Hepatology News and Research

RSS

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

Shorter shifts for endoscopists positively influence polyp detection rates

A shorter daily shift schedule for endoscopists, the physicians who perform colonoscopies, avoids a decrease in the polyp detection rate as the day progresses, research from Mayo Clinic indicates. The findings, which have implications for endoscopist scheduling, were presented by Mayo Clinic investigators today at Digestive Disease Week 2010, (http://www.ddw.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=679) the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association.

4 May 2010

Doctors often treat IBS patients with narcotics: Researchers

Doctors often unnecessarily treat irritable bowel syndrome with narcotics, according to a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.

4 May 2010

Weight loss through caloric restriction and increase in physical activity improve symptoms of GERD

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a debilitating problem for sufferers -- heartburn, difficulty swallowing, chest pain and acid reflux. According to a Mayo Clinic study that will be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2010 in New Orleans May 1-5, even moderate weight gain can exacerbate those symptoms, DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researcher in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

3 May 2010

Ethicon Endo-Surgery SEDASYS CAPS system receives European Union CE Mark, Health Canada approval

Ethicon Endo-Surgery today announced that the SEDASYS® System, the first computer-assisted personalized sedation (CAPS) system, was granted a CE Mark for the European Union for routine colonoscopy and screening of the upper gastrointestinal tract (EGD procedures), and Health Canada granted regulatory approval for the SEDASYS® System for use by healthcare professional teams during routine colonoscopy.

3 May 2010

Study indicates older women with diabetes have increase risk for colon cancer

A research team led by Mayo Clinic physicians has found that older women with diabetes face a more than doubled risk for some types of colorectal cancer.

3 May 2010

Health outcomes explored at DDW 2010

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which may soon be the leading indication for liver transplant, is found to be significantly associated with worse transplant outcomes. In addition, a new tool for diagnosing NAFLD represents an alternative to liver biopsy, which is more expensive and prone to complications, and ultrasound and alfafeprotein blood test screening are an effective alternative to CT scan and MRI for patients with cirrhosis at high risk for hepatocellular cancer.

3 May 2010

Vitamin E effective in treating NASH: Study

Vitamin E has been shown effective in treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, an obesity-associated chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. NASH also is related to or a part of type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders and cardiovascular disease.

3 May 2010

Boston Scientific to present multiple clinical abstracts on its endoscopy products at DDW 2010

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that multiple clinical abstracts examining the diagnostic and therapeutic utility of its SpyGlass Direct Visualization System, Radial Jaw 4 Biopsy Forceps and WallFlex Duodenal Stent will be presented at Digestive Disease Week, May 1 – 5 in New Orleans.

30 Apr 2010

Study identifies extracapsular LNI as a negative prognostic factor for esophageal cancer

There is increasing evidence to include combined neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as an alternative to surgical resection alone, to improve survival for locoregional esophageal cancer. More recently, attention has focused on the presence of extracapsular lymph node involvement (LNI), which identifies a subgroup of patients with significantly worse long-term survival. Little is known about the effects of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on the presence of extracapsular LNI and its prognostic value in patients with resected esophageal cancer.

30 Apr 2010

Study investigates efficacy of acellular dermal matrix for intestinal elongation

Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is a dermal biomaterial in which all of the cellular elements have been removed. The biologic properties of ADM, including its ability to support tissue regeneration repopulation with fibroblasts, revascularization, new collagen deposition and eventual absorption and replacement with native tissue permit its use in tissue reconstruction.

29 Apr 2010

Albireo to present study results of A3309 in patients with chronic constipation at 2010 DDW annual meeting

Albireo today announced that additional clinical data will be reported from a recent study assessing the safety, tolerability and efficacy of A3309 in patients with chronic constipation. A3309 is a first-in-class investigational compound for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic constipation (CC). The results will be presented during the 2010 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) annual meeting being held in New Orleans, US.

