Liver Transplant News and Research

RSS

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.

Alberta Children's Hospital performs first liver cell transplant in Calgary, Canada

A three-month-old Winnipeg girl has become the first patient in Canada to receive an experimental and potentially life-saving form of therapy to improve the function of her liver.

29 Nov 2012

Longer looks: Are 'pods' the solution to our long-term care crisis?; A Liver transplant in the nick of time; Pro-life activists and the abortion drop

In November 2006, when Clara Marshall began suffering from the effects of dementia, her family moved her into ... an assisted living home in Vancouver, Wash. ... just five months into her stay, Ms. Marshall, 81, was found dead in her room apparently strangled after getting her neck caught in side rails used to prevent her from rolling out of bed.

29 Nov 2012

Liver disease therapies: an interview with Eric Halioua, CEO of Promethera Biosciences

Liver disease is a very broad family of diseases. There are two main categories of liver disease:

27 Nov 2012

PBS documentary explores stories and science behind organ donation and transplantation

Transplant: A Gift for Life -- a one-hour, Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary that includes Mayo Clinic transplant patients, their families, and doctors -- will be distributed to public television stations nationwide this month. On Nov. 8, more than 60 PBS stations will air the program simultaneously through the PBS World channel, and many other PBS stations will air the program at various times (check local listings) over the next three years.

8 Nov 2012

Ethical issues in organ transplantation

The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics will focus its 24th Annual Dorothy J. MacLean Fellows Conference on ethical issues in organ transplantation and other broader ethical topics, including global health, pediatric immunization and end-of-life care.

8 Nov 2012

Liver transplant waitlist mortality not simply due to lack of donor organs: Study

The majority of patients on the liver transplant waitlist who died received offers of high-quality donated livers that were declined prior to their death, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Therefore, efforts other than simply increasing the availability of donated livers or the number of offers are needed to substantially reduce the deaths among those waiting for a transplant.

7 Nov 2012

Living liver donors have QoL advantage

Living liver donors have a better quality of life than the general population, show the results of a Japanese study.

5 Nov 2012

Developing comorbid conditions post-liver transplant reduces donor quality of life

Researchers in Japan report that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for donors following living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was better than the general Japanese population (the norm). This study—one of the largest to date—found that donors who developed two or more medical problems (co-morbidities) after donation had significantly decreased long-term HRQOL.

2 Nov 2012

Nitisinone treatment effectively prevents tyrosinemia in children

A consortium of Quebec researchers coordinated by the Medical Genetics Service of the Sainte-Justine UHC has just published the findings of a 25-year study on the treatment of tyrosinemia, a life-threatening liver disease of genetic origin, which is screened at birth in the province of Quebec, where it is much more frequent than anywhere else in the world.

1 Nov 2012

Transplant wait-list deaths not just due to organ availability: Study

Most liver transplant candidates who died or were removed from the transplant list actually received one or more liver donation offers, according to a recent UCSF study.

23 Oct 2012

Clinical trial to study immunosuppressant tacrolimus against generics

A new study at the University of Cincinnati seeks to end the questions over generic-vs.-brand for a common immunosuppressive drug for transplant patients, tacrolimus.

20 Oct 2012

Early communication strategies improve end of liver transplant patients’ lives

A multidisciplinary communication intervention involving physicians and family members of liver transplant patients treated in surgical intensive care units can improve end-of-life care, show study results.

9 Oct 2012

UC Medicine nurses to administer free flu shots to licensed taxicab drivers at O'Hare Midway

As part of an initiative to vaccinate some of Chicago's most vulnerable populations, University of Chicago Medicine nurses will administer free flu shots to licensed taxicab drivers at O'Hare International Airport on Tuesday, Sept. 25, and at Midway International Airport the following Tuesday, Oct. 2. Up to 1,000 cabbies could be vaccinated over the two days.

25 Sep 2012

Astellas seeks FDA approval for tacrolimus NDA for prophylaxis of organ rejection

Astellas Pharma US, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval for tacrolimus extended release capsules for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult kidney transplant recipients and adult male liver transplant recipients.

24 Sep 2012

UMDNJ, Proteonomix to conduct UMK-121 Phase 1 trial in end-stage liver disease

Proteonomix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics based upon the use of human cells and their derivatives, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Piscataway, N.J.-based University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) to conducted a Phase 1 clinical trial with its proprietary, patent-pending mobilization technology UMK-121 in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD).

15 Sep 2012

Researchers identify three genetic regions associated with primary biliary cirrhosis

Researchers have newly identified three genetic regions associated with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), the most common autoimmune liver disease, increasing the number of known regions associated with the disorder to 25.

10 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: The importance of hepatitis C testing; Medicaid needs to provide coverage for circumcision

I consider myself to be a fortunate person. I have a good education, a great job and excellent health insurance. I am a baby boomer who has aged reasonably well and can look forward to a fairly comfortable retirement. I am also fortunate because I was diagnosed with hepatitis C by a proactive and knowledgeable doctor in the late 1990s and had the opportunity to be treated and cured. The odds are that if I had not been diagnosed and treated, I would be on a liver transplant list right now, have liver cancer or even be dead from this disease.

22 Aug 2012

Researchers identify molecular and protein signatures that predict HCV virus-induced liver injury

Researchers have discovered molecular and protein signatures that predict rapid onset of liver damage in hepatitis C patients following a liver transplant. The markers appeared soon after transplant and well before clinical evidence of liver damage.

17 Aug 2012

Assumptions about liver transplant wait-list mortality challenged

The majority of liver patients who die on, or are removed from, the transplant wait-list have declined an offer of transplant, show the findings of an American study.

6 Aug 2012

TAT-ARC fusion protein helps treat acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening disease, characterized by a sudden, massive death of liver cells. Unfortunately, few treatment options exist, especially for advanced-stage liver failure. As a last resort a liver transplant may be the only remaining option.

3 Aug 2012