Liver Disease News and Research

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The liver is one of the largest solid organs of the body. It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen. Most of the organ lies under cover of the rib cage.

Blocking liver enzyme Caspase-2 may increase long-term cancer risk

Scientists have discovered that blocking a key cellular enzyme thought to protect against fatty liver disease may instead increase the risk of chronic liver damage and cancer as we age.

13 Jan 2026

Specific gut bacteria found to drive alcohol production in patients with auto-brewery syndrome

Researchers at University of California San Diego, Mass General Brigham, and their colleagues have identified specific gut bacteria and metabolic pathways that drive alcohol production in patients with auto-brewery syndrome (ABS).

8 Jan 2026

Genetic study reveals how DNA repeats expand with age

An analysis of genetic data from over 900,000 people shows that certain stretches of DNA, made up of short sequences repeated over and over, become longer and more unstable as we age.

7 Jan 2026

Forever chemicals linked to higher liver disease risk in adolescents

A new study co-led by the Southern California Superfund Research and Training Program for PFAS Assessment, Remediation and Prevention (ShARP) Center and the University of Hawai'i has linked certain common "forever chemicals" to a higher risk of liver disease in adolescents.

6 Jan 2026

Prediabetes prevalence doubles over two decades in Finnish children with obesity

The prevalence of prediabetes has increased significantly in recent years among Finnish children living with overweight or obesity, a recent study by Tampere University and the University of Eastern Finland shows.

30 Dec 2025

Discovery of fat-regulating enzyme points to a new obesity therapy

Obesity is a global epidemic and a major cause of morbidity and mortality because it increases the risk for comorbidities, including heart disease and fatty liver disease (MASLD).

23 Dec 2025

Fatty diets reprogram hepatocytes and increase liver cancer risk

One of the biggest risk factors for developing liver cancer is a high-fat diet. A new study from MIT reveals how a fatty diet rewires liver cells and makes them more prone to becoming cancerous.

22 Dec 2025

Declining religious participation linked to rising deaths of despair

A decline in religious participation among middle-aged, less educated white Americans may have played a role in the widely noted increases in "deaths of despair," a new study finds.

19 Dec 2025

New CPRIT awards expand cancer prevention and treatment research in South Texas

UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), received nearly $3 million in new academic and prevention awards as part of the latest funding round announced by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

19 Dec 2025

Scientists unravel how citrin deficiency can trigger fat buildup in the liver even in lean individuals

Scientists at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. and a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, have unraveled how citrin deficiency (CD), a rare genetic disorder that prevents the liver from converting food into energy efficiently, can trigger fat buildup in the liver - even in lean individuals.

18 Dec 2025

ECG-based AI model doubles early liver disease diagnoses

As rates of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea increase, cases of advanced chronic liver disease and resulting liver scarring or cirrhosis also are rising. Patients often are diagnosed based on symptoms, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, fluid retention or jaundice, which happen when liver disease has progressed to a late stage.

17 Dec 2025

Alcohol-related liver disease deaths surge with widening socioeconomic gaps

Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine say deaths from alcohol-related liver disease have surged in recent years, and the increase is hitting people without a college degree the hardest.

16 Dec 2025

Global leaders adopt political declaration to combat NCDs and mental health challenges

Leaders from across the world at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have adopted the political declaration to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges through a fully integrated approach.

16 Dec 2025

High fructose intake increases fatty liver risk

Excessive fructose intake from soft drinks is linked to liver damage and NAFLD. Lifestyle modifications are essential for effective prevention and treatment.

16 Dec 2025

Frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption influence cancer risk

As Americans gear up for the holiday season, new research offers a timely reminder to reflect on the long-term health effects of raising a celebratory glass – or two.

11 Dec 2025

NYS Medical Cannabis Program reduces chronic pain patients' reliance on opioids

Adults with chronic pain who participated in New York State's (NYS) Medical Cannabis Program were significantly less likely to require prescription opioids, according to a new study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System.

8 Dec 2025

In RFK Jr.’s upside-down world of vaccines, panel votes to end hepatitis B shot at birth

Recent weeks have brought good news about vaccines, with studies indicating that flu vaccination reduces heart disease, shingles vaccines can prevent or slow dementia, and a single human papilloma virus shot protects a girl from cervical cancer for the rest of her life.

5 Dec 2025

Most Americans still back early hepatitis B vaccination despite policy debate

On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), whose members were handpicked by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary and vaccination critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is scheduled to determine whether it should recommend that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) change the recommendation in place since 1991 that newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B.

5 Dec 2025

Sugar alcohol sorbitol may increase the risk of developing steatotic liver disease

Sweeteners such as aspartame, found in Equal packets, sucralose (Splenda), or sugar alcohols are often seen as healthier alternatives to food with refined sugar (glucose).

3 Dec 2025

RFK Jr. wants to delay the hepatitis B vaccine. Here’s what parents need to know.

Working out of a tribal-owned hospital in Anchorage, Alaska, liver specialist Brian McMahon has spent decades treating the long shadow of hepatitis B. Before a vaccine became available in the 1980s, he saw the virus claim young lives in western Alaskan communities with stunning speed.

2 Dec 2025