The liver is responsible for many critical functions within the body and should it become diseased or injured, the loss of those functions can cause significant damage to the body. Randox are focusing on liver health, we will look at liver disease, its main causes and how to reduce your risk of many types of liver disease with some simple lifestyle changes.
Did you know?
One in five of us is at risk of developing liver damage!
Liver disease is now the fifth largest cause of death, with as many as 1 in 10 people experiencing problems with their liver at sometime in their life. Liver diseases are extremely costly in terms of human suffering, general practitioner and hospital visits, and premature loss of productivity. Most people with liver disease die in working age (16-85 years) making liver disease the third biggest cause of premature mortality, mortality rates for liver disease have increased 400% since 1970.
The three main causes of liver disease are;
1. Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD)
Regularly drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol over a long period of time can damage your liver, leading to alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and liver cancer. Overall, alcohol-related liver disease accounts for well over a third (37%) of liver disease deaths. More than 1 in 10 deaths of people in their 40’s are due to liver disease, with the vast majority from alcohol-related liver disease.
2. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is caused by a build up of fatty deposits in the liver, causing inflammation and scarring. After years of inflammation NAFLD leads to cirrhosis causing the liver to become scarred and lumpy; this damage is permanent and ultimately can lead to liver failure and/or cancer.
NAFLD is more common in those who are overweight or obese. A healthy liver should contain little or no fat, it is estimated that 1 in every 3 people in the UK have early stages of NAFLD due to small amounts of fats in the liver.
As well as being overweight, you are also at an increased risk of developing NAFLD if you have: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol.
3. Hepatitis
Hepatitis refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver. It’s commonly caused by a viral infection, viral hepatitis affects over 700,00 people in the UK. Most people can recover from hepatitis A with no lasting liver damage, but hepatitis B and C can cause long term liver damage and liver cancer.
Hepatitis can lead to severe liver damage including cirrhosis, increasing the risk of liver cancer.
Related Products
Hepatic Function
| Albumin | Complement Component 3 | IgG | Transthyretin (Prealbumin) |
| Aldolase | Complement Component 4 | IgM | Bile Acids |
| Alkaline Phosphatase | Direct Bilirubin | Iron (UIBC) | |
| Alpha-I Antitrypsin | Gamma GT | LAP | |
| ALT | GLDH | LDH | |
| Ammonia | Glycerol | Total Bilirubin | |
| AST (GOT) | Haptoglobin | Total Protein | |
| Cholinesterase | IgA | Transferrin |
Our world leading test menu of high quality reagents guarantees excellence in patient care ensuring unrivalled precision and accuracy reducing costly test re-runs or misdiagnosis and offering complete confidence in results.
The RX series clinical chemistry analysers provide laboratories with a robust and smart solution ensuring you maintain a consistent workflow and can provide accurate results first time, every time. Offering excellent customer support services, our trained engineers are on hand to work with you in preserving the continuity of your operations while maximising the potential of your RX series instrument.
For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/
Randox supply a range of third party clinical diagnostic reagents to aid in the diagnosis of various liver diseases, and for managing the complications of such diseases. All reagents are available for use on a range of third party biochemistry analysers. Contact us to request an application for your specific analyser.
Unique tests from Randox
5th Generation Bile Acids
- Bile acids is a highly sensitive marker of liver function, enabling early and accurate diagnosis of liver disease. Bile acids is also the most accurate method for diagnosing obstetric cholestasis in pregnant women, a common liver condition affecting women during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.
- The fifth Generation Randox Total Bile Acids assay uses liquid stable two shot reagents in an enzymatic colorimetric assay for the quantitative in vitro determination of Bile Acids in serum or EDTA Heparinized plasma. The assay incorporates a more complex enzyme cycling mechanism than previous generations to amplify the signal, improving sensitivity and precision and reducing interference in haemolytic and lipaemic samples.
- For more information visit https://www.randox.com/bile-acids/
Vanadate Oxidation Bilirubin
- Bilirubin levels are important during the process of diagnosing and monitoring liver diseases including hepatitis, cirrhosis and gallstones. Other conditions characterised by elevated bilirubin concentrations include haemolytic anaemia and sickle cell disease.
- Randox Bilirubin adopts the superior vanadate oxidation methodology which unlike diazo-based methods, does not suffer from interference from unconjugated bilirubin, giving more accurate results.
- For more information visit https://www.randox.com/bilirubin/
Further testing panels from Randox
Hepatic Panel
When diagnosing and monitoring liver disease, it is vital that laboratories have a robust Quality Control (QC) system in place to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results produced. As a world leading manufacturer of QC solutions including Third Party Controls and External Quality Assessment (EQA), our extensive product portfolio is designed to help reduce costs and time without compromising on quality.
Clinical Chemistry Controls
Our Acusera Clinical Chemistry Controls deliver effective consolidation and cost savings, covering the complete liver function panel;
- Total Serum Proteins
- Albumin
- Direct Bilirubin
- Alkaline Phosphatase
- AST
- ALT
Available in a choice of assayed/unassayed, liquid/lyophilised, premium/premium plus and human/bovine formats, options are available to suit all laboratory sizes and budgets. Find out more visit https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-quality-controls/
RIQAS Clinical Chemistry Programme
Our RIQAS Clinical Chemistry Programme also covers the complete liver function panel at robust reference levels, challenging the full test system.
- Accredited to ISO/IEC 17043
- Lyophilised for enhanced stability
- Human based serum
- Bi-weekly reporting
- Submit results and view reports online via RIQAS.Net
- Register up to five instruments at no extra cost
- Reference method values are provided for selected parameters / lots
- Find out more visit https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-eqa/
The RIQAS HIV/Hepatitis EQA programme is designed to monitor the performance of tests used to detect HIV/Hepatitis virus antibodies. All samples are conveniently supplied liquid ready-to-use and are suitable for qualitative methods of analysis.
- Liquid ready-to-use
- 100% human plasma
- Quarterly reporting (5 samples per quarterly distribution)
- Submit results and view reports online via RIQAS.Net
- Suitable for both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis
- Find out more visit https://www.randox.com/hiv-hepatitis-eqa/
*Not accredited to ISO/IEC 17043
Our Randox Health clinics offer comprehensive health testing as part of our Signature package to identify and assess risk of developing liver disease. Our clinics utilise the same cutting-edge tests and quality control that we have available to clinical laboratories globally, as well as our patented Biochip Array Technology (BAT).
For more information visit: https://www.randoxhealth.com/