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.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing may predict post-liver transplantation survival

Researchers from the U.K. determined that preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is a specific predictor of 90-day survival following liver transplantation. Study results available in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, shows that the CPET measurement—the anaerobic threshold or fitness level—significantly predicts mortality in patients post-transplantation.

31 Jan 2012

Study: Live liver donor transplantation safer than previously believed

People who donate a portion of their livers for transplant to a relative or friend whose liver is failing can generally expect to live long, healthy lives and recover safely from the donation surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers have found.

27 Jan 2012

Major surgery to donate a portion of liver does not interfere with long, healthy life

26 Jan 2012

Cholesterol receptor allows entry of HCV virus into human liver cells

A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

24 Jan 2012

Study examines effect of MELD score-based allocation on post-liver transplant kidney failure

Research from the University of Michigan Health System shows the risk for kidney failure among liver transplant recipients is higher following the implementation of Model of End Stage Liver Disease (MELD), a policy change in 2002 that altered how liver transplant allocation is decided.

18 Jan 2012

New way to block HCV infection in the liver

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found a new way to block infection from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the liver that could lead to new therapies for those affected by this and other infectious diseases.

17 Jan 2012

Precise diagnostic algorithm for fibrosis in HCV patients reduces need for liver biopsy

A new classification for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown to be as accurate as currently used algorithms, but required no further liver biopsy.

11 Jan 2012

New fibrosis classification improves accuracy of diagnosis in Hepatitis C

A new classification for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown to be as accurate as currently used algorithms, but required no further liver biopsy. The study appearing in the January issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, details a method that synchronously combines two fibrosis tests, providing a non-invasive and more precise fibrosis diagnosis.

10 Jan 2012

Isis announces results from ISIS-TTRRx Phase 1 study on TTR amyloidosis

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today results from a Phase 1 study with ISIS-TTRRx. The results demonstrated that treatment with ISIS-TTRRx produced dose-dependent statistically significant reductions of greater than 80 percent in transthyretin (TTR) protein.

6 Jan 2012

Children with biliary atresia better tolerate maternal liver grafts

Children with a rare, life-threatening disease that is the most common cause of neonatal liver failure - biliary atresia - better tolerate liver transplants from their mothers than from their fathers, according to a UCSF-led study.

4 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Wyden and Ryan on their Medicare plan; Frist on the need for international health aid

Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc, and both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of exploiting Medicare to frighten and entice voters. But turning discussions of Medicare's future into the third rail of American politics does nothing to guarantee that Medicare will continue to be a lifeline for America's seniors.

16 Dec 2011

Liver transplantations for NASH-Cirrhosis increase dramatically

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

15 Dec 2011

Mayo Clinic in Florida now offers kidney and pancreas transplants for HIV-positive patients

Mayo Clinic in Florida is now offering kidney and pancreas transplants to HIV positive patients with advanced kidney disease and diabetes. Evidence is now solid that HIV-positive patients have the same favorable outcome in terms of patient and allograft survival as non-HIV positive organ transplant recipients, says Mary Prendergast, M.D., a kidney specialist whose focus is the care of patients who receive kidney and pancreas transplants.

7 Dec 2011

Fatty livers burn more fat, not less

When our livers become loaded with fat, it isn't because they are slacking. A new study of human patients in the December Cell Metabolism shows that fatty livers actually burn more fat, not less. All that "hard work" may be at the root of the organ damage that comes with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition associated with insulin resistance that affects about one in three in the U.S. population.

6 Dec 2011

Baby boomers more likely to develop HCV

Experts at Montefiore Medical Center urge the general public to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus, especially baby boomers, adults born between 1946-1964, who could be most at risk for this disease. Baby boomers are more likely to have been exposed to dangerous risk factors decades ago, such as sharing a drug needle, being tattooed or pierced with unsterilized tools or receiving a tainted blood transfusion.

2 Dec 2011

EGCG may prevent HCV reinfection after liver transplantation

German researchers have determined that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)—a flavonoid found in green tea—inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from entering liver cells.

1 Dec 2011

Third Annual Transplant Symposium to be held on Dec. 2 in New York City

"Transplantation: Part of the Fabric of America" is the theme of the Third Annual Transplant Symposium sponsored by the Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation. The conference will be held on Friday, December 2 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City.

29 Nov 2011