Reader’s Digest UK – July 2019

READER’S DIGEST

no public health policies in Europe
prescribe an annual liver health
check, so unless patients complain,
doctors don’t routinely screen for
liver disease.
“You can have [liver disease] for
many years and not know it—often
there are no symptoms until the
liver breaks down,” says Dr Tom
Hemming Karlsen, PhD, at the
University of Oslo who serves as
secretary general for the European
Association for the Study of the Liver.

When that happens, your body falls
apart quickly because without the
liver, other organs can’t function.
People often underestimate how
important this organ is. “The liver
is a master regulator,” notes Dr
Rajiv Jalan, PhD, a hepatologist at
University College London.
It supplies bile to break down fat
during digestion and stores energy,
releasing it as glucose. It produces
proteins involved in metabolism
and blood coagulation. It acts as a
“cleaning plant” which filters out
toxins; and regulates the immune
function, separating and removing
bacteria from the bloodstream.

Overall, the liver performs more than

500 different tasks—a feat that’s hard

to replicate.

That’s why medics have no

replacements for failing livers. Dr

Jalan’s team is working on creating

a bioartifical liver device called

DIALIVE, but it’s not yet available.

And while maladies such as stroke

afflict people over 65, failed livers

tend to kill at a younger age.

Another culprit is glucose-fructose

syrup, a common sweetener found

in processed foods including

many cereals, snacks and juices.

Unlike fruits, which contain limited

amounts of fructose and thus are

metabolised slowly, glucose-fructose

syrup “puts more sugar much more

quickly into your system,” says Dr

Barnabas—so the liver regularly

stores it as fat.

Lasse Berget was duly concerned

about his diagnosis. While

NAFLD is not immediately life

threatening, over time it can

progress into a disease called

non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis

or NASH, which can cause liver

failure and death. Because of liver

cell deterioration, NAFLD can also

lead to hepatocellular carcinoma, a

common liver cancer. There’s no set

time it takes for NAFLD to develop

into NASH and further into cirrhosis,

and many people with NAFLD never

do develop cirrhosis. When they

do, a transplant is the only cure—

and the number of NASH-related

JULY 2019 • 41

UNLIKE MANY OTHER

ORGANS, THE LIVER

HAS THE ABILITY TO

REGENERATE ITSELF