Liver Disease News and Research

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The liver is one of the largest solid organs of the body. It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen. Most of the organ lies under cover of the rib cage.

Drinking two or more cups of coffee each day reduces risk of death from liver cirrhosis by 66%

New research reveals that consuming two or more cups of coffee each day reduces the risk of death from liver cirrhosis by 66%, specifically cirrhosis caused by non-viral hepatitis. Findings in Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that tea, fruit juice, and soft drink consumption are not linked to cirrhosis mortality risk. As with previous studies heavy alcohol use was found to increase risk of death from cirrhosis.

2 Apr 2014

Low levels of sodium prior to liver transplantation do not increase risk of death, say researchers

Researchers report that low levels of sodium, known as hyponatremia, prior to transplantation does not increase the risk of death following liver transplant. Full findings are published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society.

2 Apr 2014

Einstein faculty members present recent research at AACR Annual Meeting

From uncovering the role nerve cells play in metastasis to identifying new cancer-causing genes, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University made notable advances in the understanding and potential treatment of cancer during the past year.

29 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Nothing 'magical' about 6 million enrollees; the high cost of hep C medicine

Big news this afternoon on the Affordable Care Act: The ACA exchange signups have reached the 6 million mark. With a few more days to go before the open sign-up period closes (well, sort of) it looks like the original 7 million estimate -- which the Congressional Budget Office had revised downward after the botched October roll-out of the federal exchange -- is going to be pretty close to the mark.

29 Mar 2014

Study highlights importance of stress management, healthy lifestyle habits for people with migraine

Migraine sufferers who experienced reduced stress from one day to the next are at significantly increased risk of migraine onset on the subsequent day, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Montefiore Headache Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University.

27 Mar 2014

SLU researchers receive $1.4M grant to study alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in adults

Researchers at Saint Louis University will study alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in adults, an inherited disease that can cause liver damage, to answer various questions that could lead to effective methods of treatment.

27 Mar 2014

SLU researchers awarded NIH grants to search for a drug to cure hepatitis B

Two grants from the National Institutes of Health will allow Saint Louis University researchers to build on breakthroughs in understanding the hepatitis B virus and begin the search for a drug to cure - not just halt - the illness.

26 Mar 2014

Russian Ministry of Health approves Medivir's simeprevir for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection

Medivir AB announced today that the Russian Ministry of Health has approved Sovriad (simeprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adults with compensated liver disease (including cirrhosis) who are treatment naïve or who have failed previous interferon therapy (pegylated or non-pegylated) with or without ribavirin. Russia will be the first country within EMEA to gain access to simeprevir, which represents a significant advance in hepatitis C treatment.

24 Mar 2014

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight two types of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever, including the deadly Ebola virus. The project involves researchers from 15 institutions, including Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein will receive approximately $4 million of the total grant.

21 Mar 2014

Medivir announces phase III ATTAIN study of simeprevir inhibitor in treatment of adult patients with HCV

Medivir AB today announced that new phase III data for the once-daily protease inhibitor simeprevir have been presented at the Conference of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) in Brisbane, Australia.

19 Mar 2014

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH): an interview with Jean-François Mouney, CEO of Genfit

The progressive form of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), which defines a subgroup of NAFLD where liver steatosis co-exists with cell injury (hepatocyte ballooning) and inflammation with or without fibrosis at histological examination.

18 Mar 2014

Patients with both HIV and hepatitis C have 80% higher rates of serious liver disease

A new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found that the risk of hepatitis C-associated serious liver disease persists in HIV patients otherwise benefitting from antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat HIV.

18 Mar 2014

Scientists discover gene variation that makes humans have healthier blood lipid levels, reduced risk of heart attacks

Scientists have discovered a previously unrecognized gene variation that makes humans have healthier blood lipid levels and reduced risk of heart attacks -- a finding that opens the door to using this knowledge in testing or treatment of high cholesterol and other lipid disorders.

17 Mar 2014

Merck's NOXAFIL injection gets FDA approval for intravenous use

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved NOXAFIL (posaconazole) injection (18 mg/ mL), a new formulation of NOXAFIL for intravenous (IV) use.

16 Mar 2014

Patient with autistic behavior experiences improvements in mental health after liver transplant

A patient with a rare metabolic disease that causes liver failure and autistic behavior experienced significant improvements in both her physical and mental health after receiving a liver transplant, according to a new case report published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

12 Mar 2014

Experimental drugs offer hope for people with hepatitis C

Patrizia Cazzaniga had heard the horror stories about early treatments for hepatitis C - multiple daily pills and weekly shots for up to a year, side effects that could be debilitating, and a cure rate of only about 40 percent.

11 Mar 2014

Boehringer Ingelheim reports results from SVR12 Phase 3 trial in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection

Today Boehringer Ingelheim announced results from STARTVerso4 in patients with HCV/HIV co-infection. Hepatitis C viral cure 12 weeks after the conclusion of treatment (SVR12) was achieved by 72% of all patients in the trial. Patients were enrolled in either 120mg or 240mg faldaprevir dose groups.

6 Mar 2014

New study uses Lumosity games to detect subtle cognitive impairments in patients with cirrhosis

A new study from the University of Washington has found that performance on Lumosity games can distinguish between patients with cirrhosis of the liver, pre-cirrhotic patients, and healthy controls. The study used Lumosity games as psychometric tests to detect subtle cognitive impairments in patients with cirrhosis. The study is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

6 Mar 2014

Metabolic profiling of liver cells suggests new treatments for cirrhosis patients

In a new study that could help doctors extend the lives of patients awaiting liver transplants, a Rice University-led team of researchers examined the metabolic breakdown that takes place in liver cells during late-stage cirrhosis and found clues that suggest new treatments to delay liver failure.

5 Mar 2014

Medical student receives award for finding out drugs to treat peripheral vascular disease

Working at a Saint Louis University laboratory, second-year medical student Weston Gordon performed several studies investigating two novel drug therapies that may be useful in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

4 Mar 2014