WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Echosens, an innovative high-technology company offering the FibroScan® family of products, today announces the release of its white paper Looming Epidemic: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), providing a better understanding of the asymptomatic disease affecting 100 million Americans, assessing multiple risk factors affecting US patients, and articulating solutions for early detection and lifestyle changes.
Laurent Sandrin, founder of Echosens, explains, “In this white paper, our team illustrates the importance for greater public awareness and education surrounding NAFLD and the importance of early detection. Authors also stress the role of physicians, especially primary care doctors, in adopting non-invasive assessment tools that can be utilized to measure liver stiffness and fat during annual physical exams. With earlier detection, lifestyle changes can be implemented to prevent disease progression and avoid serious conditions such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.”
NAFLD is the most common type of liver disease in the Western world and is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and other metabolic risk factors. NALFD is also projected to be the number one reason for liver transplants, out-ranking the Hepatitis C Virus. While outward signs of advancing liver disease are often associated with liver cirrhosis or liver cancer, if detected early, therapeutic interventions and lifestyle modifications can alter the course of NAFLD, improve prognosis and reduce costs.
The document explains the role of FibroScan, a painless three-minute procedure that can help to diagnose NALFD early on. This non-invasive test quickly provides a quantitative assessment of liver stiffness and fat at the point of care. With over 2,000 peer-reviewed research publications, this technology is the most widely studied tool for liver assessment.
“While the presence of some fat in the liver is normal, when fat accounts for more than five percent of the organ’s weight, it becomes dangerous,” Sandrin concludes. “As a reliable tool in the front-line battle against the liver disease epidemic, FibroScan is a game-changer.”
About Echosens
Echosens, the developer of FibroScan®, is an innovative high-technology company offering a full range of products and services supporting physicians in their assessment and management of patients with chronic liver diseases. FibroScan® is supported by over 2,000 peer reviewed publications. http://www2.echosens.com/AboutFibroScan
