Learn About Ways To Look After Your Liver

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We are currently experiencing an international explosion of liver disease that continues to have an enormous impact on healthcare systems and global health. In the UK we have seen a 20% increase in deaths related to liver disease since 2000 and this pattern reflects the global situation. Contrary to expectations, this dramatic increase in liver disease is not restricted to patients who drink alcohol, and liver cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. Many inherited conditions and acquired infections can also cause liver disease, and liver disease as a consequence of obesity and diet is becoming especially significant.

The free online course “Liver Disease: Looking after Your Liver” will teach you about the amazing roles the liver fulfills to keep you healthy and will show you how these functions are compromised when the liver is damaged. It will highlight the reasons why liver disease is on the increase and show you some of the amazing new treatment options available to address the global challenge of liver disease. It will also show you some simple steps you can take to look after your liver to prevent liver disease.

The course will be of relevance to those who enjoy the study of biology and are interested in medicine. Secondary or High school-level knowledge of science is sufficient to complete this course. There will also be optional, additional materials for those already educated to undergraduate level and those who would like to challenge themselves and explore beyond the core material.

Liver Disease: Looking after Your Liver – Course Content

In this course, you will learn about how your liver works, ways to look after it and how liver damage is caused, studied and treated around the world. The course includes the following topics:

Anatomy and function of the liver, and understand how individual cell types contribute to these;
Signs and symptoms of liver disease and understand what causes them;
The major global causes of liver disease;
The varied causes of liver disease;
Viruses, Jaundice, Fibrosis, autoimmunity, alcohol and metabolic disease
Treatments for different types of liver disease and understand the challenges of treatment;
How diet impacts on the function of both healthy and diseased livers.

Summary of Course Main Features

Educators: Dr. Patricia Lalor and Dr. Zania Stamataki – research scientists in the Centre for Liver Research at the University of Birmingham.
Course developed by: The University of Birmingham – a public research university, consistently listed as a leading UK university and ranked among the top 100 in the world.
Duration: 3 weeks x 3 hours per week
Start date: 8 January 2018