Bile News and Research

RSS

Combination of antiviral medications can eradicate HCV infection in patients with advanced liver disease

A large multi-center clinical trial has found that a combination of antiviral medications can eradicate hepatitis C infection in more than 90 percent of patients with advanced liver disease. Known as the ASTRAL-4 trial, the study was co-led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Intermountain Medical Center and published online Nov. 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Dec 2015

Bile pigment may provide natural protection from heart attacks

New hope in the fight against cardiovascular disease has arrived, following breakthrough research identifying a pigment in our bile which could protect us.

26 Nov 2015

Findings could offer doctors new method to diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier in patients

By collecting samples from the portal vein--which carries blood from the gastrointestinal tract, including from the pancreas, to the liver--physicians can learn far more about a patient's pancreatic cancer than by relying on peripheral blood from a more easily accessed vein in the arm.

23 Nov 2015

Research identifies liver pathway that contributes to negative effects of high-fat, high-cholesterol junk food diet

It's no secret that a high-fat, high-cholesterol "junk food" diet has been linked to major health problems, including high blood cholesterol and the buildup of plaques in the arteries, known as atherosclerosis.

13 Nov 2015

Dedicated laparoscopic tool can reduce risk in gallbladder procedure

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a minimally invasive procedure for gallbladder removal, and one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide.

30 Oct 2015

Researchers set out to develop new imaging method to reduce risks linked with gallbladder removal surgery

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a minimally invasive procedure for gallbladder removal, and one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide. While the procedure has a very high success rate, 1 in 200 patients will sustain serious bile duct injury, primarily due to misidentification of the biliary anatomy. With 800,000 procedures carried out in the United States each year, that means in the U.S. alone 4,000 patients will be seriously injured.

30 Oct 2015

SLU hepatologist receives $150,000 grant to study preventative strategies for TPN-associated disorders

When a child is born prematurely, providing nutrition intravenously can be lifesaver. Unfortunately it can also cause liver damage down the road.

29 Oct 2015

Researchers develop multiplexed screening approach to study cancer development in mice

In a novel use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, which can be deployed to switch genes off, researchers from Germany, the UK and Spain have developed a multiplexed screening approach to study and model cancer development in mice. The scientists mutated genes in the adult mouse liver uncovering their cancer-causing roles and determining which combinations of genes cooperate to cause liver cancer.

27 Oct 2015

Cancer-causing parasitic worm may help patients recover from wounds, say JCU scientists

It's short, ugly and deadly. But James Cook University scientists have found a cancer-causing, parasitic worm could help patients recover from their wounds.

22 Oct 2015

Azti-Tecnalia optimizes industrial production of oat beta-glucan-based white bread

Azti-Tecnalia, the expert R&D centre for foodstuff and marine innovation, together with Artadi Alimentación, has achieved the industrial scale-up of white bread dough containing oat beta-glucans that lower blood cholesterol, thus optimising the formula for industrial processing conditions that will allow this bread to be marketed on a large scale.

20 Oct 2015

Mercy open new Endoscopy Suite to promote and practice gastrointestinal health

Mercy Medical Center has announced the opening of a new, state-of-the-art Endoscopy Suite to promote and practice gastrointestinal health. The unique, high-tech suite is located on the 2nd floor of Mercy's Mary Catherine Bunting Center at 345 St. Paul Place. Bunting Endoscopy will be under the direction of Dr. Paul J. Thuluvath, Medical Director of The Melissa L. Posner Institute for Digestive Health & Liver Disease at Mercy.

6 Oct 2015

Study raises hope for reducing life-threatening respiratory problems in infants

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have a lead on reducing life-threatening respiratory problems in infants born to women who develop the liver disorder intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).

30 Sep 2015

Lund University researchers reveal how the body develops acute pancreatitis

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden may have discovered one of the keys to understanding how the body develops acute pancreatitis. The results offer hope for the development of drugs that specifically target the disease.

8 Sep 2015

MACC1 gene can help predict better treatment options for patients with Klatskin carcinoma

Bile duct cancer is rare and is usually detected too late. Often only extensive liver surgery can help or, in rare cases, liver transplantation. But which patients will benefit from surgery and which will not, because their risk of cancer recurrence is too high? With the oncogene MACC1 as a biomarker, physicians for the first time have a tool to decide which treatment option is best for patients with Klatskin carcinoma, one type of bile duct cancer.

1 Sep 2015

UC San Diego researchers discover cells that regenerate better liver tissue than ordinary liver cells

The mechanisms that allow the liver to repair and regenerate itself have long been a matter of debate. Now researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a population of liver cells that are better at regenerating liver tissue than ordinary liver cells, or hepatocytes.

14 Aug 2015

Risk of hepatobiliary cancer higher in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

In a new study of more than 125,000 pregnant women in Sweden, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy found that the risk of hepatobiliary cancer and immune-mediated and cardiovascular diseases later in life is higher in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) than in women without this condition.

12 Aug 2015

Scientists produce functional liver cells from human embryonic and genetic engineered stem cells

The liver plays a critical role in human metabolism. As the gatekeeper of the digestive track, this massive organ is responsible for drug breakdown and is therefore the first to be injured due to overdose or misuse. Evaluating this drug-induced liver injury is a critical part of pharmaceutical drug discovery and must be carried out on human liver cells. Regretfully, human liver cells, called hepatocytes, are in scarce supply as they can only be isolated from donated organs.

31 Jul 2015

GLP-2 therapy may help fight neonatal parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease

A new study finds that exogenous glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) treatment may help fight neonatal parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD).

28 Jul 2015

New review article analyzes pros and cons of different treatment approaches to gallbladder disease

More than 25 million Americans have gallstones, and each year about 1 million new cases are diagnosed. Each year about 1.8 million people develop abdominal pain as a result of gallstones and go see a doctor about it. About 40 percent of these, more than 725,000 people a year, ultimately have surgery to resolve the problem.

23 Jul 2015

Research: 'Pill on a string' could help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer

A 'pill on a string' developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could help doctors detect oesophageal cancer - cancer of the gullet - at an early stage, helping them overcome the problem of wide variation between biopsies, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

21 Jul 2015