Method for early diagnosis of liver pathology

There is a unique chemical laboratory in the body of each person — the liver. The most known is its detoxification function but in fact liver actively participates in all life processes. Tissue of the organ is devoid of nerve endings and so many diseases are recognized too late.

The innovative method of diagnosis of liver diseases based on the spectral gas analysis of expired air by the Health Monitor is created to change the situation.

What does statistics say?

An extremely serious and unfortunately very common liver pathology are viral lesions. Every year World Health Organization reports more than 2 million deaths from viral hepatitis. And this is data only in those countries that submit statistical indicators to WHO.

The greatest threat is caused by infections associated with blood transfusion and parenteral pathway: hepatitis B, C, and to a lesser extent — D, G. Danger is as follows:

· High resistance of pathogens in the external environment

· Long incubation period

· Prolonged asymptomatic phase

· Gradual increase in symptoms of liver damage

· Severe outcomes of diseases — cirrhosis and primary liver cancer — hepatocellular carcinoma.

Despite all the efforts of doctors, morbidity of parenteral hepatitis is increasing from year to year. The reason is the long asymptomatic period during which a sick person infects more than 10–15 healthy people.

Health Monitor device allows detecting liver tissue damages even when a person is in a state of complete well-being, but his body is already fighting infection. And most likely — loses.

Epidemiology

Most of the problems are caused by chronic viral hepatitis: they account for almost 80% of patients with different forms of hepatic failure.

A sick person who doesn’t know about his disease uses the services of a cosmetologist, dentist. His blood remains on tools. By the way to develop active hepatitis 10 (!) active virions entered into the blood are enough.

To neutralize the pathogen completely it is required to boil the instruments for at least 30 minutes. Sometimes cosmetologists or dentists neglect such measures.

The hepatitis C virus is less stable, but the risk of getting it in conditions of modern sexual emancipation is high enough. Family cases originate when family members share a razor, sometimes children take toothbrushes of their parents.

It is also worth remembering ecology, alcohol and poor-quality food, which can lead to liver damage without the virus component

What is so dangerous about hepatic pathology?

It has late detection. First symptoms appear when the body’s compensatory forces are completely depleted. Then there are:

• Pain in the right upper quadrant caused by a distension of capsule of the liver.

• Ochrodermia

• Unpleasant aftertaste and bitterness in the mouth.

• Nausea, aversion to food.

• Depression.

• Severe signs of cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

• Ascites — accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.

However, viral hepatitis C has such characteristics that it does not manifest itself before the development of the stage of severe hepatic insufficiency. Severe cirrhosis or primary liver cancer leads to the death of the patient.

How are things going now?

With regard to the treatment of all viral hepatitis after the introduction of antiretroviral drugs into clinical practice the diseases ceased to be fatal. Moreover in almost 90% of patients it is possible to select a therapeutic regimen that allows to completely recover from chronic hepatitis C, B.

Unfortunately it is much more difficult to help patients at the stage of cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (cancer). And many patients are identified precisely at these advanced stages.

Methods that modern medicine offers are not perfect:

• Blood tests are expensive, and the accuracy of the results still needs to be improved.

• Ultrasound of liver does not allow revealing the earliest changes, which have functional nature.

• CT will show damages in the liver parenchyma when the disease has already made significant progress.

• The same applies to MRI.

A whole new window of opportunities in early diagnostics and also in effective treatment of hepatic pathology opens an innovative technique — the analysis of exhaled air.

What does the Health Monitor allows to detect?

In case of liver diseases, even their initial stages, certain biochemical changes occur in the patient’s body. This is reflected in the excretory function of the lungs and the spectrum of the exhaled gas mixture varies.

Hepatic pathology is accompanied by an increase in the concentrations of a number of marker substances:

• Ammonia NH3.

• Monooxide of nitrogen NO.

• Sulfur compounds dimethyl — sulphide.

• Butanone or ethyl methyl ketone.

• Pentanone or diethyl ketone.

At the same time the levels of indole and selenium compounds decrease.

With progression of hepatitis and cirrhosis the numbers increase. At the beginning of process changes are not so pronounced. But the sensitivity of the device allows these changes to be recorded and registered. All you need to do is to breathe in a tube. For each person individual mouthpiece is used.

Exhaled air enters the gas-discharge chamber, an electric charge passes through it so that it becomes possible to conduct a spectral analysis of the gas mixture.

Device reveals displacement of the levels of marker gases at the stage of functional disorders, which means that person gets a chance to solve the problem at the very beginning.

Of course more detailed instrumental studies will be required after that to refine the characteristics of the disease. But the main task of the Health Monitor is performed by a person — after just breathing for 2–3 minutes person knows that he needs to see the doctors.

Timely detection of viral hepatitis saves health not only to the patient, but also to people from his close circle of communication. And maybe his life.