29 Apr 2010

Presence and type of cirrhosis complications are strong predictors of mortality: Study

A recent study by Danish researchers discovered patients with alcoholic cirrhosis had a high prevalence of complications at the time of the disease diagnosis.

29 Apr 2010

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals to present Phase 2 study results of LX1031 for non-constipating IBS at DDW 2010

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced today that the company will be giving poster and oral presentations on results from its Phase 2 clinical study with LX1031 in patients with non-constipating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

28 Apr 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces novel patient and health care provider support program for HE

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced plans for the Hepatic Encephalopathy Living Program (H.E.L.P.). H.E.L.P. is a first-of-its-kind patient and health care provider support program for the management of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and will launch on May 24, 2010. The program will provide patients with HE educational materials, co-pay assistance, treatment adherence support and a 24-hour toll-free hotline.

27 Apr 2010

Study: Cigarette smoking, fructose consumption can worsen NAFLD

Recent studies suggest that modifiable risk factors such as cigarette smoking and fructose consumption can worsen nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. With NAFLD, fat accumulates in the liver of overweight individuals despite drinking little alcohol, causing in some cases liver scarring that can lead to liver failure.

27 Apr 2010

IBS patients treated with cognitive behavior therapy have positive response: Study

A significant proportion of irritable bowel syndrome patients treated with cognitive behavior therapy have a positive response within four weeks of treatment, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

27 Apr 2010

Cellvizio probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy to be featured at DDW 2010 conference

Mauna Kea Technologies, Inc., a leader in the in vivo cellular imaging market, announced that Cellvizio probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy will be featured in key presentations at the annual Digestive Disease Week 2010 conference taking place in New Orleans May 1st thru the 5th.

27 Apr 2010

Patient preference study results of Kristalose to be presented at 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that results from a patient preference study evaluating Kristalose (lactulose) for Oral Solution, a prescription laxative packaged as a crystalline powder, will be presented at the 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting in New Orleans.

27 Apr 2010

Napo Pharmaceuticals announces formation of Finder's Agreement with Luye Pharma Group

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which focuses on the development and commercialization of proprietary pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diarrheal diseases in the global marketplace in collaboration with local partners, is pleased to announce the formation of a Finder's Agreement with its licensee for crofelemer in China, Luye Pharma Group Ltd. (formerly Asiapharm).

26 Apr 2010

COX-2 expression not an adequate independent prognostic factor: Research

Cyclooxygenase-2 represents a key modulatory molecule in inflammation and carcinogenesis. COX-2 is known to have multiple tumorigenic effects. Increased expression of COX-2 has been observed in a variety of tumors including pancreatic cancer.

22 Apr 2010

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Shorter shifts for endoscopists positively influence polyp detection rates

Doctors often treat IBS patients with narcotics: Researchers

Weight loss through caloric restriction and increase in physical activity improve symptoms of GERD

Ethicon Endo-Surgery SEDASYS CAPS system receives European Union CE Mark, Health Canada approval

Study indicates older women with diabetes have increase risk for colon cancer

Health outcomes explored at DDW 2010

Vitamin E effective in treating NASH: Study

Boston Scientific to present multiple clinical abstracts on its endoscopy products at DDW 2010

Study identifies extracapsular LNI as a negative prognostic factor for esophageal cancer

Study investigates efficacy of acellular dermal matrix for intestinal elongation

Albireo to present study results of A3309 in patients with chronic constipation at 2010 DDW annual meeting

Presence and type of cirrhosis complications are strong predictors of mortality: Study

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals to present Phase 2 study results of LX1031 for non-constipating IBS at DDW 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces novel patient and health care provider support program for HE

Study: Cigarette smoking, fructose consumption can worsen NAFLD

IBS patients treated with cognitive behavior therapy have positive response: Study

Cellvizio probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy to be featured at DDW 2010 conference

Patient preference study results of Kristalose to be presented at 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting

Napo Pharmaceuticals announces formation of Finder's Agreement with Luye Pharma Group

COX-2 expression not an adequate independent prognostic factor: Research

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Latest News