New Treatment Targets Fatty Liver Disease

(SNN) Fatty Liver Disease is a leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States, and people might not even know if they are suffering from it.

Karen Fricke was undergoing screenings for other medical conditions when doctors noticed something off with her liver enzymes, and discovered she had Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

“I was very surprised,” Fricke said. “Because I don’t have fluid in your abdomen, my feet aren’t swollen, I don’t drink I never have, so yes I was really shocked.”

Gastroenterologist Dr. Guy Neff says she’s one of 40 to 50 million people with the condition.

“The vast majority of these patients,” Dr. Neff said. “Are asymptomatic, meaning they do not have any symptoms, they may have a vague right upper quadrant pain, they may notice some sleep wake issues, maybe some pruritus, maybe some itching,”

Dr. Neff says more patients should be getting screened.

New technology like the Fibroscan machine is helping them find damage from fatty liver disease quicker, and determine the best course of treatment.

“It’s important for us to make sure we can find the patient that has fatty liver disease with inflammation we call that NASH,” Dr. Neff said. “If they have that we want to make sure they’re in the right trial, that we can help them.”

Read more: http://bit.ly/2FmMQ9M