Liver Transplantation News and Research

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Combination therapies inhibiting P7 could prevent spread of HCV

British researchers have identified specific resistance mutations for two classes of p7 inhibitor, which may explain their lack of effectiveness in clinical trials combined with current standard of care.

29 Jun 2011

Angioplasty may be an option for liver transplant candidates with heart disease

A small, retrospective study determined that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was safe in patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) who were referred for liver transplantation. Larger studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of angioplasty in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Details of the study are available in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

22 Jun 2011

Study finds PCI safe and feasible option for End-Stage Liver Disease patients with significant heart disease

22 Jun 2011

Study sheds new light on body's immune response to hepatitis A, C viruses

A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses.

21 Jun 2011

Liver stiffness measurement could replace liver biopsy for evaluation of hepatitis C

Non-invasive tests for liver fibrosis, such as liver stiffness measurement or the FibroTest, can predict survival of patients with chronic hepatitis C, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

15 Jun 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease continues to be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States accounting for nearly 50% of all liver transplants. Recurrence is universal in patients viremic at the time of transplantation with histological hepatitis developing in the majority of patients. Although the natural history of recurrent HCV is difficult to predict, it is widely accepted that cirrhosis from recurrent HCV occurs in up to 30% of patients within five years of transplantation.

8 Jun 2011

Technology, expert training and real-time feedback improves Hepatitis C outcomes

Widely-available technology, expert training and real-time feedback helped ensure that patients treated for Hepatitis C in local communities did as well as patients treated at a university-based medical center, results of a new study funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality show. The study is published in the June 2 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and in the June 9 print edition.

3 Jun 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals announces name change to Galectin Therapeutics

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has changed its name to Galectin Therapeutics Inc. to more accurately reflect the Company's core expertise in galectin science and its leading platform for the creation of galectin inhibitors to treat serious diseases including fibrosis and cancer.

27 May 2011

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

For many patients with the hepatitis C virus, direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment.

25 May 2011

Apollo completes 100 liver transplantations in less than 4 years with over 90% success rate

Apollo centre for liver disease and transplantation has completed 100 liver transplantations in less than 4 years with over 90% success rate, creating a milestone in the history of medicine.

25 May 2011

Cytonet receives FDA orphan drug designation for liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders

International biotechnology firm Cytonet, which is investigating a liver cell infusion of donated human liver cells for the treatment of urea cycle disorders in young children, announced it has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

18 May 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $2.7 million for first quarter 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading developer of therapeutics that target galectin proteins to treat fibrosis and cancer, today reported its financial results for the first quarter, ended March 31, 2011.

13 May 2011

AGA's cutting-edge research on GI disorders to be presented at DDW 2011

Clinicians, researchers and scientists from around the world will gather for Digestive Disease Week- 2011, the largest and most prestigious gastroenterology meeting, from May 7-10, 2011, at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

7 May 2011

Five Loyola employees donate kidneys to complete strangers

Loyola University Medical Center is believed to be the first organization in the country, and perhaps the world, in which five employees have each donated kidneys to complete strangers with no strings attached.

28 Apr 2011

Panel speakers to discuss hepatitis C prevention, treatment at Mayes College event

Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at University of the Sciences is hosting a panel discussion on hepatitis C prevention and treatment, on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m.

28 Apr 2011

Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may help treat genetic liver-lung disorder

Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may work in treating a genetic liver-lung disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, according to an animal study in the April 18 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

22 Apr 2011

Quest Diagnostics launches AccuType IL28B test for HCV

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced the availability of its AccuType® IL28B test for aiding in the prediction of patient response to peginterferon alpha-based therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

From Quest Diagnostics 18 Apr 2011

Cytonet initiates clinical trial using liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders in children

International biotechnology firm Cytonet recently launched the first ever clinical trial in the United States using an investigational liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders (UCD) in children. The first patient in the Phase II trial, which will seek to enroll 20 patients in 12 medical centers, is a child with citrullinemia, which is a hereditary UCD. He received six liver cell infusions on six consecutive days at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

15 Apr 2011

HALT-C trial reveals high mortality rates among patients with HCV

A three-year follow-up study of patients in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis trial revealed that increased mortality among patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C who received long-term peginterferon therapy was attributed to non-liver related causes and occurred primarily in patients with bridging fibrosis.

8 Apr 2011

Increased mortality rates seen in chronic Hep C patients with pre-cirrhotic advanced fibrosis

A three-year follow-up study of patients in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial revealed that increased mortality among patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C who received long-term peginterferon therapy was attributed to non-liver related causes and occurred primarily in patients with bridging fibrosis. No pattern to this excess mortality was evident to researchers, but deaths were unrelated to the peginterferon treatment. Full findings are published in the April issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

7 Apr 2011