Hepatology News and Research

RSS

Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas as well as management of their disorders.

Perioperative oral dietary supplements before elective surgery offers no functional benefit

Blood glucose levels in a lot of patients fed normal liquid food (NLF) and a high calorie diet (HCD) were high. There was no significant difference in the blood prealbumin levels. There was a significant increase in the blood cortisol levels in some patients. The stress of surgery may be tolerated by children by feeding up to 2 h before elective surgery.

29 Oct 2009

Study: Short-term use of COX-2 inhibitors may help prevent gastric cancer

Elevated expression of COX-2 is observed in a wide variety of human malignancies, including gastric cancer. Long-term high dose COX-2 inhibitors can inhibit gastric carcinogenesis in animal models, but the possible life-threatening cardiovascular adverse events limit its popular application. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the optimal intervention point of COX-2 inhibitors for inhibiting H. pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis.

29 Oct 2009

Lifestyle and genetic factors are considered to play a major role in "Asian paradox"

Although Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been classified as a class I (or definite) carcinogen by World Health Organization (WHO), the controversy as to why only a minority of infected patients develop gastric cancer still remains. Moreover, in Asian countries such as Indonesia, Japan, China, and Thailand, where the H. pylori infection rates are similar, there is a significant difference regarding the outcome of gastric cancer. That fact has been termed the "Asian paradox".

29 Oct 2009

Barrett's esophagus patients are at no greater risk of dying from esophageal cancer

New Mayo Clinic research has found that survival rates of patients with Barrett's esophagus, which can be a precursor for esophageal cancer, are no different than the survival rates for the general population. These findings were presented today at the 2009 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Meeting in San Diego.

28 Oct 2009

Hyperion Therapeutics enrolls first patient in HPN-100 phase III clinical trial for urea cycle disorders

Hyperion Therapeutics today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its pivotal phase III clinical trial of investigational compound HPN-100 (glycerol phenylbutyrate). The 4-week, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study is designed to evaluate the non-inferiority of glycerol phenylbutyrate to BUPHENYL® (sodium phenylbutyrate) Tablets and Powder in adults with urea cycle disorders.

27 Oct 2009

GI Solutions to conduct new incision-free procedure for GERD patients

Chicago woman will be among the first in the country to undergo a new incision-less, endoscopic procedure that could get rid of Gastrointestinal Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) forever.

27 Oct 2009

Barrett's esophagus patients are at no greater risk of dying than the rest of the population

New Mayo Clinic research has found that survival rates of patients with Barrett's esophagus, (http://www.mayoclinic.org/barretts-esophagus/) which can be a precursor for esophageal cancer, are no different than the survival rates for the general population. These findings were presented today at the 2009 American College of Gastroenterology (http://www.acg.gi.org/) (ACG) Annual Meeting in San Diego.

27 Oct 2009

Stomach infection on the rise in outpatient settings; symptoms can range from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a sometimes deadly stomach bug, Clostridium difficile, (http://www.mayoclinic.org/c-difficile/) is on the rise in outpatient settings.

27 Oct 2009

Researchers elucidate the effect of nutritional parameters in long-term PPI therapy

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common esophageal disorder, and frequently encountered in the primary care setting. Accumulating evidence has confirmed the excellent efficacy and safety of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy in patients with all grades of GERD, making these agents the mainstay of treatment.

24 Oct 2009

Emodin raises hope for treatment of fibrotic liver diseases

In the last decade, advances in the understanding of genes promoting hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation are impressive. However, there are few breakthroughs in therapeutic intervention of hepatic fibrogenesis. Efficient and well-tolerated antifibrotic drugs are lacking and current treatment of hepatic fibrosis is limited to withdrawal of the noxious agent. Research identifying innocuous antifibrotic agents is of high priority and urgently needed.

24 Oct 2009

Researchers find link between hepatic steatosis and carotid lesions

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is often caused by abdominal obesity, which is also one of the main causes of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. The latter, in turn, is an important cardiovascular risk factor, and has been found to be associated with the presence of carotid atherosclerotic lesions.

