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.

Positive interim data from Idera Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1 trial of IMO-2125 TLR9 agonist presented at 45th EASL

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that positive interim data from a Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-2125, a Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, in null responder patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

16 Apr 2010

Results from Romark Laboratories' STEALTH C-3 clinical trial presented at EASL Annual Meeting

Romark Laboratories announced results from its STEALTH C-3 clinical trial, a phase 2 clinical study of nitazoxanide in treatment-naive patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. Study results were presented as a late breaking communication at the International Liver Congress™ 2010, the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Austria.

16 Apr 2010

Dark chocolate reduces damage to blood vessels of cirrhotic patients: Spanish research

Doctors could soon be prescribing a dose of dark chocolate to help patients suffering from liver cirrhosis and from dangerously high blood pressure in their abdomen, according to new research presented today at the International Liver CongressTM 2010, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver in Vienna, Austria.

16 Apr 2010

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 1b clinical trial of VX-222

In conjunction with an oral presentation at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced results from a Phase 1b clinical trial of the investigational oral hepatitis C virus polymerase inhibitor, VX-222. In the trial, treatment with VX-222 for three days was well-tolerated, with all adverse events being mild to moderate in severity.

16 Apr 2010

Interim data from phase IIa clinical trial of IDX184 in HCV-infected patients

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases, today announced interim data from a 14-day, phase IIa clinical trial evaluating IDX184, a novel liver-targeted nucleotide prodrug of 2'-methyl guanosine monophosphate, in HCV-infected patients.

15 Apr 2010

Infliximab-azathioprine combination helps more Crohn's disease patients achieve remission

A study led by Mayo Clinic suggests remission from Crohn's disease may be more likely if patients get biologic therapy combined with immune-suppressing drugs first instead of immune-suppressing drugs alone. The study, published in the April 15, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease with infliximab plus azathioprine allows more patients to achieve remission and mucosal healing than therapy with azathioprine alone.

15 Apr 2010

UCSF: Obesity prevention strategies must start as early as possible

To be a truly comprehensive and successful anti-obesity program, First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign must include interventions that target pregnant women, infants, and pre-school-age children, UCSF experts say.

15 Apr 2010

Research investigates GI and GL values of Chinese traditional foods

Previous studies have shown that GI is a reproducible measure of day-long postprandial glycemia. Over 2480 GI values of individual food items were listed in the recent edition of international tables of GI and GL. The relationship between food GI and human health has been largely investigated and is still one of the research hotspots in this research field.

13 Apr 2010

Real-time elastography method depicts liver hardness: Study

Palpation continues to be of great value in modern medicine, both practiced by doctors and as a technique for self-examination. However, palpation is limited to a few accessible organs, and the interpretation of the information sensed by the fingers is highly subjective.

13 Apr 2010

Research finding suggests HCV interference with hepcidin synthesis

Iron overload, a common feature of chronic liver disorders, has been linked with oxidative DNA damage, insulin resistance and liver steatosis, and with triggering of hepatic stellate cells thus inducing liver fibrosis.

13 Apr 2010

Study investigates cerebral cortical response to biliary stimulation

The cortical response to esophageal, stomach or rectal stimulation has been studied using several different modalities including evoked potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and positron emission tomography. However, there is no information concerning the cerebral cortical response to sensory signals that originate in the biliary tract in humans.

13 Apr 2010

Link between IL-8, MIF gene polymorphisms and progression of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia

Atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia are two important precursory lesions in the process of intestinal type gastric cancer. However, the precise mechanism of the progression of these two lesions is still unclear, a few studies have investigated the risk of host gene polymorphism on the atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia, but all of them are limited by their one-time point screen.

13 Apr 2010

Research article reports association of chronic upper GI symptoms with diabetes

There are several papers which report the association of GI symptoms with diabetes. Epidemiological data regarding the association of GI symptoms with diabetes are, however, inconsistent, and the reported frequency of upper and lower GI symptoms varies among different ethnic groups/populations.

