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.

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards $1 million grant to reduce hepatitis-related health disparities in Asia

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has awarded four new grants to help improve awareness, prevention and care of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in China and India.

25 Feb 2011

New research: Significant number of HCV patients in the U.S. does not have health insurance coverage

New research has determined that patients in the U.S. with hepatitis C virus are twice as likely to not have health insurance coverage compared with those without the disease.

24 Feb 2011

Lack of health insurance limits Hepatitis C patients' access to latest antiviral therapy

New research has determined that patients in the U.S. with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are twice as likely to not have health insurance coverage compared with those without the disease. In fact researchers found only a third of HCV infected Americans have access to antiviral therapy; the remaining are either uninsured or not candidates for therapy due to treatment contraindications. Details of this study are published in the March issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

24 Feb 2011

Norgine, Tranzyme commence dosing in ulimorelin Phase 3 study for restoring GI function after surgery

Tranzyme Pharma and Norgine B.V., have initiated dosing of ulimorelin in the first of two, Phase 3 pivotal studies - ULISES. Ulimorelin is Tranzyme's intravenous promotility agent in development for the management of postoperative ileus in hospital and acute care settings.

23 Feb 2011

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the treatment of the first patient in a multi-center Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating CTS-1027 in combination with Peginterferon Alfa-2a and ribavirin in a treatment experienced, hepatitis C null responder patient population. Safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of the triple combination will be assessed after up to 48 weeks of therapy.

18 Feb 2011

Study finds heartburn as a common condition in Iceland

Heartburn is a signature symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is a cluster of symptoms and signs associated with regurgitation of stomach acid up to the pharynx and mouth. Patient-based studies of GERD have shown high prevalence and chronicity, particularly in Western societies. GERD is associated with significant health-care utilization and diminished quality of life.

8 Feb 2011

Fast track rehabilitation program effective after colorectal surgery

The concept of fast track rehabilitation program has been recently introduced in colorectal surgery. It is basically a multidisciplinary perioperative care strategy for patients after resection of colorectal cancer.

8 Feb 2011

Study on non-surgical approach for treatment of liver hydatidosis

Concerning treatment, until recently the only definitive treatment for hydatid disease had been surgery. Different surgical techniques and procedures have been carried out and even in some cases, a liver transplant has been required. Advances in drug therapy has been influenced by the introduction of albendazole and accelerated by addition of praziquantel, but this requires a long period of treatment i.e. up to a year or more, and is not effective for everyone.

8 Feb 2011

Octreotide inhibits HepG2 proliferation, study confirms

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy in the world and is estimated to cause approximately half a million deaths annually. Undoubtedly, the best available treatment for all liver tumors is complete surgical resection. However, the synthetic somatostatin analogue octreotide has been found effective in inhibiting tumor growth in a variety of experimental models. It has been reported that octreotide inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of different HCC cell lines in vitro.

1 Feb 2011

Study finds E2F5 transcription factor commonly overexpressed in primary human HCC

E2F5 is a member of the E2F transcription factor family, and plays a key role in cell growth and proliferation. Overexpression of E2F5 has been reported in various human cancers, but not in liver cancer, and its biological implication is largely unknown. It is not known whether E2F5 plays a tumor suppressor role or an oncogenic role.

1 Feb 2011

Researchers propose new classification system for SOD

Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is a pathological syndrome that is usually classified into the biliary type or the pancreatic type according to the Milwaukee criteria.

1 Feb 2011

Research sheds new light on venous thromboembolism following liver resections

Patients undergoing liver surgery have long been considered to be at low risk of venous thromboembolism. However, pulmonary embolism has recently emerged as an increasingly frequent and potentially fatal complication following liver resections.

1 Feb 2011

MRI T2 can determine iron overload in beta-thalassemic patients

Iron overload is a common and serious problem in thalassemic major patients. As iron accumulation is toxic in the body's tissues, accurate estimation of iron stores is of great importance in these patients to prevent iron overload by an appropriate iron chelating therapy.

1 Feb 2011

Researchers study peripheral blood Tregs as disease marker of gastric cancer

T-regulatory lymphocytes are a subset of T lymphocytes that are involved in the mechanism of immunotolerance to self- and allo-antigens. Activity of these cells is one of the mechanisms of immune evasion of tumors, which inhibits the antitumor activity of effector cells.

1 Feb 2011

Researchers discover new sensory neurons that mediate BP and metabolism regulation in liver

For 60 years, scientists have puzzled over the possibility of a hepatic osmoreceptor that influences blood pressure regulation. Now, researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center of the MDC and Charit- and the Hannover Medical School appear to have made a breakthrough discovery.

27 Jan 2011

Alcohol-related liver disease rising among young Britons

According to latest National Health Service (NHS) figures the number of people under 30 admitted to hospital in the past decade has risen by more than 50 per cent. 351 people aged 30 and under were admitted to an English hospital with alcohol related liver disease in 2009/10, up from 230 in 2000/01. That is still only a small fraction of the 14,500 people aged 31 or over who were admitted for alcohol-related liver problems in the last year.

26 Jan 2011

Survival following transplant surgery for liver cancer not impacted by HIV-positive status

French researchers determined that infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) impaired results of transplant surgery for liver cancer, with more HIV infected patients dropping off the transplantation wait list. The team found that overall survival and recurrence-free survival was not impacted following liver transplantation in patients with controlled HIV disease.

25 Jan 2011

Evaluating patients for genetic variations impacts adherence to antiviral therapy

In two recent studies, researchers have identified two functional variants in the inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) gene that protect patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) against anemia brought on by antiviral treatment. The ability to identify those patients protected against treatment-induced anemia will ensure completion of antiviral therapy and successful elimination of the virus.

25 Jan 2011

FDA accepts Vertex's telaprevir NDA for six-month Priority Review

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the New Drug Application (NDA) for telaprevir and granted the company's request for six-month Priority Review. Telaprevir is Vertex's lead medicine in development for people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

20 Jan 2011

Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients

Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

20 Jan 2011

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards $1 million grant to reduce hepatitis-related health disparities in Asia

New research: Significant number of HCV patients in the U.S. does not have health insurance coverage

Lack of health insurance limits Hepatitis C patients' access to latest antiviral therapy

Norgine, Tranzyme commence dosing in ulimorelin Phase 3 study for restoring GI function after surgery

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Study finds heartburn as a common condition in Iceland

Fast track rehabilitation program effective after colorectal surgery

Study on non-surgical approach for treatment of liver hydatidosis

Octreotide inhibits HepG2 proliferation, study confirms

Study finds E2F5 transcription factor commonly overexpressed in primary human HCC

Researchers propose new classification system for SOD

Research sheds new light on venous thromboembolism following liver resections

MRI T2 can determine iron overload in beta-thalassemic patients

Researchers study peripheral blood Tregs as disease marker of gastric cancer

Researchers discover new sensory neurons that mediate BP and metabolism regulation in liver

Alcohol-related liver disease rising among young Britons

Survival following transplant surgery for liver cancer not impacted by HIV-positive status

Evaluating patients for genetic variations impacts adherence to antiviral therapy

FDA accepts Vertex's telaprevir NDA for six-month Priority Review

Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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