Weight-loss surgery may reverse liver damage in obese: Study

Weight-loss surgery in severely obese liver patients can reverse early-stage liver fibrosis - the thickening and scarring of liver tissue - by reducing fat deposits, a promising study reveals.

Bariatric surgery can also result in significant improvement in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to new research.

"Doctors should consider bariatric surgery as the treatment of choice for NAFLD in severely obese patients," said Michel Murr, a professor of surgery at University of South Florida-Tampa.

Bariatric surgery be considered for patients with a body mass index greater than 35 and obesity-related co-morbidities, or a body mass index of greater than 40, Murr suggested.

Researchers compared liver biopsies from 152 patients - one at the time of the bariatric procedure and a second an average of 29 months afterwards.

After reviewing post-operative biopsies, they found that bariatric surgery resulted in improvements for these patients.

In the post-operative biopsies, researchers found that fat deposits on the liver resolved in 70 percent of patients.

Inflammation was also improved.

Murr noted that these findings on fibrosis reversal apply only to early-stage fibrosis and not late-stage liver disease.

"As a tool in fighting obesity, bariatric surgery could also help prevent the emergence of widespread liver disease," he added in the study that appeared in the journal Digestive Disease Week (DDW).

Checking work emails after office hours lead to stress

Have you developed a habit to check emails after office hours on your cell phone? You are heading towards 'stress bomb' that can explode anytime. According to a latest Gallup poll, using cell phones and tablet to read and send work emails outside office hours can dramatically improve your stress levels.

The findings revealed that nearly half of workers who frequently email for work outside of normal working hours report experiencing stress "a lot of the day". Also, nearly 62 percent of workers said they have employers who expect them to check emails frequently outside of working hours.

Gallup interviewed 4,475 working adults, aged 18 and older, in the US. The survey found that time spent working remotely outside of working hours has similar problems. Nearly 47 percent of those who work remotely at least seven hours per week reported a lot of stress the previous day compared with 37 percent experiencing stress who reported no remote work time.

Workers who leverage mobile technology more often outside of work are much more likely to be stressed on any given day. "Such behaviours can both positively and negatively influence employees' well-being in the long run," the researchers added.