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.

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces availability of Xifaxan tablets for reducing risk of overt HE recurrence

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced the availability of Xifaxan (rifaximin) 550 mg tablets for the reduction in risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence in patients 18 years of age or older. Those HE patients may now fill their Xifaxan 550 mg prescriptions in U.S. pharmacies and should speak with their doctors about this important treatment option.

24 May 2010

Research team investigates infants with suspected GERD using combined pH/MII monitoring

Gastroesophageal reflux, defined as passage of gastric contents into the esophagus is a normal process that occurs in healthy infants, children and adults. When GER causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications it is referred to as gastroesophageal reflux disease. During infancy, GER is common and can manifest with specific symptoms as vomiting and non-specific symptoms as irritability and cough. Association of non-specific symptoms with GER is a main problem in the diagnosis of GERD.

21 May 2010

eGFR as valuable as Ccr as an indicator of preoperative renal function in gastric cancer patients: Study

The creatinine clearance (Ccr) test has been used as a gold standard for evaluation of preoperative renal function in patients with gastric cancer. However, it is known that Ccr is not strictly equivalent to glomerular filtration rate (GFR). It has been accepted that estimated GFR (eGFR) is equal to measured GFR in chronic kidney disease. However, there have been no studies regarding the reliability of eGFR as a preoperative renal function test in gastric cancer patients.

21 May 2010

Hepatitis C affects so many people and yet not recognized as serious public health problem

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, and you may find it surprising to learn an estimated 4 million Americans have been infected with Hepatitis C. This silent disease is three to five times more prevalent than HIV. Hepatitis C is the most common cause of liver transplants in the U.S.

21 May 2010

Narrow-band imaging could be novel tool for in vivo assessment of mucosal angiogenesis

Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in neoplastic and non-neoplastic chronic inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Several reports have shown that blockade of angiogenesis in preclinical models of IBD is a promising new therapeutic approach. Visualize angiogenesis in vivo may represent the first step for such a therapeutic approach. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a new endoscopic technology that highlights mucosal surface structures and microcapillaries.

21 May 2010

Niacin fortification foods can cause obesity

Dietary factors have long been known to play a major role in the development of obesity. The global increasing prevalence of obesity suggests that there should be some common changes in diet worldwide.

21 May 2010

Most recurrences of HCC occur early after initial diagnosis and treatment: Research article

Hepatocellular carcinoma is an aggressive tumor with poor long-term prognosis. The reported 5-year recurrence rate ranges from 75% to 100%. Therefore, extrahepatic metastasis of HCC is uncommon due to the highly malignant nature of the primary tumor. However, with advances in different treatment modalities for HCC, the incidence of extrahepatic metastasis appears to be increasing.

17 May 2010

Mauna Kea Technologies' Cellvizio improves diagnosis of early forms of bile duct cancer

New data from a multi-centric international registry study show that cellular-level imaging with Mauna Kea Technologies' Cellvizio®, the world's smallest microscope, appears to significantly improve a physician's ability to diagnose or rule out early forms of bile duct cancer during a standard endoscopic diagnostic exam.

14 May 2010

Prometheus announces novel method for early detection of HACA during infliximab treatment

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, announced a new method for detecting antibody levels in individual patients treated with infliximab, a biologic therapy that has been used to treat more than a million patients across a number of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

14 May 2010

Research article focuses on how IECs respond to probiotic strain B. lactis HN019

Probiotics are a group of live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host. This bacterial community plays a pivotal role in human nutrition and health by promoting the supply of nutrients, preventing pathogen colonization and shaping and maintaining normal mucosal immunity.

13 May 2010

Increased IR associated with HCC development in chronic HCV-infected patients

Recent studies have demonstrated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Insulin resistance (IR), which correlates inversely with circulating adiponectin concentration, is a consistent finding in patients with type 2 DM.

13 May 2010

Research investigates MDR in human HCC

Hepatocellular carcinoma responds poorly to chemotherapy owing to MDR. Recent studies have shown the tumors derived from the colon, kidney, or adrenal cortex, and HCC exhibited overexpression of MDR1/P-gp. This overexpression results in a primary MDR phenotype of these cancers.

