Blood test to spot liver disease ten years early

A QUICK blood test for liver disease which can diagnose the illness ten years before symptoms appear is being developed by British scientists.

It would be carried out in GP surgeries and give the results in 30 minutes, while patients go and have a coffee.

University College London scientists behind the test say it will cost less than £50 and could diagnose the disease ten or even 20 years early. They hope it will be available in the next five to ten years.

Liver disease is the fifth biggest killer in the UK and one of the only major illnesses where the death rate is still rising.

Figures show that 11,600 died from liver disease in 2014, a 25 cent increase since 2001.

Most cases are caused by obesity or drinking too much alcohol. Symptoms do not appear until late on, so most patients are only diagnosed when the illness is advanced.

Professor William Rosenberg, from UCL, said: ‘We hope our test could be used to screen people with an elevated risk of liver disease, but don’t yet show signs of liver damage, so that they can access treatment before it’s too late.’