VIDEO: Fatty Liver Foundation recruits self-selected population for NAFLD screening

BOSTON — In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2019, Wayne Eskridge, founder and CEO of the Fatty Liver Foundation, discusses the foundation’s goals for patient advocacy and an upcoming study designed to assess asymptomatic individuals who self-selected for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis screening.

“I’m a cirrhosis patient, and a successful patient, and it’s because of that that we formed the Fatty Liver Foundation as a way to help educate, support and advocate for people that are at risk of advancing liver disease,” Eskridge told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.

Eskridge explained that the foundation recently finished recruiting for the Screening for Undiagnosed NAFLD and NASH or SUNN study, in which more than 1,000 patients received screening with Fibroscan (Echosens).

“These are patients who were asymptomatic and undiagnosed,” Eskridge said. “It’s important that we move the recognition of liver disease earlier in the patient population, because we don't want to first learn about liver disease when we have symptoms. Our goal as the foundation is to advance the outreach, advocacy, and understanding of patients so that they can be healthier, learn about lifestyle changes, and the things that can give them warning about the issues that come with liver disease.”

Disclosure: Eskridge reports no relevant financial disclosures.