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.

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from chronic inflammation of the gut leading to gastrointestinal motility alterations with symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea that profoundly affect their quality of life. The lack of exposure to worm infections, as a result of improved living standards and medical conditions, might have contributed to the increased incidence of IBD in the Western world.

5 Mar 2010

Signaling mechanisms responsible for HGF-induced CCA invasiveness: More insight

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a bile duct cancer, is one of the major cancers in Northeast Thailand. This cancer is difficult to diagnose and has high metastatic and mortality rates. Overexpression of Met, a hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor, has frequently been found in CCA and is correlated with progression of this type of cancer.

5 Mar 2010

Propofol is safe for endoscopic procedures with low rate of sedation-related adverse events: Study

Propofol is safe for advanced endoscopic procedures with a low rate of sedation-related adverse events when administered by a trained professional, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

4 Mar 2010

InterMune seeks European marketing approval for pirfenidone

InterMune, Inc. today announced that it has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) seeking approval to market pirfenidone for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the European Union (EU). Currently, there are no EMA-approved treatments for IPF in the EU.

2 Mar 2010

Short-term dose of losartan-M6PHSA reduces liver inflammation and fibrosis: Study

A recent study found that rats with advanced fibrosis that were administered a short-term dose of losartan-M6PHSA had reduced liver inflammation and fibrosis. Those animals treated with oral losartan alone did not experience a similar reduction in disease activity. Results of this study appear in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

1 Mar 2010

Study shows ghrelin prevents acute liver damage, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation

Spanish researchers determined that rats treated with recombinant ghrelin displayed a reduction in liver fibrosis. Ghrelin, a stomach hormone, reduced the amount of fibrogenic cells by 25% in the treated rodents. Research further showed ghrelin prevented acute liver damage and reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in the animal models.

1 Mar 2010

Widely used biomarkers in early detection of liver cancer are not ideal: Study

Widely used biomarkers are not optimal in early detection of liver cancer, the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, according to a new study published in this month's Gastroenterology.

26 Feb 2010

NIH panel proposes multiple management strategies for lactose intolerant individuals

Lactose intolerance is a real and important clinical syndrome, but quantifying its public health burden is challenging. An NIH Consensus Development panel was convened this week to assess the available evidence on lactose intolerance and health across the age spectrum and across racial and ethnic groups.

25 Feb 2010

Lack of knowledge and awareness impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirmed that 3.5 to 5.3 million people (1-2 % of the U.S. population) have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Despite efforts by federal, state and local government agencies to control and prevent these diseases, they remain a serious public health concern. The major factor impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV is lack of knowledge and awareness among health care providers, social service professionals, members of the public, and policy-makers.

24 Feb 2010

Colonoscopies performed by non-gastroenterologists may increase risk of developing subsequent CRC

Following a negative complete colonoscopy, those who had their colonoscopies at a hospital and had their procedures performed by a non-gastroenterologist may be at a significantly increased risk of developing subsequent colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

24 Feb 2010

FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee supports approval of XIFAXAN 550 mg for management of HE

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today reported that the Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA has recommended by a vote of 14 to 4 in favor of the approval of XIFAXAN® (rifaximin) Tablets, 550 mg for the maintenance of remission of hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

23 Feb 2010

New endoscopic ablation technique safe and effective for treating Barrett's esophagus

Early tumor formation in Barrett's esophagus (BE) can be effectively and safely treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), in combination with prior endoscopic removal of visible lesions, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

19 Feb 2010

$NovaShunt initiates study to evaluate AFS for refractory ascites patients$

NovaShunt initiates study to evaluate AFS for refractory ascites patients

NovaShunt today announced the initiation of its pivotal multi- center clinical study named PIONEER, a Prospective, multi-center, open label, non-randomized study to Investigate the safety and perfOrmance of the Automated Fluid ShuNt in patiEnts with ascitEs and diuretic Resistance.

11 Feb 2010

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the causal agent of chronic gastritis, ulcer and gastric cancer. It has the potential to persist in the human stomach for decades, sometimes causing neither harm nor clinical symptoms. Nevertheless, on some occasions, depending on the host immune system and the strain causing the infection, the outcome can be very serious. To maintain the infection, the bacterium must adapt to survive the host defences. One way to accomplish this is to sequentially change the external proteins on the bacterial surface.

10 Feb 2010

People living with IBD are at high risk of blood clots

People living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are known to be at high risk of blood clots when admitted to hospital during a flare-up of their disease but now new research by scientists at The University of Nottingham has shown that those who are not admitted to hospital during flare-ups are also at risk.

10 Feb 2010

Study provides new data about potential risk of gastric cancer in patients with intestinal metaplasia

Gastric cancer remains a significant problem globally. The relationship between intestinal metaplasia (IM) and gastric cancer has always been controversial. Generally IM is divided into subtypes on the basis of histochemical characteristics; however, this classification is confusing.

10 Feb 2010

Study explores link between HBV genotype C and liver cirrhosis

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes have distinct geographical distributions, and have been shown to differ with regard to clinical outcome and prognosis. However, the relationship between HBV genotypes and liver cirrhosis remains controversial and no study on exploring the association between HBV genotypes and subclinical cirrhosis in community-based population has been reported.

10 Feb 2010

Study shows lactobacillus is effective in improving H. pylori-infected diseases

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are considered to be the most important etiological agents of chronic gastritis. The eradication of H. pyloridepends on the combination of antibiotics and acid suppression drugs.

10 Feb 2010

Data provide key information about epigenetic profiles for gastric cancer

Gastric cancer, one of the most common types of cancer, is associated with high mortality rates. In the last decades, a decrease in the worldwide incidence has been observed with some changes in the therapeutic and diagnostic options.

10 Feb 2010

IgM/IgG ratio is useful in diagnosing primary biliary cirrhosis

Previous studies have shown that assessment of immunoglobulin subclasses in plasma cells by immunohistochemistry (IHC) may be useful in the histopathologic evaluation of autoimmune liver diseases. However, further studies are necessary in order to validate the diagnostic utility of IgM and IgG immunohistochemistry in this specific scenario.

10 Feb 2010

Hepatology News and Research

Further Reading

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Signaling mechanisms responsible for HGF-induced CCA invasiveness: More insight

Propofol is safe for endoscopic procedures with low rate of sedation-related adverse events: Study

InterMune seeks European marketing approval for pirfenidone

Short-term dose of losartan-M6PHSA reduces liver inflammation and fibrosis: Study

Study shows ghrelin prevents acute liver damage, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation

Widely used biomarkers in early detection of liver cancer are not ideal: Study

NIH panel proposes multiple management strategies for lactose intolerant individuals

Lack of knowledge and awareness impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV

Colonoscopies performed by non-gastroenterologists may increase risk of developing subsequent CRC

FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee supports approval of XIFAXAN 550 mg for management of HE

New endoscopic ablation technique safe and effective for treating Barrett's esophagus

NovaShunt initiates study to evaluate AFS for refractory ascites patients

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

People living with IBD are at high risk of blood clots

Study provides new data about potential risk of gastric cancer in patients with intestinal metaplasia

Study explores link between HBV genotype C and liver cirrhosis

Study shows lactobacillus is effective in improving H. pylori-infected diseases

Data provide key information about epigenetic profiles for gastric cancer

IgM/IgG ratio is useful in diagnosing primary biliary cirrhosis

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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