Bile News and Research

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Researchers identify three genetic regions associated with primary biliary cirrhosis

Researchers have newly identified three genetic regions associated with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), the most common autoimmune liver disease, increasing the number of known regions associated with the disorder to 25.

10 Sep 2012

Children with obesity face increased risk for gallstones

Children who are overweight or obese face an increased risk for gallstones, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition.

26 Aug 2012

Statins reduce pancreatitis risk

Statins reduce the risk for pancreatitis in patients with normal or mildly elevated triglyceride levels, say the authors of a large meta-analysis.

24 Aug 2012

Guidelines for parents to beat back-to-school bugs

School bells are beginning to sound again across the country, so it will only be a matter of time until every parent comes face-to-face with a child who wakes up with a cold, fever or upset stomach.

24 Aug 2012

Bile duct cancer chosen as next indication for PCI Biotech

PCI Biotech (PCIB) the Norwegian biopharmaceutical company, reported today that it has chosen bileduct cancer as the next indication for the use of its PCI (photochemical internalisation) localised cancer therapy. In this indication PCI Biotech’s proprietary photosensitiser Amphinex® will be used in combination with the generic cytotoxic agent gemcitabine. The aim is to start the clinical Proof of Concept study within end of 1H 2013.

21 Aug 2012

EMA COMP issues positive opinion to Albireo for A4250

Albireo AB, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in gastroenterology, today announced that the European Medicines Agency Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) has issued a positive opinion on an application for orphan medicinal product status for the company's lead hepatology candidate, A4250.

25 Jul 2012

Xlumena receives CE Mark approval to market AXIOS Stent and Delivery System

Xlumena, Inc. announces that it has received CE Mark approval to market its AXIOS Stent and Delivery System for biliary tract drainage.

18 Jul 2012

Activating NOTCH and AKT gene may trigger cholangiocarcinoma

A rare type of cancer thought to derive from cells in the bile ducts of the liver may actually develop when one type of liver cell morphs into a totally different type, a process scientists used to consider all but impossible. UCSF researchers triggered this kind of cellular transformation-and caused tumors to form in mice-by activating just two genes.

17 Jul 2012

Body rids itself of excess copper through urine: New study

Scientists have long known that the body rids itself of excess copper and various other minerals by collecting them in the liver and excreting them through the liver's bile. However, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published June 22 in PLoS One suggests that when this route is impaired there's another exit route just for copper: A molecule sequesters only that mineral and routes it from the body through urine.

14 Jul 2012

Chemotherapy improves survival for patients with periampullary cancer following resection

Patients who had surgery for periampullary cancer (a variety of types of cancer that are located in and near the head of the pancreas, including an area called the ampulla where the bile duct joins up with the pancreatic duct to empty their secretions into the upper small intestine) and received chemotherapy had a statistically significant survival benefit, compared to patients who did not receive chemotherapy, after adjusting for prognostic variables, according to a study in the July 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Jul 2012

MiR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism

In research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association and published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, Saint Louis University investigator -ngel Bald-n, Ph.D., found that the microRNA miR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism. Further, the research suggests that, in an animal model, the manipulation of this microRNA can improve the liver toxicity that can be caused by statins.

10 Jul 2012

AtheroNova receives U.S. patent allowance for 'Dissolution of Arterial Plaque'

AtheroNova Inc., a biotech company focused on the research and development of compounds to regress atherosclerotic plaque, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance for its patent application for Dissolution of Arterial Plaque.

10 Jul 2012

Acute pancreatitis: An interview with Viktor Oskarsson

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas. The most common symptom is acute abdominal pain, which is often accompanied with nausea and vomiting.

4 Jul 2012

Scientists develop new animal model to study nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Scientists at Texas Biomed have developed the laboratory opossum as a new animal model to study the most common liver disease in the nation - afflicting up to 15 million Americans - and for which there is no cure.

4 Jul 2012

New volumetric functional MRI scan figures out beneficiaries of chemotherapy in liver cancer patients

Studies on some 55 U.S. men and women with potentially deadly liver or pancreatic cancers show that specialized MRI scans can tell within a month whether highly toxic chemotherapy is working and killing tumor cells long before tumors actually shrink - or fail to shrink.

2 Jul 2012

Study reveals technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish

In mammals, most lipids are absorbed into the body via the small intestine. The complexity of the cells and fluids that inhabit this organ make it very difficult to study in a laboratory setting. New research from Carnegie's Steven Farber, James Walters and Jennifer Anderson reveals a technique that allows scientists to watch lipid metabolism in live zebrafish. This method enabled them to describe new aspects of lipid absorption that could have broad applications for human health.

29 Jun 2012

RapidChek- SELECT Salmonella highly sensitive to the presence of S. Typhi vaccine in stool

Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) is the causative agent of typhoid fever, a serious health threat resulting in some 22 million new cases yearly and approximately 217,000 fatalities. A number of novel vaccine candidates using live attenuated strains of Salmonella are being developed, but care must be taken to ensure the bacteria are not excreted into the environment following vaccination.

29 Jun 2012

MRI scans determine whether chemotherapy is working long before tumors shrink

26 Jun 2012

Largest study to examine impact of gastric sleeve surgery on pre-transplant obese patients

Morbidly obese patients with end-stage organ failure may improve their chances for successful organ transplantation after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, according to a new study presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

21 Jun 2012

Western-style diets may increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease

Certain saturated fats that are common in the modern Western diet can initiate a chain of events leading to complex immune disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in people with a genetic predisposition, according to a study to be published early online in the journal Nature.

14 Jun 2012