It is an astonishing image that gives us this morning The Parisian. The one who sat on the TV sets looks very frail in his little armchair. The disease passed by. Pierre Ménès disappeared from the screens on August 28, 2016. Suffering from Nash cirrhosis linked to type 2 diabetes, the sports journalist, 53, suffered an intestinal hemorrhage in 2015. His state of health deteriorates rapidly and he leaves 45 kg in his descent into hell. “Within a few days, I was dead”.
A double liver and kidney transplant performed in December 2016 will save him, says the daily. But for several months, the sports commentator remains discreet. And for good reason. For many, cirrhosis rhymes with alcoholism. “I don’t drink, apart from a whiskey and coke in a nightclub, three times a year,” explains Pierre Ménès.
Like six million French people, he suffers from fatty liver disease. The organ can no longer process fat. Initially silent, the pathology progresses by creating liver damage.
This non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (Nash in English) is linked to our lifestyles. Too many sodas, fat and sugar, a growing sedentary lifestyle, the cocktail is explosive.
The figures panic the specialists. With nearly one in two men and one in three women overweight, Nash is becoming a silent epidemic. “In 2020, experts expect it to become the leading cause of liver transplantation in France, ahead of hepatitis C,” recalls journalist Elsa Mari. 5% of patients will develop cancer and 20% of Nash-related deaths are of cardiovascular origin.
Alert public opinion, educate doctors, scientists are stepping up actions to curb the epidemic. Backed by the biotechnology company Genfit, French people have just launched an endowment fund, The Nash Education Program, to encourage initiatives around the disease. Others are trying to develop a less invasive screening method than liver biopsy.
It is a race against time. Pierre Ménès narrowly won it. Today, he is learning to walk again, but the commentator warns us: “I haven’t changed, I’m still just as stupid”. We are reassured!
