Liver News and Research

RSS

Final SVR results from Pharmasset's PSI-7977 phase 2b study in HCV

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today the final sustained virologic response (SVR) results from its phase 2b PROTON study with PSI-7977 dosed once daily in combination with peginterferon alfa 2a and ribavirin in subjects with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 or 3 who have not been treated previously.

20 Jul 2011

U.S. News ranks NewYork-Presbyterian as sixth best hospital in the nation

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital ranks #1 in New York and among the top six in the U.S. out of the nearly 5,000 hospitals evaluated by U.S. News Media & World Report for their 2011-12 Best Hospitals rankings.

20 Jul 2011

Nuclear Factor I/B appears to drive progression of small cell lung cancer

A major challenge for cancer biologists is figuring out which among the hundreds of genetic mutations found in a cancer cell are most important for driving the cancer's spread.

20 Jul 2011

Surgeons' behavior in operating room affects patient outcomes, healthcare costs

A surgeon's behavior in the operating room affects patient outcomes, healthcare costs, medical errors and patient- and staff-satisfaction, says a commentary in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

19 Jul 2011

UNC receives $3M federal grant for AIDS research

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of medicine and pharmacy have been awarded a $3 million federal grant to develop and test a new generation of treatments aimed at preventing sexual transmission of HIV to uninfected individuals.

19 Jul 2011

Coal seam gas and cancer risk: Report

An Australian Senate committee has been looking into the impact of coal seam gas (CSG) mining on the Murray-Darling Basin that has moved to Dalby on Queensland's western Darling Downs today. The Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport is touring southern Queensland examining the environmental consequences of CSG mining on the Murray-Darling River system.

19 Jul 2011

Obesity in kids reaches extreme levels

According to a Victoria's top childhood obesity experts, toddlers are becoming so obese they need hospital treatment and 10-year-olds so overweight they risk heart disease. This comes from Dr Matt Sabin, co-head of the Royal Children's Hospital weight management clinic who labeled Victoria's obesity epidemic as extreme. He said he often saw three-year-olds weighing 35kg - more than double their healthy weight - and 15-year-olds tipping the scales at up to 200kg.

18 Jul 2011

Neutrons show how massive enzyme complexes inside cells control rate of sugar metabolism

Neutrons have shown how massive enzyme complexes inside cells might determine whether sugar is burnt for energy or stored as fat. These findings will improve understanding of diabetes and a range of metabolic diseases.

18 Jul 2011

FDA approves Shire's Lialda for maintenance of remission of ulcerative colitis

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Lialda® (mesalamine) Delayed Release Tablets for the maintenance of remission in patients with ulcerative colitis.

18 Jul 2011

Genome Research publishes studies utilizing emerging Collaborative Cross mouse strains

The Collaborative Cross represents a large collection of new inbred mouse strains created by the mouse genetics community aimed at revolutionizing the study of complex genetic traits and diseases. Derived from classical inbred strains and wild-derived strains, the CC captures nearly 90% of known genetic variation in laboratory mice, far surpassing more commonly used inbred strains.

15 Jul 2011

Patients with pulmonary hypertension more likely to have complications after bilateral TKA

A new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery has identified patients who are at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality when undergoing knee replacement surgery in both legs at the same time.

15 Jul 2011

IMM researcher wins prestigious Early Career Bayer Hemophilia Award

Vanessa Oliveira, researcher at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Portugal won a prestigious and competitive Early Career Bayer Hemophilia Award. Oliveira will develop a strategy to reprogramme the immune system of hemophilia patients to avoid immune targeting of the most used clotting therapeutics.

14 Jul 2011

EC approves YERVOY for treatment of previously-treated advanced melanoma

Bristol-Myers Squibb today announced that the European Commission has approved YERVOY for the treatment of adult patients with previously-treated advanced melanoma.

14 Jul 2011

Treatment with estrogen dramatically lowers rates of stomach cancer in male mice

Several types of cancer, including stomach, liver and colon, are far more common in men than in women. Some scientists have theorized that differences in lifestyle, such as diet and smoking, may account for the discrepancy, but growing evidence suggests that the differences are rooted in basic biological differences between men and women.

14 Jul 2011

Multiple studies find no consensus on kava-induced hepatotoxicity in Western countries

A major new review of scientific knowledge on kava - a plant used to make dietary supplements and a trendy drink with calming effects - has left unsolved the mystery of why Pacific Island people can consume it safely, while people in the United States, Europe, and other Western cultures sometimes experience toxic effects. The article appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

14 Jul 2011

UCLA establishes new reconstructive transplantation program

In a major step into a new transplantation frontier, UCLA has established a first-of-its-kind program to restore functionality and enhance quality of life for people who have suffered severe trauma or other disfiguring injuries to the upper extremities, face or abdomen.

13 Jul 2011

Heart experts begin to test new device for treatment of blocked aortic valves

Heart experts at Johns Hopkins have begun testing a new device designed to replace blocked aortic valves in patients for whom traditional open-heart surgery is considered too risky, such as elderly patients and those with other serious medical conditions.

13 Jul 2011

Sequana Medical's ALFApump System for liver cirrhosis receives CE Mark approval

Sequana Medical announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for the commercial sale of its ALFApump System.

13 Jul 2011

Severely obese children should be removed from parents, placed in care: Expert opinion

In a controversial new opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association the authors suggest taking severely obese children out of their homes and placing them in foster care. Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital Boston and Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and a researcher at Harvard’s School of Public Health, write that in some cases it may be justified to take an extremely obese child out of their parents’ custody.

13 Jul 2011

Men more likely to succumb to cancer

According to a new analysis of 36 different types of tumors and blood cancers that affect both sexes, men are more likely than women to get and die of cancer. The report shows that leukemia and cancers of the colon and rectum, pancreas, and liver killed about one and a half to two times as many men as women in the U.S. over a 30-year period. Lung cancer killed nearly two and a half times as many men during that time. According to the American Cancer Society men have about a 1 in 2 chance of developing cancer at some point in their lives, compared with women, who have a 1 in 3 chance.

13 Jul 2011