All posts tagged: Liver

Wanna help your liver out? Keep drinking coffee, seriously

Wanna help your liver out? Keep drinking coffee, seriously

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore There’s more good news for coffee lovers. Drinking more of your favourite roast has been tied to a lower risk of deadly liver cancer, cirrhosis and other liver-related causes of death, according to a new study of 355,000 adults from Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University. People who consume five or more cups a day say their risk of cirrhosis shrinks by nearly a third, close to half had a lower risk of liver cancer and 42 percent had a lower risk of liver-related death, the researchers said Wednesday. Benefits were seen even at one to two cups a day, but appeared to be the strongest at around three or four cups. Coffee drinkers’ blood tests showed higher levels of proteins tied to healthy liver function and lower levels of those linked to scarring and inflammation. They also had lower levels …

Liver cancer deaths are rising fast — experts say prevention could save thousands of lives

Liver cancer deaths are rising fast — experts say prevention could save thousands of lives

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Liver cancer is one of the fastest rising causes of cancer-related deaths in the UK, and the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. More than 6,000 people die from liver cancer in the UK each year. Its major drivers are largely preventable, but public awareness of the scale of the problem remains low. Most liver cancers develop in people with long-term liver disease. Strikingly, recent estimates suggest that around one in three adults worldwide are living with some form of liver disease. Most liver cancers develop in people with long-term liver disease (Getty Images) Although liver disease is often mild in its early stages, some people will progress to more serious liver damage and a higher risk of liver cancer. Early action can help reduce this risk. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, excess alcohol consumption and viral hepatitis are among the …

Pigeons may use magnetic immune cells to find their way home

Pigeons may use magnetic immune cells to find their way home

Published by Jenni Sidey

For centuries, homing pigeons have amazed people with their ability to return home across vast distances. Even when released in unfamiliar places, these birds often find their way back with remarkable precision. Scientists have long known that pigeons and many other birds rely on Earth’s magnetic field as part of their navigation system. Yet one major question remained unanswered: How do they actually sense it? A new study suggests the answer may lie in an unexpected place. Instead of the eyes, beak or brain, researchers have identified iron-rich immune cells in the liver that appear to act as part of an internal magnetic compass. The discovery offers what scientists describe as the strongest evidence yet for a previously unknown mechanism of magnetic sensing in animals. It also reveals a surprising connection between the immune system and perception. “We didn’t expect immune cells to act like sensors for magnetic fields at all. Our results reveal a previously unknown mechanism for magnetic perception in animals,” said Prof. Christian Kurts, Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and …

Common asthma drug may reverse dangerous fatty liver disease

Common asthma drug may reverse dangerous fatty liver disease

Published by Jenni Sidey

A medication long used to help people breathe may soon help protect the liver as well. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, or MUSC, have discovered that formoterol, a common asthma drug, may reverse key signs of MASH, a dangerous liver disease affecting millions worldwide. MASH, short for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, develops when excess fat builds up in the liver and triggers inflammation and injury. Over time, the disease can scar the liver, cause organ failure and increase the need for transplantation. Cases continue to rise alongside obesity and Type 2 diabetes, creating a growing global health burden. Despite the seriousness of the disease, treatment options remain limited. Researchers say the new findings, published in the journal npj Metabolic Health and Disease, could open the door to a new and potentially faster treatment path because formoterol already has a long safety history in humans. The discovery began almost by accident. Formoterol treatment attenuates steatosis in HFD mice. (CREDIT: npj Metabolic Health and Disease) An Unexpected Discovery During Kidney Research Scientists in the lab …

Your oral microbiome could affect your weight, liver and diabetes risk

Your oral microbiome could affect your weight, liver and diabetes risk

Published by skeptic

A scanning electron micrograph of bacteria on the surface of a human tongue Science Photo Library/Alamy They say you are what you eat, but the microbes in your mouth may be just as revealing. One of the largest studies yet to explore links between the oral microbiome and metabolic health suggests they may offer clues about our risk of obesity, pre-diabetes and fatty liver disease — and could one day help screen for these conditions. “It presents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to map how the oral microbiome reflects metabolic health across multiple organ systems,” says Lindsey Edwards at King’s College London, who was not involved in the research. The oral microbiome is the second-largest microbial ecosystem in the body after the gut, and previous research has hinted that it may offer a window into broader health. Yet many earlier studies were limited by a small number of participants, a focus on single conditions and a reliance on 16S-based profiling – a method that compares variation in the 16S gene, which is found …