13 Apr 2010

Liver biopsy with hepatic copper quantification every 3 years needs to be considered for WD patients

As a result of the rarity of Wilson disease (WD) and the fact that liver biopsy is not performed routinely during follow-up, unless clinically indicated, the progression and timing of the liver pathology and its correlation with different anti-copper treatments or aminotransferase levels are poorly characterized. Previous studies have demonstrated the possibility of improvement of steatosis and inflammation grade, and of fibrosis stage during long-term follow-up.

12 Apr 2010

First successful closure of gastro-cutaneous fistulas with newly designed OTSC

Gastrointestinal (GI) chronic perforations require closure and control of extraluminal collections and sepsis. Covered self-expandable metal stents or plastic stents are an effective method in more than 80% of cases, but have many drawbacks.

12 Apr 2010

Study compares preoperative and postoperative CRT to surgery alone in ESCC patients

Esophagectomy is a standard treatment for resectable esophageal carcinoma but relatively few patients are cured. Combined neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or adjuvant CRT with surgery may improve survival but there is concern about treatment morbidity and the best sequencing of CRT and surgery.

12 Apr 2010

Study shows promising basis for development of effective liver-cancer screening test

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world and one of the deadliest cancers since it is rarely diagnosed until late in its development.

12 Apr 2010

Modified ESD procedure can remove large ileal lipoma: Research article

Lipoma is relatively common in the colon but is less often in the small intestine. Most lipomas are incidentally detected at endoscopy and are usually small and asymptomatic. However, some of them can present with obstruction and/or intussusceptions. Surgical resection is commonly recommended to remove such significant lipomas with a limited pedicle and larger than 2 cm in size, as endoscopic resection may result in unfavorable complications such as intestinal perforations.

12 Apr 2010

Research shows association between LRP16 expression in colorectal cancer and disease related death

Leukemia related protein 16 gene is an important estrogen-responsive gene. LRP16 gene plays an important role in the carcinogenesis and progression of hormone-dependent cancer. LRP16 expression was also reported to be associated with invasion, metastasis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma. But no comprehensive description of LRP16 protein expression in colorectal cancer has been reported.

12 Apr 2010

S. thermophilus CRL 1190-fermented milk effective in therapeutic treatment of chronic gastritis: Research

Gastritis produced by acetyl-salicylic acid consumption is a common disorder worldwide. The use of probiotics has been proposed to ameliorate different gastrointestinal tract diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. However, little attention has been paid to the use of probiotics in gastric disease.

12 Apr 2010

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Positive interim data from Idera Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1 trial of IMO-2125 TLR9 agonist presented at 45th EASL

Results from Romark Laboratories' STEALTH C-3 clinical trial presented at EASL Annual Meeting

Dark chocolate reduces damage to blood vessels of cirrhotic patients: Spanish research

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 1b clinical trial of VX-222

Interim data from phase IIa clinical trial of IDX184 in HCV-infected patients

Infliximab-azathioprine combination helps more Crohn's disease patients achieve remission

UCSF: Obesity prevention strategies must start as early as possible

Research investigates GI and GL values of Chinese traditional foods

Real-time elastography method depicts liver hardness: Study

Research finding suggests HCV interference with hepcidin synthesis

Study investigates cerebral cortical response to biliary stimulation

Link between IL-8, MIF gene polymorphisms and progression of atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia

Research article reports association of chronic upper GI symptoms with diabetes

Liver biopsy with hepatic copper quantification every 3 years needs to be considered for WD patients

First successful closure of gastro-cutaneous fistulas with newly designed OTSC

Study compares preoperative and postoperative CRT to surgery alone in ESCC patients

Study shows promising basis for development of effective liver-cancer screening test

Modified ESD procedure can remove large ileal lipoma: Research article

Research shows association between LRP16 expression in colorectal cancer and disease related death

S. thermophilus CRL 1190-fermented milk effective in therapeutic treatment of chronic gastritis: Research

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