WESTON, Fla. – A recent study found that bariatric surgery can decrease the risk of progression of liver disease in some patients.
Dr. Raul Rosenthal, a bariatric surgeon with the Cleveland Clinic Weston said obesity is a major risk factor for developing an advanced form of fatty liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH.
“So what they found out is that those who had NASH in 88% of the cases they didn’t progress to liver cirrhosis this is tremendous because there is no treatment for NASH and people who have NASH not only develop liver cirrhosis, they develop liver failure and they develop liver cancer,” Rosenthal said.
In addition, a second endpoint of the study found a 70% reduction in cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks.
Bariatric surgery has also been associated with a significant reduction in blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes.
COVID on surfaces
Even though most cases of COVID-19 come from airborne exposure to the virus a new study also found that it lingers on surfaces in the rooms of nursing home patients.
The University of Michigan study found that 90% of current COVID patients’ rooms had detectable coronavirus on at least one surface and that the virus was still detectable days later, especially on TV remotes and nurse call buttons.
A third of the people in the United States who have died from COVID have been nursing home residents, mainly in the early months of the pandemic.