Liver News and Research

RSS

New medicine can start and hasten healing of diabetic and other chronic sores

A unique new medicine that can start and hasten healing of diabetic and other chronic sores is being developed at Umeå University in Sweden. After several years of successful experimental research, it is now ready for clinical testing.

28 May 2012

Positive results from Sanofi and Regeneron’s SAR236553/REGN727 Phase 2 trial on heFH

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced additional positive results from a Phase 2 trial of SAR236553/REGN727 in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (heFH).

28 May 2012

UCLA Face Transplantation Program seeks candidates for clinical trial

The UCLA Health System has launched the UCLA Face Transplantation Program, the first surgical program of its kind in the western United States and one of only a handful in the nation.

25 May 2012

Single-port laparoscopy bimanual robot abdominal surgery

Millions of Europeans undergo abdominal surgery each year to treat a range of different disorders, from cancer and heart disease to obesity. EU-funded researchers are developing innovative micro-robotics and micro-system technologies to make such surgeries less complicated, invasive and costly.

25 May 2012

Aetna's IOE Transplant Network to add UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital

Aetna announced today that UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital has been designated as a participating facility in Aetna's Institutes of Excellence Transplant Network.

25 May 2012

Obese patients with fatty liver disease show only small benefit on lipoprotein levels with moderate exercise

New research found that moderate exercise does not improve lipoprotein concentrations in obese patients with non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Results published in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, report that moderate physical activity produces only a small decrease in triglyceride and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels.

24 May 2012

Chronic diseases, bloodstream infections on the rise among HIV+ ICU patients

The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive (HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.

24 May 2012

Study confirms links between metabolic dysregulation, SDB and obesity

Weight loss improved both metabolic parameters and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in obese children in a new study from researchers in Belgium, confirming links between metabolic dysregulation, SDB and obesity.

24 May 2012

Scientists may be step closer to developing new therapy for AML

Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center may be one step closer to developing a new therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after discovering that the targeted agents obatoclax and sorafenib kill leukemia cells much more effectively when combined than when the drugs are administered individually.

23 May 2012

Study provides new clues about health-damaging molecular changes by eating high-fat foods

A University of Michigan Health System study provides new clues about the health-damaging molecular changes set in motion by eating high-fat foods.

23 May 2012

Sarcoidosis accounts for 25% of all deaths in African-American women

A new study conducted by researchers from Boston University has found that sarcoidosis accounts for 25 percent of all deaths among women in the Black Women's Health Study who have the disease. The study is the largest epidemiologic study to date to specifically address mortality in black females with sarcoidosis.

23 May 2012

NIEHS renews funding for SRP at UCSD

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has renewed funding for the Superfund Research Program (SRP) at the University of California, San Diego. Over the next five years, the $15 million grant will fund continued research on the molecular and genetic consequences of exposure to uncontrolled toxicants from Superfund and other hazardous waste sites.

23 May 2012

Inexpensive sleep disorder drug appears to be potent inhibitor of cancer cells

An inexpensive "orphan drug" used to treat sleep disorders appears to be a potent inhibitor of cancer cells, according to a new study led by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

22 May 2012

New research reveals effective treatments for gastrointestinal conditions

New research being presented at Digestive Disease Week- (DDW) reveals effective treatments for a number of gastrointestinal conditions, which are often chronic and costly.

22 May 2012

MRSA nasal colonization associated with increase in SSI in patients undergoing GI surgery

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) nasal colonization is associated with longer hospital stays and an increase in surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery, according to a new study from Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Temple, TX.

21 May 2012

RA drug effective against Entamoeba histolytica

Research by a collaborative group of scientists from UC San Diego School of Medicine, UC San Francisco and Wake Forest School of Medicine has led to identification of an existing drug that is effective against Entamoeba histolytica. This parasite causes amebic dysentery and liver abscesses and results in the death of more than 70,000 people worldwide each year.

21 May 2012

Experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes

For the first time, scientists at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute have shown that an experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes.

21 May 2012

First study to test safety of quantum dots in primates

A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.

21 May 2012

Auranofin effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies

A team of researchers from UCSF and UC San Diego has identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.

21 May 2012

Clinical data from Boston Scientific endoscopy studies to be presented at DDW

Boston Scientific Corporation announces that seven abstracts and additional clinical data analyses will be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), May 19 – 22 in San Diego.

19 May 2012