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.

Technology, expert training and real-time feedback improves Hepatitis C outcomes

Widely-available technology, expert training and real-time feedback helped ensure that patients treated for Hepatitis C in local communities did as well as patients treated at a university-based medical center, results of a new study funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality show. The study is published in the June 2 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and in the June 9 print edition.

3 Jun 2011

Cyclopamine may protect cholestatic livers from damage after transplant procedure

New research raises the possibility that the critically short supply of livers for organ donation could be expanded by treating so-called "marginal" livers with a substance that protects them from damage after being connected to recipients' blood supplies.

2 Jun 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals announces name change to Galectin Therapeutics

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has changed its name to Galectin Therapeutics Inc. to more accurately reflect the Company's core expertise in galectin science and its leading platform for the creation of galectin inhibitors to treat serious diseases including fibrosis and cancer.

27 May 2011

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

For many patients with the hepatitis C virus, direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment.

25 May 2011

Apollo completes 100 liver transplantations in less than 4 years with over 90% success rate

Apollo centre for liver disease and transplantation has completed 100 liver transplantations in less than 4 years with over 90% success rate, creating a milestone in the history of medicine.

25 May 2011

Isis receives $5M milestone payment from GSK for initiating ISIS-TTRRx Phase 1 study

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has earned a $5 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline related to the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study for ISIS-TTRRx.

19 May 2011

New technique offers successful bone marrow, organ transplant for patients with autoimmune diseases

University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have discovered a method to quickly and exponentially grow regulatory T-cells - also known as "suppressor cells." The new process enables replication of the cells by tens of millions in several weeks, a dramatic increase over previous duplication methods. Historically, regulatory T-cells have been difficult to replicate.

19 May 2011

Cytonet receives FDA orphan drug designation for liver cell infusion to treat urea cycle disorders

International biotechnology firm Cytonet, which is investigating a liver cell infusion of donated human liver cells for the treatment of urea cycle disorders in young children, announced it has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

18 May 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $2.7 million for first quarter 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading developer of therapeutics that target galectin proteins to treat fibrosis and cancer, today reported its financial results for the first quarter, ended March 31, 2011.

13 May 2011

TFAH applauds HHS for new strategic approach to prevent viral hepatitis

The Trust for America's Health applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for unveiling a new strategic approach to dealing with the silent epidemic of viral hepatitis today.

13 May 2011

Liver cells made in the lab using skin cells: Study

In a medical breakthrough, researchers have been able to convert skin cells into liver cells. This could one day eliminate the need for organ transplants, they say.

12 May 2011

iPSC-derived liver cells hold potential as alternative to liver transplants

Johns Hopkins researchers have demonstrated that human liver cells derived from adult cells coaxed into an embryonic state can engraft and begin regenerating liver tissue in mice with chronic liver damage.

12 May 2011

Innovative detection practices may prevent liver diseases

Research being presented at Digestive Disease Week- shows that screening individuals for hepatitis C based on age instead of conventional risk factors may help increase detection rates as well as prevent liver disease.

9 May 2011

AGA's cutting-edge research on GI disorders to be presented at DDW 2011

Clinicians, researchers and scientists from around the world will gather for Digestive Disease Week- 2011, the largest and most prestigious gastroenterology meeting, from May 7-10, 2011, at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

7 May 2011

Five Loyola employees donate kidneys to complete strangers

Loyola University Medical Center is believed to be the first organization in the country, and perhaps the world, in which five employees have each donated kidneys to complete strangers with no strings attached.

28 Apr 2011

Panel speakers to discuss hepatitis C prevention, treatment at Mayes College event

Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at University of the Sciences is hosting a panel discussion on hepatitis C prevention and treatment, on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m.

28 Apr 2011

ISCO completes first series of hepatocytes preclinical testing

International Stem Cell Corporation announces successful completion of the first series of preclinical testing of hepatocytes derived in the lab from human parthenogenetic stem cells.

27 Apr 2011

Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may help treat genetic liver-lung disorder

Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may work in treating a genetic liver-lung disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, according to an animal study in the April 18 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

22 Apr 2011

First UCLA patient with hand transplant doing well at six-and-a-half weeks

Six-and-a-half weeks after receiving the first hand transplant in the western United States, Emily Fennell is becoming so accustomed to her new right hand that she barely remembers when she didn't have one.

21 Apr 2011

Quest Diagnostics launches AccuType IL28B test for HCV

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced the availability of its AccuType® IL28B test for aiding in the prediction of patient response to peginterferon alpha-based therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

From Quest Diagnostics 18 Apr 2011