Liver News and Research

RSS

Dendritic cell vaccine induces immune responses in patients

A new process for creating a personalized vaccine may become a crucial tool in helping patients with colorectal cancer develop an immune response against their own tumors. This dendritic cell (DC) vaccine, developed at Dartmouth and described in a research paper published this week in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, was used after surgical resection of metastatic tumors to try to prevent the growth of additional metastases.

25 Nov 2010

Early urinary protein content test during pregnancy predicts later pre-eclampsia

Research led by the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has provided a new advance in predicting a potentially serious pregnancy complication.

24 Nov 2010

Plant-derived bioscavenger protects against pesticide and nerve agent organophosphate poisoning

The brain is forever chattering to itself, via electrical impulses sent along its hard-wired neuronal "Ethernet." These e-messages are translated into chemical transmissions, allowing communication across the narrow cleft separating one neuron from another or between neurons and their target cells. Of the many kinds of molecules involved in this lively chemical symposium, acetylcholine is among the most critical, performing a host of functions in the central and peripheral nervous system.

24 Nov 2010

Provectus reports progress in PV-10 program for metastatic melanoma

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, reports continued progress in its compassionate use program for PV-10. The program currently has enrolled more than 40 patients, ten of whom are expanded access patients from the company's Phase 2 trial of PV-10 for metastatic melanoma, as well as more than 30 new patients.

24 Nov 2010

Hepcidin hormone may be potential therapeutic tool for anemic blood disorders

A hormone made by the body may be a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of two anemic blood disorders beta-thalassemia and hemochromatosis. The new research was led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the journal Blood.

24 Nov 2010

Researchers find link between acrolein and multiple sclerosis

Researchers have found evidence that an environmental pollutant may play an important role in causing multiple sclerosis and that a hypertension drug might be used to treat the disease.

24 Nov 2010

New IQQA Suite provides total solutions for liver cancer diagnosis, operative treatment management

EDDA Technology Introduces IQQA-Liver Suite To Provide Dedicated Total Solutions For Liver Cancer Diagnosis And Treatment Management

24 Nov 2010

Magnetic fluid hyperthermia destroys cells inside tumors

Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) is a promising new cancer treatment that essentially "fries" cells inside tumors. The procedure has been used successfully in prostate, liver, and breast tumors.

24 Nov 2010

Vertex submits NDA for telaprevir for treating hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that it has completed the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for telaprevir, Vertex's investigational treatment for people with hepatitis C.

23 Nov 2010

Mother’s high-fat diet alters fetal genes that regulate circadian rhythm: Study

The link between sleeping and obesity is drawn tighter as a new research published online in the FASEB Journal study shows that what your mother ate when she was pregnant may make you obese or overweight by altering the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm.

23 Nov 2010

Preclinical trial shows Chimerix’s CMX001 inhibits HSV replication

Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, today announced that data demonstrating preclinical efficacy of Chimerix's lead antiviral compound CMX001 against herpes simplex virus (HSV) as well as its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier was published in the November 15, 2010 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

23 Nov 2010

Apricus files protocol of PrevOnco Phase 3 clinical trial for FDA SPA program

Apricus Biosciences, Inc., today announced that it has filed the protocol for a proposed Phase 3 clinical trial of PrevOnco, its proprietary treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

23 Nov 2010

Transparent develops new medium for Cell-able array kit to maintain metabolite activity

Transparent Inc. announced that it has developed a more advanced medium for Cell-able, a human hepatocyte array kit that has the potential to reduce drug development costs and time-to-market for pharmaceutical companies. Transparent first introduced Cell-able in the United States a year ago.

22 Nov 2010

VYTORIN reduces major vascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease

In a new investigational study of VYTORIN, the cholesterol-lowering medicine from Merck, VYTORIN 10/20 mg reduced the incidence of first major vascular events defined as non-fatal heart attacks or cardiac death, stroke or any revascularization procedure by a highly statistically significant 16.1 percent compared to placebo, Study of Heart and Renal Protection study involved more than 9,000 patients who, on average, had advanced or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD)

22 Nov 2010

SHARP study shows cholesterol-lowering effective for patients with kidney disease

Around a quarter of all heart attacks, strokes, and operations to open blocked arteries could be avoided in people with chronic kidney disease by using the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin to lower blood cholesterol levels. That's the conclusion from the world's largest ever randomized trial in kidney disease.

22 Nov 2010

Wrong diagnosis makes comedian spend his life savings

A British comedian ended up spending his life savings after he was wrongly told by doctors he only had three months to live.

21 Nov 2010

Potassium citrate effective for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis: Study

The Western diet creates an acidic environment in the body that removes calcium from bones and may contribute to the development of osteoporosis. Healthy adults who consume the standard US diet sustain a chronic, low-grade state of acidosis that worsens with age as kidney function declines, limiting urinary acid excretion. Reto Krapf, MD (University of Basel, in Bruderholz/Basel, Switzerland) and colleagues designed a study to see if daily alkali as potassium citrate supplement tablets might neutralize these effects.

20 Nov 2010

Russian-trained microbiologist recommends tips for consumers to achieve effective results from probiotics

With the European Union poised to regulate probiotics, and with probiotic supplement sales increasing dramatically in the United States, Americans need to know what they're buying, and how these products can affect their health.

20 Nov 2010

Abnormal levels of circulating auto-antibodies found in blood of COPD patients

Moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be an auto-immunity problem, according to researchers in Spain, who studied the presence of auto-antibodies in patients with COPD and compared them to levels of control subjects. They found that a significant number of patients with COPD had significant levels of auto-antibodies circulating in their blood, about 5 to 10 times the level in controls.

20 Nov 2010

Discovery could provide new approaches to treat metabolic disorders

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a novel synthetic activator of a pair of proteins that belong to a protein family playing key roles in human metabolism and immune function. The discovery could provide new and potentially more effective therapeutic approaches to diseases ranging from diabetes to osteoporosis.

20 Nov 2010