Liver Transplant News and Research

RSS

When a patient presents with end stage liver disease or liver failure he or she may be considered for a liver transplantation. The first step in this is often a rigorous assessment and being placed on a waiting list.

Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death

In five randomized controlled trials involving 457 people, the authors report that for patients treated with methotrexate, as a single therapy or in combination with other drug treatment, pooled data showed a tendency toward an increased risk of death or liver transplantation. The brand names for methotrexate are Rheumatrex and Trexall.

23 Aug 2005

Unexpected baby joy for transplant patient

Twenty six year old Tracy Paterson, from Carlisle, was given a liver transplant as a teenager after being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease.

7 Aug 2005

Alendronate combined with calcium and vitamin D almost completely prevented further bone loss in the first 4 months afte liver transplant

A new study found that the drug used to treat osteoporosis, when used in combination with calcium and vitamin D, can prevent the additional bone loss that commonly occurs after liver transplants. The treatment also helped stabilize bone loss in patients who already had osteoporosis, and helped improve their bone mineral density (BMD).

20 Jul 2005

A study analyzes the most important factors leading to death or liver transplant in drug-induced liver disease

Drug-induced liver disease (DILD), a potential complication seen with some medications, is usually not life-threatening, but may occasionally be more severe with a high mortality, requiring a liver transplant in selected cases.

18 Jul 2005

If global efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS are to work long term, they must avoid suspicions of being unfair

Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialists who have spent more than two decades leading efforts to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide are warning that limited international relief supplies of antiretroviral therapies currently being distributed in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean will not get to those who can least afford to pay for them.

28 Jun 2005

New UK Guidance to be issued on Hepatitis C as 'silent epidemic'

Leading medical experts from throughout the UK will be gathering in Edinburgh today and tomorrow (21-22 April 2004) to arrive at a consensus on how best to treat and manage the 'silent epidemic' of hepatitis C - a virus which is estimated to be carried by over 400,000 people in the UK and which continues to spread globally, as the majority of carriers do not realise they have been infected.

21 Jun 2005

Tobacco use persists after liver transplant for alcoholic liver disease

Alcohol and tobacco often go hand-in-hand. Studies have shown that approximately 90 percent of problem drinkers also smoke or chew tobacco. But tobacco use is not adequately addressed when patients undergo liver transplantation due to alcoholic liver disease, say authors of a new report.

26 May 2005

Study shows using expanded critera donors is safe

Patients who had received livers from hepatitis B virus core antibody (HBcAb) positive (indicates prior exposure to hepatitis B) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive donors had similar graft and patient survival compared to patients who received HBcAb negative or HCV negative livers, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute.

25 May 2005

Virus from rodents kills three transplant recipients

Three transplant patients have died as a result of receiving an organ from a donor who had unknowingly been infected with a common rodent virus. A fourth patient who received a kidney from the organ donor is recovering.

24 May 2005

Survival rates higher for children receiving living donor liver transplant

Children who undergo liver transplantation have better survival rates with living donor liver transplant graft than with deceased donor organ transplant, although factors other than the type of graft also are important, according to a study in the May issue of Archives of Surgery.

16 May 2005

Monitoring program has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions

A monitoring program developed by a Northwestern University researcher has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions associated with 15 commonly used drugs, including Plavix®, thalidomide and drug-coated cardiac stents.

3 May 2005

Patient with rare liver condition second ever to survive liver transplant after pregnancy

For Billi Tierney, 30, National Donate Life Month in April has a profound meaning. The first-time mother of Sycamore, Ill., was awaiting anxiously the arrival of her first baby. But she never thought that complications from her pregnancy were going to lead to a week in coma and the urgent need for a liver transplant. Tierney suffered from acute liver fatty of pregnancy, a rare, but serious condition of pregnancy in which there is an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver or liver cells.

23 Apr 2005

High levels of immunosuppressant may lead to tumor recurrence

A new study on the incidence of liver cancer after transplant found that high levels of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine favored tumor recurrence and identified blood levels of the drug that should not be exceeded. Lower levels of cyclosporine levels did not affect rejection rates.

22 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

New trial for treatment of liver disease

The Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network is launching its first two clinical trials for the study of NASH, a liver disease that resembles alcoholic liver disease but occurs in patients who drink little or no alcohol.

3 Apr 2005

New drug to treat chronic hepatitis B

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for a new drug to treat the potentially life-threatening disease Chronic hepatitis B.

30 Mar 2005

Hope of new treatments for liver damage

There is currently no cure for liver cirrhosis and a patient's only hope of survival is to receive a liver transplant.

28 Mar 2005

Three risk factors have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation

Three risk factors: donor age; the length of time an organ is cooled between procurement and transplantation; and how urgently the recipient needs the transplant; have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Donor age has no affect on long-term liver transplant survival

A new study on the effect of donor age on survival and recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation found that it influenced short-term survival, but had no long-term effect.

22 Mar 2005

Alcohol relapse adversely affects liver transplant survival

A new study on how alcohol relapse affects survival rates after liver transplants found that it adversely affected survival rates only after 10 years. The decrease in survival rates may, however, be due to other alcohol-related diseases.

22 Mar 2005

Liver Transplant News and Research

Further Reading

Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death

Unexpected baby joy for transplant patient

Alendronate combined with calcium and vitamin D almost completely prevented further bone loss in the first 4 months afte liver transplant

A study analyzes the most important factors leading to death or liver transplant in drug-induced liver disease

If global efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS are to work long term, they must avoid suspicions of being unfair

New UK Guidance to be issued on Hepatitis C as 'silent epidemic'

Tobacco use persists after liver transplant for alcoholic liver disease

Study shows using expanded critera donors is safe

Virus from rodents kills three transplant recipients

Survival rates higher for children receiving living donor liver transplant

Monitoring program has successfully identified a large number of previously unknown, serious and often-fatal drug reactions

Patient with rare liver condition second ever to survive liver transplant after pregnancy

High levels of immunosuppressant may lead to tumor recurrence

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

New trial for treatment of liver disease

New drug to treat chronic hepatitis B

Hope of new treatments for liver damage

Three risk factors have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation

Donor age has no affect on long-term liver transplant survival

Alcohol relapse adversely affects liver transplant survival

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest News