Hepatology News and Research

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Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas as well as management of their disorders.

Early PBC prognosis advocated

Biochemical response to ursodeoxycholic acid at 6 months is a better predictor for primary biliary cirrhosis prognosis than the current standard of 1 year, study results suggest.

18 Feb 2013

Biomarkers could be antidote to overdose overtreatment

Researchers have identified several biomarkers that can accurately predict acute liver injury after acetaminophen overdose.

11 Feb 2013

Researchers discover miR-27b that regulates lipid levels in the blood

Researchers have identified a microRNA liver gene, miR-27b, which regulates lipid (cholesterol or fat) levels in the blood. This regulator gene controls multiple genes involved in dyslipidemia-abnormal blood cholesterol levels that can contribute to heart disease.

11 Feb 2013

Liver gene found to regulate cholesterol and fat blood levels

Researchers have identified a microRNA liver gene, miR-27b, which regulates lipid (cholesterol or fat) levels in the blood. This regulator gene controls multiple genes involved in dyslipidemia—abnormal blood cholesterol levels that can contribute to heart disease.

7 Feb 2013

Donor liver quality: an interview with Dr Eric Orman

Liver transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a liver (or part of a liver) is removed from a donor and placed into a recipient. Although some transplants use a portion of the liver of living donors, the vast majority of donors are deceased.

6 Feb 2013

Synageva announces 12-week data from sebelipase alfa Phase I/II study on LAL Deficiency

Synageva BioPharma Corp. (Synageva), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products for rare diseases, today announced publication of the 12-week Phase I/II extension study data of sebelipase alfa in adults with lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL Deficiency) in the online version and an upcoming print edition of Hepatology

5 Feb 2013

ArQule, Daiichi Sankyo initiate enrollment in tivantinib Phase 3 trial for hepatocellular carcinoma

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited and ArQule, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the pivotal Phase 3 METIV-HCC (MET-high patients with tivantinib in HCC) trial of tivantinib (ARQ 197).

31 Jan 2013

Botulinum toxin A does not promote weight loss in obese patients

Despite conflicting data in support of the practice, some overweight Americans looking for an easy fix have turned to gastric botox injections to help them lose weight. This month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, researchers from the Mayo Clinic publish a definitive study finding that Botox doesn't promote weight loss.

29 Jan 2013

Sacral nerve stimulation helps manage children with chronic incontinence

Incontinence is typically a condition associated with adults; however, many children also struggle with incontinence - bladder, bowel or both. In order to help these children, doctors at Nationwide Children's Hospital have turned to a device, typically used in adult patients, to help manage children with chronic incontinence.

24 Jan 2013

Tattooing poses HCV risk

Hepatitis C virus infection is more common in people who have had a tattoo, research shows.

21 Jan 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates enrollment in Phase III IFN-free HCV trial

Today, Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the first patients have been enrolled in the company's pivotal Phase III interferon (IFN)-free hepatitis C (HCV) clinical trial programme, HCVerso.

18 Jan 2013

Early hepatitis B vaccination may be ineffective in teenagers

Research reveals that many infants who receive the complete series of hepatitis B virus vaccinations have lost their protection by the time they reach adolescence.

14 Jan 2013

Simple education program increases doctor's ADR rate and reduces risk of colorectal cancer

Most people know a colonoscopy requires some preparation by the patient. Now, a Mayo Clinic physician suggests an additional step to lower the risk of colorectal cancer: Ask for your doctor's success rate detecting easy-to-miss polyps called adenomas.

9 Jan 2013

Adolescents may lose hepatitis B virus protection despite vaccination as infants

New research reveals that a significant number of adolescents lose their protection from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, despite having received a complete vaccination series as infants. Results in the January 2013 issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggest teens with high-risk mothers (those positive for HBeAg) and teens whose immune system fails to remember a previous viral exposure (immunological memory) are behind HBV reinfection.

8 Jan 2013

SR9238 compound can reverse effects of fatty liver disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.

20 Dec 2012

Scientists discover FAIM molecule as potential biomarker for bone marrow cancer

Singapore scientists have identified FAIM, a molecule that typically prevents cell death, as a potential biomarker to identify an incurable form of cancer in the bone marrow.

14 Dec 2012

Rural residents of Utah less likely to follow colorectal cancer screening recommendations

People who reside in rural areas of Utah are less likely to follow colorectal cancer (CRC) screening recommendations than their urban counterparts, according to researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

13 Dec 2012

Sirtex unveils new website to learn more about SIR-Spheres microspheres

Sirtex today unveiled a new, comprehensive and easy-to-use global website for doctors, nurses, patients and investors interested in learning more about SIR-Spheres microspheres, a form of radiotherapy targeting liver tumours that is gaining increasingly wide acceptance worldwide.

13 Dec 2012

Gestational age and size at birth affect risk of early diagnosis of esophagitis

Infants that are born preterm or with impaired growth have an increased risk of developing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), possibly leaving them vulnerable to the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma later in life.

12 Dec 2012

Risk factors revealed for anti-tuberculosis drug hepatotoxicity

The risk for hepatotoxicity among patients treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs is affected by gender, ethnicity, and the presence of genetic polymorphisms, say Argentinean researchers.

10 Dec 2012