Liver Transplant News and Research

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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.

Researchers to study multi-faceted approaches to address issues of burnout in transplant surgeons

Despite saving thousands of lives yearly, nearly half of organ transplant surgeons report a low sense of personal accomplishment and 40% feel emotionally exhausted, according to a new national study on transplant surgeon burnout.

29 Jul 2014

New pill-only antiviral drug regimens could cure hardest-to-treat hepatitis C

Two new pill-only antiviral drug regimens could provide shorter, more effective treatment options with fewer side effects for the majority of patients infected with hepatitis C, even those most difficult to treat, according to the results of two studies published in The Lancet.

29 Jul 2014

Envarsus gets marketing authorization from EC for treatment of kidney and liver transplant patients

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S and Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for Envarsus for the prevention of organ rejection in adult kidney and liver transplant patients in the European Union.

28 Jul 2014

Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Health approves hepatitis C drug telaprevir

The Chemistry, Food & Drugs Division of the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Health approved the introduction of Telaprevir to the market, an innovative therapy that significantly increases the cure rate from Hepatitis C, and it is indicated for patients infected with the genotype 1 virus. Telaprevir is available in Trinidad under the trade brand INCIVO®.

26 Jul 2014

Highlights: Calif. nurse union in contract fight; personhood measure in Colo.; Md. transgender coverage

But this is no church service, and nurses are not here to worship. The California Nurses Association is rousing its troops for battle. California's powerful nurses' union will begin bargaining next week with Kaiser Permanente on a new four-year contract for nurses at its Northern California hospitals. (Kaiser Health News is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.) Kaiser operates the largest hospital system in the state, by number of hospitals and number of hospital beds, and is the eighth largest health system in the country (Dembosky, 7/22).

24 Jul 2014

Tackling hepatitis C: an interview with Gaston Picchio, Global Hepatitis Disease Area Leader at Janssen

Gaston Picchio outlines the major findings of the recent report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): ‘Tackling hepatitis C: Moving towards an integrated policy approach’

23 Jul 2014

Many liver transplant patients want to be involved in the decision of whether to accept the organ

A novel study reveals that more than half of liver transplant patients want to be informed of donor risk at the time a liver is offered for transplantation. Nearly 80% of those patients want to be involved in the decision of whether or not to accept the organ according to findings published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society.

15 Jul 2014

Paracetamol safety and osteoarthritis: an interview with Professor David Hunter, University of Sydney

Firstly, paracetamol has been the first-line recommended treatment for osteoarthritis pain for very many years and, secondly, it is readily available over the counter and can be bought in relatively large quantities.

15 Jul 2014

Telemedicine could improve quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases

Although telemedicine could improve the quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases, viable home care systems are still lacking. Scientists working on the EU-project "d-LIVER" mean to remedy this situation. Initial results have now been released.

9 Jul 2014

Alcoholic liver disease: an interview with Dr Vinood Patel, University of Westminster

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also in the UK. As its name indicates this disease arises due to consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (80 g/day) over an extended period, normally 10-20 years.

24 Jun 2014

State highlights: State retiree benefit shortfalls; health data claims and cost

A selection of health policy stories from California, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Virginia, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, Washington state, Connecticut, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.

18 Jun 2014

State highlights: Rural telemedicine; two Iowa planned parenthoods closed

A selection of health policy stories from South Dakota, Washington state, Iowa, Arizona and Georgia. Fifty years in farming had given Tom Soukup a few brushes with his own mortality, but after a cow pinned him against a wall, death felt closer than ever.

9 Jun 2014

DNA-directed RNA interference and hepatitis C: an interview with Carl Stubbings, Chief Business Officer, Benitec Biopharma

RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring process, which cells can use to silence, or ‘turn off’ unwanted genes.

From Quest Diagnostics 19 May 2014

Comer Children's Hospital offers high-dose radiation therapy for relapsed neuroblastoma

The University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital has become the first in Illinois to offer pioneering, targeted, high-dose, intravenous radiation therapy for relapsed neuroblastoma and other difficult-to-treat cancers.

9 May 2014

uEtG accurately detects alcohol consumption in liver transplant candidates and recipients

Researchers from Italy confirm that urinary ethyl glucuronide (uEtG) accurately detects alcohol consumption in liver transplant candidates and recipients.

9 May 2014

Hepatocellular carcinoma on the rise among Mexican Americans

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the primary cancer of the liver, is on the verge of becoming an epidemic among Mexican Americans, especially in Texas.

8 May 2014

Janssen submits sNDA to FDA for simeprevir in combination with sofosbuvir for treatment of HCV genotype 1 infection

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen) today announced it has submitted a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for simeprevir, an NS3/4A protease inhibitor marketed as OLYSIO™ in the United States, in combination with the nucleotide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir developed by Gilead Sciences, Inc.

8 May 2014

Liver cancer screening in cirrhosis patients improves survival rates

Liver cancer survival rates could be improved if more people with cirrhosis are screened for tumors using inexpensive ultrasound scans and blood tests, according to a review by doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

6 May 2014

Stool color guide and free mobile app help diagnose liver-ravaging disorder in babies

Fecal color and consistency are well-known markers of digestive health in both children and adults, but paying attention to a newborn's shade of poop can be a decided lifesaver in babies born with the rare, liver-ravaging disorder biliary atresia, commonly heralded by white or clay-colored stool.

22 Apr 2014

New parents need to pay attention to baby’s poop color, say pediatric gastroenterologists

Fecal color and consistency are well-known markers of digestive health in both children and adults, but paying attention to a newborn’s shade of poop can be a decided lifesaver in babies born with the rare, liver-ravaging disorder biliary atresia, commonly heralded by white or clay-colored stool.

18 Apr 2014