Washington, D.C., June 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Liver Institute’s International NASH Day 2021 attracted broad support beginning to approach the scale of the advanced form of fatty liver disease worldwide.
“The wide reach is appropriate and overdue,” said Donna R. Cryer, J.D., president and CEO of Global Liver Institute (GLI). “Fatty liver disease is growing worldwide and trending upward. So must awareness, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Our eight expert panel discussions, broadcast in five languages, aired to optimize multiple time zones, and related special events ensured focus and solidarity worldwide to fight fatty liver disease.”
The panels aired from 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT, U.S., June 10, including encore presentations to reach viewers in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The reach reflected that of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, and 15 other prominent liver health organizations endorsing the event, and collaboration with the World Health Organization.
As panels debated how to fight NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, three teams of Liver Action Network (LAN) members including alumni of GLI’s Advanced Advocacy Academy pressed members of the U.S. Congress on policy changes to help liver patients. GLI also held a liver-healthy cooking demonstration with celebrity chef Daniel Thomas and announced a liver-healthy nutrition app with NutriStyle Inc.
Common themes emerged from the discussions: consensus among patients, doctors, medical societies, and companies on the seriousness and urgency of preventing and treating NASH, with standardized lifestyle interventions, such as access to healthy food and community exercise spaces, rural telehealth, noninvasive screening, and continued research on prevention, diagnose, and treatment.
For the millions of people worldwide living with NASH, the diagnosis often is a shock.
"Just two or three times this past week in seeing patients, I heard the story: ‘I never even knew I had liver disease; nobody even told me my liver enzymes were elevated, and now you're telling me I might need a liver transplant,’” Dr. Manal Abdelmalek of Duke University said during a panel. "We see patients at risk for diabetes; we check blood sugar. We have to come to the recognition that these same patients are at risk for fatty liver disease, and we need to be checking and evaluating the health of the liver in primary care and endocrinology.”
“International NASH Day 2021 forged clear paths for advocacy work in the year ahead,” Cryer said. “GLI is grateful for the hundreds of people who built its success.”
About Global Liver Institute
Global Liver Institute (GLI) was built to solve the problems that matter to liver patients, equipping advocates to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease. GLI promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and supports the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. GLI believes liver health must take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver illness. GLI is the only patient-created, patient-driven nonprofit organization treating liver health and all liver disease holistically, operating globally. Follow GLI on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.