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.

Combination therapy effective in HCV patients with advanced cirrhosis and post-transplant recurrence

Phase 3 results presented today at The International Liver Congress 2015 show that a combination of daclatasvir (DCV), sofosbuvir (SOF) and ribavirin (RBV) for 12 weeks was effective and well tolerated amongst patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with advanced cirrhosis and post-transplant recurrence.

27 Apr 2015

New data supports use DAAs in patients with HCV recurrence following liver transplantation

New data presented today at The International Liver Congress 2015, supports the use of sofosbuvir (SOF)- and daclatasvir (DCV)-based regimens in patients with recurrence of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) following liver transplantation (LT).

25 Apr 2015

AUDs have negative prognostic outcome with higher mortality risks in patients with HCV infection

Results presented today at The International Liver Congress 2015, show that alcohol use disorders (AUD) have a serious, negative prognostic outcome with higher mortality risks in the general population and patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in particular.

25 Apr 2015

Recommended alcoholic hepatitis treatments fail to increase patients' survival

The main drugs used to treat alcoholic hepatitis are not effective at increasing patients' survival, a major study has found. In a trial of over 1,000 patients, prednisolone and pentoxifylline, treatments recommended in international guidelines, did not achieve a statistically significant reduction in mortality after 28 days, 90 days or a year.

24 Apr 2015

Study: Combination therapy shows high SVR rates in HCV patients with decompensated liver disease

Results presented today at The International Liver Congress 2015 show that the use of the fixed-dose combination of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) was well tolerated and demonstrated high sustained virologic response rates 12 weeks post treatment (SVR12) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who have decompensated liver disease (cirrhosis) or have undergone liver transplantation.

23 Apr 2015

Civacir can effectively prevent HCV recurrence following liver transplants

New data from an ongoing Phase III trial revealed today at The International Liver Congress 2015 show that the use of hepatitis C immune globulin (HCIG, Civacir) can effectively prevent hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence in patients following a liver transplant (LT).

23 Apr 2015

New Detroit-designed hospital gown moves from creative concept to patient's bedside

Model G - the new Detroit-designed hospital gown that finally closes the drafty, embarrassing backside - has moved from creative concept to the patient's bedside, with more than 35,000 gowns rolling out this month throughout Henry Ford Health System's hospitals.

17 Apr 2015

Study explores the impact of costly hepatitis C drugs on Rhode Island's prison system

A new study finds that effective new hepatitis C drugs are so expensive the state of Rhode Island would have to spend almost twice its entire prison health budget to treat all its chronically infected inmates.

10 Apr 2015

Phase 2 IMAGO trial of SHP625 fails to meet primary endpoints in pediatric patients with ALGS

Shire plc today announced that the 13-week Phase 2 IMAGO trial of its investigational compound SHP625 (LUM001) did not meet the primary or secondary endpoints in the study of 20 pediatric patients with Alagille syndrome (ALGS), a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder that presents with chronic cholestasis (accumulation of bile acids in the liver) and severe pruritus (itching).

9 Apr 2015

Study: Standard nursing assessments may help improve outcomes in cirrhosis patients

Patients hospitalized with advanced cirrhosis, a chronic and degenerative disease of the liver, are at increased risk of death. The tools currently used to assess that risk are limited in predicting which patients will need a liver transplant and which will be healthy enough to survive transplantation.

8 Apr 2015

New simeprevir clinical data to be presented at EASL's International Liver Congress 2015

Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, today announced that clinical data for simeprevir, its NS3/4A protease inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, will be presented at The International Liver Congress 2015 of the European Association for the Study of the Liver taking place in Vienna from April 22-26.

8 Apr 2015

FGF21 protein can boost regenerative effects of human PPARα

Researchers at UC Davis have illuminated an important distinction between mice and humans: how human livers heal. The difference centers on a protein called PPARα, which activates liver regeneration. Normally, mouse PPARα is far more active and efficient than the human form, allowing mice to quickly regenerate damaged livers.

1 Apr 2015

OTC medications, dietary and herbal supplements cause drug-induced acute liver failure

Drug-induced acute liver failure is uncommon, and over-the-counter medications and dietary and herbal supplements -- not prescription drugs -- are its most common causes, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Mar 2015

Many organ transplant surgeons in U.S. experience burnout

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 national study on transplant surgeon burnout.

27 Feb 2015

Betaretrovirus may infect patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

In a new study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry have shown that a betaretrovirus which resembles a mouse mammary tumor virus infects patients with the rare liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

20 Feb 2015

Rutgers patient gets second chance at life following liver transplant

Mati Muñoz is 65 years old - filled with the enthusiastic energy that comes with a second chance at life. A decade ago, says Muñoz, who lives in Woodbridge Township, N.J., her liver was being destroyed by hepatitis C, a viral disease she believes she contracted as a girl in her native Cuba from a poorly sterilized needle used in a medical procedure.

17 Feb 2015

AbbVie gets European Commission's approval to market VIEKIRAX + EXVIERA for HCV treatment

AbbVie announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorizations for its all-oral, short-course, interferon-free treatment of VIEKIRAX (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir tablets) + EXVIERA (dasabuvir tablets). The treatment has been approved with or without ribavirin (RBV) for patients with genotype 1 (GT1) chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including those with compensated liver cirrhosis, HIV-1 co-infection, patients on opioid substitution therapy and liver transplant recipients.

16 Jan 2015

Researchers develop novel method to predict risk of liver cancer recurrence after transplantation

UCLA transplantation researchers have developed a novel method that more accurately calculates the risk of disease recurrence in liver cancer patients who have undergone a liver transplant, providing a new tool to help physicians make treatment and surveillance decisions.

14 Jan 2015

Abbvie’s HOLKIRA PAK for chronic genotype 1 Hepatitis C treatment receives Health Canada approval

AbbVie receives Health Canada approval for HOLKIRA PAK (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir film-coated tablets; dasabuvir film-coated tablets), an all-oral, short-course (12 weeks for the majority of patients), interferon-free treatment, with or without ribavirin (RBV), for the treatment of patients with genotype 1 (GT1) chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including those with cirrhosis.

23 Dec 2014

FDA approves AbbVie's VIEKIRA PAK for treatment of patients with GT1 HCV infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved AbbVie's VIEKIRA PAK, an all-oral, interferon-free treatment, with or without ribavirin (RBV), for the treatment of patients with chronic genotype 1 (GT1) hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including those with compensated cirrhosis.

21 Dec 2014