Changing lifestyle patterns and unhealthy food habits are pushing researchers to develop new medical solutions to treat liver diseases.
Modern times have seen a significant change in lifestyle and general habits of human beings. Increasing alcohol consumption, unregulated diet patterns, and ignorance towards other minute health problems have all added to the condition. These factors are the major reasons why the number of liver diseases have increased worldwide. Likewise, ageing population that is vulnerable to various medical conditions also contribute to the liver disease treatment market. Eyeing this sudden rise in the number of patients with liver disease is Allied Market Research. This market research firm has published a report titled “Liver Disease Treatment Market.” The study explores the various aspects of the industry such as market share, size, and growth.
Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) on the rise in developed nations
NAFLD is on the rise in the developed nations with number of people indulging in junk food growing each day. Indulgence in such food items has made obesity a genuine problem amongst the masses in regions including North America and Europe. Unhealthy diet, wayward lifestyle and high stress levels have led to an increase of NAFLD not only in the United States but also United Kingdom. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2016 highlighted that there have been significant advances in clinical practice hepatology to treat liver diseases. This disclosure was in reference to a research presented at the event.
Ray of light in liver disease treatment: NAFLD & Liver Fibrosis
There has been significant research on the biology of the fatty liver disease to understand how the disease infects the organ, why does it occur and also how it can be dealt with without any side effects. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have made a progress in this direction. They have studied and analyzed the reports that help them understand the situation better. The exchange between two cell nucleus proteins lead to separate as well as symbiotic lives has helped the research team at the Penn state university to gauge the fatty liver disease. Fatty liver is the main cause of liver failure in the United States. Mitchell Lazar, MD PhD, director of the Institute Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism said, “We showed that simply deleting the protein HNF6 in liver cells of adult transgenic mice fed normal laboratory chow leads to fatty liver syndrome.” The research team at the Perelman School of Medicine have done a commendable job to assess the fatty liver disease and open doors to welcome new treatment opportunities to deal with the same.
With no real treatment or therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to cure this disease, the new compound is a ray of light, which is believed to have the capacity to deal with the acute problem. In the past, medicines developed to fight liver fibrosis often led to psychiatric side effects as they penetrated the brain and blocked cannabinoid type 1 receptors. New drug developed by the scientists at National Institutes of Health is a massive breakthrough as far as treatment of liver fibrosis. George F Koob, Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) quoted, “This study represents an important step towards an effective treatment for liver fibrosis.” The newly developed drug has passed the initial screening tests for other side effects such as genotoxicity. However, it will further need safety screenings in animals before turning towards FDA for approval for studies of its therapeutic ability in humans.
Liver disease affecting Asia-Pacific region
According to Dr. Nalini Prasad Ippela, Head of the Gastroenterology Department in the Ramesh Group of Hospitals, the number of alcohol related liver diseases has shown an upward curve in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The trend is higher in the poor sections of society who opt for cheap and poor quality alcohol. Lower middle class were not far behind. Such a medical condition does not come to notice immediately even if the organ is damaged severely. Thus, the disease is detected very late and by the time people take measures to deal with it, it is pretty late. There are various disorders related to ALD such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and chronic hepatitis with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. FLD is commonly found in individuals who consume large quantities of alcohol. But the bright side is that it is reversible. Once the individual stops consuming alcohol, the condition is reversed. The remedy and cure for ALD is expensive and risky thus it is advised to take good care of your body and regulate the intake of alcohol.
Esteemed scientists returning back to China from premier research centers such as Harvard and MIT are prioritizing research and development for diseases that the Chinese are most expected to be vulnerable to such as liver cancer, chronic hepatitis B, liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Frequency of Hepatitis B in China is around 30 times higher than the US. Liver cancer is approximately 11–18 times higher than in Europe and U.S.
The liver disease treatment industry is driven by number of factors. Consumption of alcohol is a major reason why people suffer from liver related diseases. Irregular diet patterns and unhealthy lifestyle contribute to the issue. Thus as more people indulge in the activity, naturally the number of people with liver problems increases. Obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders are all responsible for the growing rate of diseases that help industry. Government and nonprofit organizations are creating awareness among people and are imparting useful information and data related to it. Scientists and researchers have increased R&D to explore new treatment opportunities and manufacture new medicines that help in curing liver disease. The different types of treatment made available by researchers today are anti-rejection drugs, chemotherapy drugs, targeted therapy, vaccines, anti-viral drugs, immunoglobulins, and corticosteroids.
