The British Liver Trust is supporting International NASH Day (IND), a global awareness and action initiative of the Global Liver Institute (GLI). Held annually on June 12 since 2018, IND in 2020 has convened more than 80 partners from around the world to join together in the fight against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the advanced form of non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease. The disease affects more than 115 million people and is expected to double by 2030.
The Global Liver Institute hosted 6 cutting edge, multi-platform virtual panels featuring clinical, research, and patient experts in liver disease, immunology, nutrition, transplantation, oncology, and public health from the U.S., Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Nigeria, Spain, Sweden, Russia, and the United Kingdom to describe current challenges and collaborate on innovative cross-disciplinary solutions to prevent, identify, treat, and improve the lives of people living with NASH. In addition, partners are creating and amplifying messages on social media, conducting radio media tours, and holding complementary panels, podcasts, and educational workshops in the days surrounding June 12th.
The sessions included
- NASH as a Global Public Health Challenge Panel
- Pediatric NASH
- NASH and Liver Cancer
- Beyond the Biopsy: The Role of Non-invasive Technologies (NITs) in NASH
- NASH and Obesity
- NASH and Metabolic Syndrome
The British Liver Trust’s Director of Communications and Policy, Vanessa Hebditch was one of the co-presenters in the Beyond the Biopsy: The Role of Non-invasive Technologies (NITs) in NASH virtual session.
Details of how to view the videos will be posted here soon.
NAFLD (non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease) and NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) occur when fat continues to accumulate in liver cells leading to inflammation and injury to the cells. Symptoms of NASH can be difficult to recognize but can include fatigue and pain in the upper right abdomen. For this reason, people with NASH are often unaware of their liver condition until the disease progresses. NASH is the second leading cause of liver transplant in the US and is predicted to become the leading cause. However, early screening and lifestyle changes can have an impact on NASH progression and potentially reverse the disease in early stages.
“With the global prevalence of fatty liver disease at 25%, there is an urgent need to accelerate the adoption of the noninvasive technologies which are revolutionizing the field of NASH to more safely and effectively identify, stage, and determine treatment response in this growing number of patients,” stated Zobair Younossi, MD, MPH, President of Inova Medicine and Chairman of Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. “The Global Liver Institute’s International NASH Day plays a significant role in building awareness of screening, NASH education and advocacy, and taking actions that will significantly impact this global epidemic."
“International NASH Day unites, and inspires a collective call to action, which is never more urgent than in 2020 when we are set to yield the harvest of years of diligence and investment in drug and diagnostic technology development and momentum in awareness and policy,” says Donna R. Cryer, JD, Founder and CEO of the Global Liver Institute. “We must make the most of this moment together.”