Raise tax on alcohol and junk food to cut deaths from liver disease, experts say | Health

Raise tax on alcohol and junk food to cut deaths from liver disease, experts say | Health

Published by Sam Flores

Governments in Europe should impose much higher taxes on alcohol and unhealthy food to tackle the continent’s 284,000 deaths a year from liver disease, experts say. Taxes on those products should rise sharply enough for the money raised to cover the huge costs they place on health services, the criminal justice system and social services. The call for tough action on common causes of serious liver disease comes from a commission of experts from the European Association for the Study of the Liver and the Lancet medical journal. They are urging governments in Europe to ensure all alcoholic products carry health warnings and stop under-18s being targeted with online advertisements for alcoholic drinks and junk food. Bold steps are needed to combat “an escalating and unsustainable burden of liver disease”, the commission says in a report published on Wednesday in the Lancet. The experts call on the EU and World Health Organization to encourage national governments in Europe to implement their recommendations. They say governments should learn lessons from the successful fight against smoking over …

Made In Chelsea star feared for his mother after rejecting liver donation offer

Made In Chelsea star feared for his mother after rejecting liver donation offer

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Made In Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has revealed he initially declined his mother’s offer to donate part of her liver, fearing the impact his life-threatening illness would have on her. The 29-year-old is battling end-stage liver disease, a consequence of rare conditions including congenital hepatic fibrosis and polycystic kidney disease, necessitating a transplant for his survival. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Vanderpump explained his initial reluctance. “That first kind of instinct that my mum had, and other members of my family and friends, was ‘we want to help you, we want to’, and my first reaction is, ‘no, I’ve got this illness, why would I want to subject a loved one to this disease?’” He confirmed to presenter Susanna Reid that his primary …

American Bride rushed home on medical evacuation flight after suffering acute liver failure on Japan honeymoon

American Bride rushed home on medical evacuation flight after suffering acute liver failure on Japan honeymoon

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more A new bride is being rushed back to the U.S. after her honeymoon in Japan turned into a terrifying medical emergency. Sarah Danh, 27, has been hospitalized in critical care for nearly two weeks after she suffered acute liver failure on the second day of her trip to Japan, according to a GoFundMe for the newlyweds. Danh took an emergency medical evacuation flight that landed Tuesday night in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, 28-year-old Luke Gradl, according to People. Her mother, Le Le, flew back to the U.S. separately after she had joined the couple in Japan for “moral support,” the outlet reported. “A huge thank you to the medical team in Japan — the doctors and nurses who worked nonstop to keep …

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

UCLA researchers discover key driver of fatty liver disease, inflammation and aging

Published by Jenni Sidey

A small cluster of damaged immune cells can do outsized harm. That is the picture emerging from new research at UCLA, where scientists identified a rogue population of macrophages, the tissue-patrolling immune cells that normally clean up debris and help maintain order. In aging livers, and in livers damaged by fatty liver disease, those cells can slip into a senescent state. They stop dividing, refuse to die and begin sending out inflammatory signals that disturb the tissue around them. “Senescent cells are fairly rare, but think of them like a broken-down car on the 405,” said Anthony Covarrubias, senior author of the study and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA. “Just one stalled car can back up traffic for miles. Now imagine five or ten of them slowly accumulating. That’s what these cells do to a tissue: even a small number causes enormous disruption.” For years, scientists argued over whether macrophages could truly become senescent at all. Part of the problem was that …

US FDA Approves GSK’s Drug for Liver Disease Related Itching

US FDA Approves GSK’s Drug for Liver Disease Related Itching

Published by Sam Flores

March ⁠19 (Reuters) – ⁠The U.S. ⁠Food and ​Drug ‌Administration approved ‌GSK’s ⁠drug for ⁠severe relentless itching ​caused ​by a type ⁠of ⁠liver ⁠disease, the company ​said on ​Thursday, ⁠making ⁠it the first treatment greenlit ⁠for the condition. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy and ⁠Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru, Bhanvi ​Satija in ​London) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – March 2026 Source link