Hepatology News and Research

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Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas as well as management of their disorders.

SLU Liver Center to study effectiveness of tenofovir in treating hepatitis B

Saint Louis University School of Medicine researchers are studying the effectiveness of a drug for patients with chronic hepatitis B that is currently used to treat HIV.

3 May 2006

Saint Louis University hunt for a Hepatitis C vaccine

Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent Hepatitis C are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

3 May 2006

Progressive histological damage in liver allografts following pediatric liver transplantation

A new study on the long-term outcome of children undergoing liver transplants found that chronic hepatitis (CH) was common and that it was not detectible using standard blood tests.

3 May 2006

Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase activity and calculated risk of coronary heart disease in the U.S.

A new study on the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and heart disease found that patients with an elevated level of the enzyme associated with NAFLD had an increased risk of coronary heart disease, which appears to be related to insulin resistance, obesity and central fat distribution.

3 May 2006

Similarities and differences in outcomes of cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatitis C

Cirrhosis related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with fewer complications and a lower mortality compared to cirrhosis from hepatitis C, despite NASH patients' greater risk of dying from cardiovascular events.

11 Apr 2006

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy as an indicator of liver and biliary diseases

A retrospective case-control study of 21,008 women in Finland has found that those with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), an itchy skin condition when bile gets backed up in the liver, are significantly more likely to suffer other liver diseases later in life.

7 Apr 2006

Exposure to toxins from hazardous waste sites may be a significant risk factor for developing primary biliary cirrhosis

Published in the March 2006 issue of Hepatology, researchers found significant clusters of the disease near Superfund toxic waste sites (SFS) and that the majority of patients in New York City who need liver transplants because of PBC, reside near SFS.

13 Mar 2006

Child's fatness at age five is not related to being breastfed

Does breastfeeding or the age at which other foods are introduced to infants affect the risk of obesity in early childhood? Research on this question has produced mixed results

9 Mar 2006

Lamivudine helps avoid Hepatitis B relapse during chemotherapy

A new study on treating hepatitis B patients who have cancer with an antiviral drug at the same time as they undergo chemotherapy found that the treatment helped prevent relapse of hepatitis B.

12 Feb 2006

Drugs formerly contraindicated for inflammatory bowel disease prove beneficial for pain relief

According to two studies published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, prescription painkillers are effective in easing the pain of patients with dormant inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and are not likely to cause symptom flare-ups in IBD patients in remissions

12 Feb 2006

New pathways linking liver disease to changes in the central nervous system

Liver disease is often associated with "sickness behaviors," such as malaise, listlessness, anorexia, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue. In cholestatic liver diseases (where bile production is impaired) such as primary biliary cirrhosis, fatigue occurs in up to 86 percent of patients.

5 Jan 2006

Limitation of combination therapy of Interferon and Ribavirin for older patients with chronic hepatitis C

A new Japanese study examining the effects of combination therapy on older patients with hepatitis C found more adverse effects necessitating discontinuation of treatment, lowering of dosages, and lower long-term benefits in this age group.

5 Jan 2006

Largest hepatitis-C U.S. study defines optimal therapy

Final results of the WIN-R trial,[1] the largest hepatitis C study conducted in U.S. patients, showed that weight-based REBETOL (ribavirin, USP) in combination therapy with PEG-INTRON (peginterferon alfa-2b) achieved significantly higher rates of sustained virologic response (SVR)[2] and lower rates of relapse compared to the combination therapy using a flat dose of ribavirin.

14 Nov 2005

Largest study to date on risk factors associated with primary biliary cirrhosis

A case-control study of more than 2000 people has identified a number of factors that may induce primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in genetically susceptible individuals. These include a history of urinary tract infections, hormone replacement therapy, tobacco use, and nail polish use.

3 Nov 2005

Interferon combined with ribavirin treatment is effective for children with chronic Hepatitis C virus

Nearly half of 118 children with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with a combination of interferon-alpha-2b and an optimized dose of ribavirin achieved sustained viral response, and side effects were generally mild.

3 Nov 2005

Regular use of ibuprofen may increase gastrointestinal bleeding

People who take high doses of ibuprofen on a regular basis are three times more likely to experience gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding than those who do not take painkillers.

1 Nov 2005

20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C who receive a liver transplant will develop advanced cirrhosis

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine may have found a way to identify those at greatest risk, thereby allowing doctors to decide who should receive treatment that could save the transplanted organ. The new findings appear in the October issue of the journal Liver Transplantation.

9 Oct 2005

Potential biomarker that could be used to predict who might develop hepatic fibrosis

Two new studies on Hepatitis C (HCV) patients who underwent liver transplants examined a potential biomarker that could be used to predict who might develop hepatic fibrosis, a formation of scar-like tissue that can lead to cirrhosis.

3 Oct 2005

Study shows that high-fat diets correlate to a chronic inflammatory state in the liver,

Mice that were fed diets high in fat and sugar developed immune system abnormalities in their livers, including reduced numbers of natural killer T (NKT) cells. These diet-related changes may contribute to obesity-related liver disease, according to a new study.

3 Oct 2005

Physical activity may reduce gastrointestinal symptoms in people who are obese

In a study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found that a high body mass index (BMI) and lack of physical activity were associated with an increase in GI symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

3 Oct 2005

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

SLU Liver Center to study effectiveness of tenofovir in treating hepatitis B

Saint Louis University hunt for a Hepatitis C vaccine

Progressive histological damage in liver allografts following pediatric liver transplantation

Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase activity and calculated risk of coronary heart disease in the U.S.

Similarities and differences in outcomes of cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatitis C

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy as an indicator of liver and biliary diseases

Exposure to toxins from hazardous waste sites may be a significant risk factor for developing primary biliary cirrhosis

Child's fatness at age five is not related to being breastfed

Lamivudine helps avoid Hepatitis B relapse during chemotherapy

Drugs formerly contraindicated for inflammatory bowel disease prove beneficial for pain relief

New pathways linking liver disease to changes in the central nervous system

Limitation of combination therapy of Interferon and Ribavirin for older patients with chronic hepatitis C

Largest hepatitis-C U.S. study defines optimal therapy

Largest study to date on risk factors associated with primary biliary cirrhosis

Interferon combined with ribavirin treatment is effective for children with chronic Hepatitis C virus

Regular use of ibuprofen may increase gastrointestinal bleeding

20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C who receive a liver transplant will develop advanced cirrhosis

Potential biomarker that could be used to predict who might develop hepatic fibrosis

Study shows that high-fat diets correlate to a chronic inflammatory state in the liver,

Physical activity may reduce gastrointestinal symptoms in people who are obese

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

Sensing a Healthier Future

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