in those dying around age 50.

Ban on advertising of alcohol and unhealthy food is required

Hence EASL’s new recommendations for medicine and policy include banning advertising in social and digital media about alcohol and highly fatty and sugary foods, targeting children in particular. In addition, medical staff should be more aware of liver disease and better financial incentives for first aid should be created.

“In most cases, liver disease is preventable,” adds Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. This applies not only to liver disease due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Hepatitis caused by infection with the hepatitis virus can also be treated well, especially if caught early.

Unnoticed and untreated hepatitis can lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) or shrinkage of an organ (cirrhosis). Professor Mann asserts that “the prevention and treatment of most liver diseases is now possible thanks to the great advances in modern medicine.”

Hepatitis B Vaccine Can Prevent Liver Cancer

According to Mannes, the hepatitis B vaccine is the first vaccine proven to protect against liver cancer. In addition, hepatitis C virus infection is curable in nearly all infected people with effective medications. “But we have to ensure that all Europeans have access to treatment,” the professor demands. (FP)