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.

New data from descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis

New data from a descriptive sub-analysis of patients with compensated liver cirrhosis show that up to 43 percent of genotype-1a (GT1a) and up to 71 percent of GT1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients achieved sustained viral response (SVR12). SVR12 has been highly correlated with SVR24, which is a recognized indicator of viral cure.

20 Apr 2012

New data provides hope for HCV non-responders

New data from a number of clinical trials presented for the first time at the International Liver Congress- 2012 provides hope for previously difficult to treat hepatitis C (HCV) patient populations.

20 Apr 2012

Final results from MSD’s VICTRELIS plus PEGINTRON Phase III trial on HCV treatment-related anemia

MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, announced final results from a Phase III, open-label study designed to compare the impact of two anaemia management strategies on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection treated with VICTRELIS(boceprevir) in combination with PEGINTRON and ribavirin.

20 Apr 2012

EASL publishes new clinical practice guideline on ALD

EASL today announced the publication of a new clinical practice guideline (CPG) in the area of Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD), bringing the number of CPGs published to date to eight.

19 Apr 2012

Scientists discover new anti-HCV antibodies

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has found antibodies that can prevent infection from widely differing strains of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in cell culture and animal models.

4 Apr 2012

Galectin Therapeutics fourth quarter net loss increases to $3.7 million

Galectin Therapeutics Inc., the leading developer of therapeutics that target galectin proteins to treat fibrosis and cancer, today reported its financial results for the full year and fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2011.

31 Mar 2012

Study calls for re-examination of criteria used to prioritize liver transplant candidates

Patients with end-stage liver disease complicated by the most common type of liver cancer - hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - are less likely to die or become too sick for a transplant while waiting for a new liver than those with other complications of end-stage liver disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Mar 2012

HCC patients have reduced risk of waitlist mortality

New research shows increasing disparity in mortality among candidates with and without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are on the waiting list for liver transplantation. The study available in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found that liver cancer patients are less likely to die on the wait list than non-HCC candidates, prompting transplantation specialists to suggest a reevaluation of current allotment criteria for those with HCC.

23 Mar 2012

Bevacizumab drug improves cardiac output in patients with HHT

In a small study that included 25 patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (a genetic disorder that leads to abnormalities of blood vessels) and severe liver involvement with this disease, patients who received the drug bevacizumab had improved cardiac output and a reduction in the duration and number of episodes of nose bleeds, a potentially life-threatening complication for patients with this disorder, according to a study in the March 7 issue of JAMA.

6 Mar 2012

Sun-dried tomatoes may be contaminated with hepatitis A virus: Officials warn

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said two confirmed cases of the infection had been found to have an identical strain to three cases reported in England and confirmed at HPA Colindale in 2010. Both people had recently eaten sun-dried tomatoes.

5 Mar 2012

Scientists discover how to enhance production of hepatocytes to repair damaged liver tissue

Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease.

4 Mar 2012

Ultrasound-based TE more accurate in detecting hepatic fibrosis

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic confirm that ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) provides excellent diagnostic accuracy for detecting cirrhosis due to recurrent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection following liver transplantation.

1 Mar 2012

New method can predict whether Tylenol-poisoning patients need liver transplant

University of Utah mathematicians developed a set of calculus equations to make it easier for doctors to save Tylenol overdose patients by quickly estimating how much painkiller they took, when they consumed it and whether they will require a liver transplant to survive.

27 Feb 2012

Cirrhosis patients with low musle mass more apt to die

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed the medical records of more than 100 patients who had a liver scarring condition and discovered those who were losing muscle were more apt to die while waiting for a liver transplant. These cirrhosis patients were placed at a lower spot on the transplant list because they had a higher functioning liver and were seemingly less sick than others with the same condition, based on scoring systems physicians commonly use today.

8 Feb 2012

First European CPGs for diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease

The first European Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease are published today by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on the EASL website.

7 Feb 2012

Enrollment opens in sorafenib vs. radioembolization in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma trial

'SARAH' - a French national collaborative randomized controlled trial of radioembolization with yttrium-90 resin microspheres versus sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma is now open for recruitment

3 Feb 2012

Rituximab shows promise against primary biliary cirrhosis

An open-label study of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody for human CD20, was shown to be safe in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) who had an incomplete response to the standard ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) therapy, also known as Ursodiol.

3 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa reconsiders lawmakers' benefits

Two bills introduced in the Iowa House last week would curtail benefits for lawmakers. ... House File 2118 also removes per diem and daily allowances from inclusion in lawmakers' pension calculations, but also requires members and employees of the General Assembly to pay a portion of their health-insurance premiums. That premium payment would have to be at least $100 a month.

1 Feb 2012

Majority of children can safely quit anti-rejection drugs after liver transplant from parents

Physicians at three transplant centers have found in a pilot study that a majority of children who receive liver tissue from a parent can eventually stop using immunosuppression (anti-rejection) medications safely. These drugs, which tamp down natural immune function, have been linked to a bevy of complications, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure.

1 Feb 2012

CPET measurement predicts mortality in patients following liver transplantation

Researchers from the U.K. determined that preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a specific predictor of 90-day survival following liver transplantation.

1 Feb 2012