24 Oct 2009

Researchers question the necessity of duodenal biopsy for celiac disease diagnosis

Duodenal biopsy remains the gold standard for celiac disease (CD) diagnosis. However, it has several pitfalls and requires an invasive procedure in children. In the past few years, a more prominent role for a definitive diagnosis based solely on serology has been proposed. The predictive value of high levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibodies has also been reported in retrospective CD cohorts.

24 Oct 2009

Study paves way for the creation of a stem cell library

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, paves the way for the creation of a stem cell library that can be used for in vitro hepatic disease models.

21 Oct 2009

Markers that cause primary liver cancer identified

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer forms in the epithelial tissue of the liver and is most commonly caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the U.S., the National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 15,000 men and 6,000 women are diagnosed with HCC each year.

21 Oct 2009

Patients with chronic hepatitis C can benefit by drinking coffee

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who drink three or more cups of coffee per day have a 53% lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers according to a new study led by Neal Freedman, Ph.D., MPH, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

20 Oct 2009

Encorium Group raises $1.6 million through private placement

Encorium Group, Inc., a full-service multinational contract research organization (CRO) that provides design, development, and management capabilities for clinical trials and patient registries to many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, today announced that it has completed a private placement of 3,937,500 shares of its common stock with a private investor for an aggregate purchase price of $1,575,000, or $.40 per share.

19 Oct 2009

Research study on EGFR and HER2 expressions in BTC

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are involved in the carcinogenesis of many malignancies. Therapeutic molecules targeting EGFR and HER2 have been successfully used for the treatment of colorectal, breast, lung and head and neck cancers among others.

19 Oct 2009

Chrysanthemum indicum extract holds promise for treating human cancer

A series of studies have demonstrated that Chrysanthemum indicum possesses antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects. Recently, much attention has been devoted to the anticancer activity of Chrysanthemum indicum, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its anticancer mechanism of action is still not clear and needs further investigation.

19 Oct 2009

Immune-related proteins are potential drug targets for gastric inflammation and cancer

A research team from South Korea studied the complex reaction of gastric inflammation induced by Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in a systematic manner using a protein interaction network. Their study will be published on September 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

19 Oct 2009

Research study reveals SFSGD in EGD individuals with GRBWR below 0.8%

Small-for-size graft dysfunction (SFSGD) following living-related liver transplantation (LRLT) is characterized by early graft dysfunction (EGD) when the graft-to-recipient body weight ratio (GRBWR) is below 0.8%.

19 Oct 2009

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Perioperative oral dietary supplements before elective surgery offers no functional benefit

Study: Short-term use of COX-2 inhibitors may help prevent gastric cancer

Lifestyle and genetic factors are considered to play a major role in "Asian paradox"

Barrett's esophagus patients are at no greater risk of dying from esophageal cancer

Hyperion Therapeutics enrolls first patient in HPN-100 phase III clinical trial for urea cycle disorders

GI Solutions to conduct new incision-free procedure for GERD patients

Barrett's esophagus patients are at no greater risk of dying than the rest of the population

Stomach infection on the rise in outpatient settings; symptoms can range from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation

Researchers elucidate the effect of nutritional parameters in long-term PPI therapy

Emodin raises hope for treatment of fibrotic liver diseases

Researchers find link between hepatic steatosis and carotid lesions

Researchers question the necessity of duodenal biopsy for celiac disease diagnosis

Study paves way for the creation of a stem cell library

Markers that cause primary liver cancer identified

Patients with chronic hepatitis C can benefit by drinking coffee

Encorium Group raises $1.6 million through private placement

Research study on EGFR and HER2 expressions in BTC

Chrysanthemum indicum extract holds promise for treating human cancer

Immune-related proteins are potential drug targets for gastric inflammation and cancer

Research study reveals SFSGD in EGD individuals with GRBWR below 0.8%

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Latest News