Encephalopathy News and Research

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Prevention of primary variceal bleeding

Beta blockers should be the first line of prevention against variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. While banding is similarly effective in reducing the incidence of such bleeding, it can have fatal complications and is more expensive.

10 Sep 2007

FDA approves Acambis smallpox vaccine

Acambis plc (Acambis) has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its ACAM2000 (Smallpox (Vaccinia) Vaccine, Live) vaccine for protection against smallpox.

4 Sep 2007

Global public health security in the 21st century

More than at any previous time in history, global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats.

23 Aug 2007

Ibuprofen improves cognitive function in rats induced with chronic liver failure

Cognitive impairment is one of the neurological effects in patients with hepatic encephalopathy (abnormal brain function due to severe liver disease).

2 Aug 2007

New insights into prion propagation

Prions - infectious, oddly-folded proteins that are the main suspects in fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as Cruetzfeldt-Jakob and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" - remain mostly a mystery to scientists.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers step toward a Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease test

Researchers have shown that a recently developed laboratory method to amplify prions (Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification) can be applied to variant CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).

4 Jul 2007

U.S. government prevents meat packer testing for mad cow disease

In what is being seen by many as a curious and in some ways surprising move, the U.S. government is trying to prevent a Kansas meat packer from testing all of their animals for Mad Cow disease.

31 May 2007

Another cow found with Mad Cow disease in Canada

Canadian officials say another case of Mad Cow disease has been found in a dairy cow in British Columbia.

3 May 2007

Racial disparities in treatment of patients with cirrhosis and complications of portal hypertension

African-American and Hispanic patients hospitalized for complications of portal hypertension were less likely to undergo a palliative shunt, prompt endoscopy, or liver transplantation compared to white patients, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

2 May 2007

Liver stiffness indicates severe portal hypertension in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis

Measuring liver stiffness using transient elastography can predict severe portal hypertension in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

2 May 2007

Clinical and imaging evidence of Zolpidem effect in hypoxic encephalopathy

A new study reported that zolpidem, a drug normally used to treat insomnia, temporarily improved brain function in a patient suffering from akinetic mutism, a condition in which the person is alert but cannot speak or move.

13 Mar 2007

Lactulose improves quality of life in patients with cirrhosis who have minimal hepatic encephalopathy

A study on patients with cirrhosis who had minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE), a condition in which behavioral, psychological and neurological changes are associated with advanced liver disease, found that cognitive function and health related quality-of-life improved when they took lactulose. Lactulose is a drug used to help eliminate toxins such as ammonia that are normally cleared by the liver.

5 Mar 2007

Mad cow disease appears again in Canadian cattle

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says there has been another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canadian cattle.

12 Feb 2007

UK scientists reverse symptoms of mad cow disease

The researchers at University College, London, believe they have found a way to treat the disease in humans as long as it is detected before it has done harm to a large number of brain cells.

1 Feb 2007

Health officials accused over cover up in deaths from vCJD

A cover up on the part of British health authorities meant a man who had been infected with CJD from contaminated blood during a transfusion was not told until he was dying what was really wrong with him.

11 Dec 2006

CJD closes operating theatres in Canada

All surgery at a hospital in Ontario Canada has been halted after it was discovered that a patient undergoing neurosurgery on November 30th may have had the fatal brain-wasting disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD).

6 Dec 2006

High rates of pertussis found in States with easy immunization exemptions

States that easily permit parents to opt out of vaccinating their children for nonmedical reasons are at increased risk of pertussis (whooping cough), according to a new study from researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

10 Oct 2006