| UPDATED: 23:16, Sat, Feb 13, 2021
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Long-term damage to the liver causes hard, irregular bumps to replace smooth liver tissue. The scarring of the life-supporting organ can lead to red, blotchy palms. What are the other signs to look out for? The British Liver Trust stated: Alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver disease in the UK. Scarring of the liver is known as cirrhosis, which may make a person generally feel unwell and tired all of the time.
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New research has shown that results of blood tests routinely performed by GPs everywhere contain a hidden fingerprint that can identify people silently developing potentially fatal liver cirrhosis.
The researchers have developed an algorithm to detect this fingerprint that could be freely installed on any clinical computer, making this a low-cost way for GPs to carry out large scale screening using patient data they already hold.
Liver cirrhosis is the second leading disease causing premature death in working-age people (after heart disease). It develops silently and most patients will have no signs or symptoms until they experience a serious medical emergency and the first admission is fatal in one in three patients. Unlike most major diseases, the mortality rate for liver cirrhosis continues to increase and is now four times higher than forty years ago.
Other serious signs include:
Bruising easily
This is a type of scan where sound waves are used to create an image of the inside of your body.
How is the condition treated?
There s currently no specific medication for fatty liver disease, there’s lots of research going on to try to find a treatment.
Short of a treatment, making healthy lifestyle choices can help to stop symptoms getting worse.
One of the most effective countermeasures against fatty liver disease is losing weight.
Dark urine
Dark black tarry faeces (melena)
Periods of confusion or poor memory (encephalopathy)
Itching skin (pruritus).
How is fatty liver disease diagnosed?