13 May 2010

Rapid responders in novel behavior treatment for IBS maintain improvement at 3-month follow-up

Nearly one-third of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who underwent a novel behavior treatment developed by a University at Buffalo behavioral scientist achieved significant relief within four weeks of beginning treatment.

13 May 2010

RYGB surgery increases insulin activity in diabetes mellitus patients

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease resulted from, either decreased production of insulin or increased resistance to it from peripheral tissues or both factors combined together. While medical treatment remains the mainstay of treatment for diabetes, some surgical procedures, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, have demonstrated some potential to be a treatment option for diabetes.

13 May 2010

Four caged xanthones can inhibit growth of CCA cell lines: Research article

Cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant tumor, characterized by a poor prognosis and unresponsive to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, searching for novel and effective therapeutic agents for CCA is necessary. In previous studies, several caged xanthones from G. hanburyi have been reported to be potent antiproliferatives as well as having anticancer and anti-tumor activities and they induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines.

13 May 2010

Study compares outcome of popular esophageal stents in patients with dysphagia

Less than 50% of patients with esophageal carcinoma are suitable for surgery at the time of diagnosis. Most of these patients present with locally advanced or metastatic disease and/or significant comorbidities. In such circumstances, the only therapeutic option is palliative care to treat dysphagia and prevent respiratory complications secondary to aspiration. Self-expanding metal stents have been proven effective for palliation of dysphagia in patients with esophageal carcinoma, tracheo-esophageal fistulas or anastomotic leaks.

13 May 2010

Report describes imaging features of superior mesenteric artery aneurysm

A recent case report published on May 14, 2010 in World Journal of Gastroenterology describes the imaging features of a ruptured superior mesenteric artery aneurysm,which created a giant hematoma and mimicked a pancreatic mass, with mild dilatation of main pancreatic duct.

13 May 2010

New case report addresses diagnostic significance of CT and MRI for DCF

Duodenocaval fistula is an uncommon but lethal clinical entity. The high mortality has been attributed to the difficulty of diagnosis before attempts at definitive therapy.

13 May 2010

Study evaluates cost-utility of MARS treatment in ALF patients

Numerous studies have documented the favorable effects of MARS albumin dialysis treatment on clinical and laboratory parameters and survival in liver failure patients. However, to ensure that limited resources are utilized in an ethical manner, the subjective feelings of the patient in terms of health-related quality of life and costs should also be taken into account.

13 May 2010

Risk of venous thromboembolism is low after hepatic resection in cirrhotic patients: Researchers

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary neoplasm of the liver and often arises in the context of a chronic liver disease that impairs coagulative function. Surgical resection is the best option to cure HCC, however, surgery on cirrhotic liver may increase the risk of bleeding.

12 May 2010

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces availability of Xifaxan tablets for reducing risk of overt HE recurrence

Research team investigates infants with suspected GERD using combined pH/MII monitoring

eGFR as valuable as Ccr as an indicator of preoperative renal function in gastric cancer patients: Study

Hepatitis C affects so many people and yet not recognized as serious public health problem

Narrow-band imaging could be novel tool for in vivo assessment of mucosal angiogenesis

Niacin fortification foods can cause obesity

Most recurrences of HCC occur early after initial diagnosis and treatment: Research article

Mauna Kea Technologies' Cellvizio improves diagnosis of early forms of bile duct cancer

Prometheus announces novel method for early detection of HACA during infliximab treatment

Research article focuses on how IECs respond to probiotic strain B. lactis HN019

Increased IR associated with HCC development in chronic HCV-infected patients

Research investigates MDR in human HCC

Rapid responders in novel behavior treatment for IBS maintain improvement at 3-month follow-up

RYGB surgery increases insulin activity in diabetes mellitus patients

Four caged xanthones can inhibit growth of CCA cell lines: Research article

Study compares outcome of popular esophageal stents in patients with dysphagia

Report describes imaging features of superior mesenteric artery aneurysm

New case report addresses diagnostic significance of CT and MRI for DCF

Study evaluates cost-utility of MARS treatment in ALF patients

Risk of venous thromboembolism is low after hepatic resection in cirrhotic patients: Researchers

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