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.

Oxidative stress turns protein that protects healthy cells into executioner: Study

Oxidative stress turns a protein that normally protects healthy cells into their executioner, according to a study released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

5 Mar 2013

HCV and HIV co-infected patients achieve early treatment success with faldaprevir, PegIFN/RBV

Interim study results from STARTversoTM 4 presented today at CROI+ show that 80 percent of hepatitis C (HCV) patients also infected with HIV achieved early treatment success with faldaprevir (BI 201335) combined with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV).

5 Mar 2013

Urea cycle disorder patient successfully treated by Promethera(R) HepaStem in Phase I/II trial in France

Promethera Biosciences, a Belgian biotechnology company developing Promethera(R) HepaStem, a cell-based therapy for the treatment of liver-based metabolic diseases including Crigler-Najjar Syndrome and Urea Cycle Disorders, announced that it has successfully treated a patient with liver progenitor cells enrolled in its Phase I/II trial.

1 Mar 2013

Einstein researchers to investigate consequences of soccer heading on the brain

Sports-related concussion is an increasingly recognized public health problem. At least 1.6 million sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries occur in the United States annually. While the primary focus has been on football, soccer has come under greater scrutiny.

28 Feb 2013

Wnt-induced Lgr5 expression marks stem cell production in the liver

For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique - until now.

26 Feb 2013

N-acetylcysteine improves graft survival following liver transplantation

Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation.

26 Feb 2013

Antioxidant boosts liver transplant outcomes

Infusion of N-acetylcysteine in liver donors can significantly improve the outcome of transplantation, research shows.

25 Feb 2013

Janssen submits simeprevir regulatory application in Japan to treat HCV

Medivir AB today announced that its partner Janssen now has submitted a regulatory application to the Japanese Ministry of Health & Welfare authorities seeking approval for simeprevir, administered with pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) for the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients who are treatment naïve, prior non responders or relapsed following treatment with Peg-IFN with or without RBV.

22 Feb 2013

EASL unveils new publication - The burden of liver disease in Europe

Major progress has been made in the past 30 years in the knowledge and management of liver disease, yet approximately 29 million Europeans still suffer from a chronic liver condition. The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) today unveiled its new publication The burden of liver disease in Europe: a review of available epidemiological data.

22 Feb 2013

Donated liver survival rate improved by antioxidant

Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results published in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used.

21 Feb 2013

Physicians do not talk to patients about psychosocial impact and long-term risks of ICDs

New research at Saint Louis University shows physicians do not talk to patients about the psychosocial impact and long-term risks of implanting cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to treat irregular heart rhythms, leaving them misinformed about how the device may affect quality of life.

20 Feb 2013

Defensive medicine under attack

Around one-eighth of all requests for tests and procedures by gastroenterologists are attributable to the practice of defensive medicine, Italian research shows.

14 Feb 2013

LASAG trial for severe influenza initiated

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12 Feb 2013

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda renew research agreement

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and Florida Hospital announced today that they have renewed a research agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) to extend their collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity. The collaboration uses a research and drug-development model that creates an early feedback loop in the discovery pipeline.

12 Feb 2013

MRI promising for noninvasive hepatic steatosis assessment

Magnetic resonance imaging allows accurate measurement of the extent and severity of hepatic steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, demonstrate the results of two studies published in Radiology.

11 Feb 2013

Researchers discover miR-27b that regulates lipid levels in the blood

Researchers have identified a microRNA liver gene, miR-27b, which regulates lipid (cholesterol or fat) levels in the blood. This regulator gene controls multiple genes involved in dyslipidemia-abnormal blood cholesterol levels that can contribute to heart disease.

11 Feb 2013

Scientists discover natural trigger that enables stem cell development

A natural trigger that enables stem cells to become any cell-type in the body has been discovered by scientists.

10 Feb 2013

Liver gene found to regulate cholesterol and fat blood levels

Researchers have identified a microRNA liver gene, miR-27b, which regulates lipid (cholesterol or fat) levels in the blood. This regulator gene controls multiple genes involved in dyslipidemia—abnormal blood cholesterol levels that can contribute to heart disease.

7 Feb 2013

Donor liver quality: an interview with Dr Eric Orman

Liver transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a liver (or part of a liver) is removed from a donor and placed into a recipient. Although some transplants use a portion of the liver of living donors, the vast majority of donors are deceased.

6 Feb 2013

DHA more effective than EPA in preventing liver inflammation and fibrosis

Research at Oregon State University has found that one particular omega-3 fatty acid has a powerful effect in preventing liver inflammation and fibrosis - common problems that are steadily rising along with the number of Americans who are overweight.

6 Feb 2013