The Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation yesterday said its free abdominal ultrasound tests showed that among 4,663 people, 81.4 percent have liver abnormalities, including 53 percent with fatty liver disease.
The foundation launched a free abdominal ultrasound event from 8:30am to 11:30am yesterday at 24 healthcare facilities nationwide, due to the upcoming World Hepatitis Day, which is on Friday.
A total of 4,663 people received the abdominal ultrasound test, and 3,795 people among them had abnormalities, accounting for 81.4 percent of all test recipients, foundation chief executive officer Yang Pei-ming (楊培銘) said.
Photo: CNA
A total of 2,505 people were found to have fatty liver disease, accounting for about 53 percent of all test recipients, he said, adding that 121 people were suspected to have liver cancer while 10 of them are very likely to have liver cancer, and 111 people were diagnosed with unidentified liver tumors, which need further examination for confirmation.
The tests also found 1,064 people with benign liver tumors, such as hemangiomas and liver cysts, 551 people with gallbladder polyps, 378 people with liver parenchymal lesions, 44 people with enlarged spleen, 133 people with tumors in other abdominal organs, and five people with liver cirrhosis, the foundation said.
Yang said chronic infection of hepatitis B or C viruses increase the risk of liver cancer, as extended or repeated inflammation of the liver can cause scarring, and if it is left untreated, the individual would develop cirrhosis, which cannot be reversed and can lead to liver cancer.
Therefore, getting an abdominal ultrasound regularly is the best way to detect liver abnormalities or liver cancer at early stages, which mostly do not have symptoms and cannot be detected through blood tests, he said, adding that early detection allows for more treatment options and better prognosis.
However, Yang said the preliminary results suggests that half of the adults in Taiwan might have fatty liver disease, and people should not neglect it, as chronic fatty liver disease can also progress into liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and it has been linked an increased risk of liver cancer.
Most fatty liver disease cases are non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is a condition in which fat builds up in liver and is often associated with excessive eating and obesity, so the best prevention method is to “eat less and do more exercise,” he said, adding that adults 30 years old and above are suggested to get regular abdominal ultrasound tests to keep track of their health.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS