Liver Transplantation News and Research

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HCV patients survival after liver transplantation is not improving

For liver transplant recipients without hepatitis C (HCV), survival has improved over time.

4 May 2007

Racial disparities in treatment of patients with cirrhosis and complications of portal hypertension

African-American and Hispanic patients hospitalized for complications of portal hypertension were less likely to undergo a palliative shunt, prompt endoscopy, or liver transplantation compared to white patients, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

2 May 2007

Cost-effectiveness analysis of variceal ligation vs. beta-blockers for primary prevention of variceal bleeding

Endoscopic variceal ligation is cost-effective relative to beta-blockers for the prevention of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients if quality of life-years are considered.

4 Apr 2007

Voluntary living liver donors should undergo a careful, but quick, workup

...and their desire for altruism should not be hampered by negativism from the transplant community, say the authors of a new study in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

4 Apr 2007

Critical receptor in liver regeneration identified

In studies in mouse models, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have found that a cellular receptor involved in triggering cell death is also a necessary component of tissue repair and regeneration immediately following liver injury.

2 Apr 2007

Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes

Researchers open the way for improved study of hepatitis C virus by devising a novel virus culture system that allows replication of patient-isolated virus in nontransformed hepatocytes, instead of culture-adapted virus strains in transformed cell lines.

23 Jan 2007

Response to transarterial chemoembolization as a biological selection criterion for liver transplantation in hepatocellular carcinoma

The results of this study appear in the August 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

2 Aug 2006

Research may pave the way for alternative treatments using cell replacements instead of organ transplants for those with liver failure

University of Edinburgh scientists have identified primitive liver cells -possibly dormant from the earliest developmental stage of a human being - which have the potential to mature into different cells types and help repair a failing liver.

9 Jul 2006

Fatigue is a major problem after liver transplantation

A new study on fatigue experienced by patients after undergoing liver transplantation found that it is a major problem that does not tend to improve with the passage of time.

1 Jun 2006

Progressive histological damage in liver allografts following pediatric liver transplantation

A new study on the long-term outcome of children undergoing liver transplants found that chronic hepatitis (CH) was common and that it was not detectible using standard blood tests.

3 May 2006

Outcome of patients with hepatitis B and HIV infections referred for liver transplantation

A new study on HIV patients who also had Hepatitis B virus (HBV) found that better outcomes are possible if they are referred early for transplant and treated with a combination of drugs for HBV. It is essential to monitor the HBV status of these patients, however, in order to control the emergence of drug-resistant HBV infection.

3 May 2006

Trends over a decade of pediatric liver transplantation in the U.S.

A new study on children undergoing liver transplants found that although innovative transplant techniques have been developed in recent years, the waitlist times for pediatric transplant candidates have increased compared to the early 1990s.

6 Apr 2006

ICG value accurately predicts outcomes in adult living-donor liver transplantation

A new study on identifying which patients were likely to have poor outcomes following a living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) found that measuring how a certain non-toxic dye was eliminated by the liver shortly after surgery was an accurate indicator of liver function, and therefore a reliable indicator of the outcome of the procedure.

4 Apr 2006

Validation of cardiovascular risk scores in a liver transplant population

Two methods of assessing a patient's risk of cardiovascular events - SCORE and PROCAM - proved more valuable for liver transplant recipients than an alternative method, according to a new study.

7 Mar 2006

Liver transplantation from non-heart beating donors

Liver transplants from non-heart beating donors have the potential to increase the supply of organs by as much as 20%, according to experts in this week's British Medical Journal.

17 Feb 2006

Hepatitis C recurs rapidly after liver transplant

When a diseased liver is removed from a patient with Hepatitis C (HCV), serum viral levels plummet. However, after receiving a healthy liver transplant, virus levels rebound and can surpass pre-transplant levels within a few days, according to a new study published in the February 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

2 Feb 2006

Cyclosporine suppresses hepatitis C virus and increases the chance of a sustained virological response after liver transplantation

Liver transplant patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) achieved significantly better long-term viral response when taking the immunosuppressive agent Cyclosporine along with interferon-ribavirin combination therapy. Cyclosporine also showed efficacy against Hepatitis C virus in vitro.

5 Jan 2006

Liver transplants may not be suitable for all cystic fibrosis patients

A new study on patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have had abnormal bleeding from ruptured blood vessels in the esophagus (variceal hemorrhage) as a result of liver disease found that transplant may not be indicated if there are no other indications of advanced liver disease.

5 Dec 2005

HIV-positive patients have shorter survival periods while awaiting liver transplants

A new study on HIV-positive patients eligible for liver transplants found that their survival while waiting for a transplant is significantly shorter than patients who are HIV-negative.

7 Nov 2005

20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C who receive a liver transplant will develop advanced cirrhosis

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine may have found a way to identify those at greatest risk, thereby allowing doctors to decide who should receive treatment that could save the transplanted organ. The new findings appear in the October issue of the journal Liver Transplantation.

9 Oct 2005