Encephalopathy News and Research

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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

British tourist in Hong Kong has mad cow disease

A British tourist in Hong Kong has been struck down with what appears to be mad cow disease.

30 Aug 2006

Rett syndrome can also strike males

The common thinking in the past had been that Rett syndrome only affects girls.

8 Aug 2006

Latest 'mad cow' in Canada was pregnant

According to Canadian officials the dairy cow which is the country's latest suspected case of mad cow disease was heavily pregnant.

10 Jul 2006

New aspect of prion disease - agent causes heart damage

Until now, prion disease has been thought of as a chronic neurological condition.

9 Jul 2006

New discovery boosts basic understanding of prion infections

Brittleness is often seen as a sign of fragility. But in the case of infectious proteins called prions, brittleness makes for a tougher, more menacing pathogen.

28 Jun 2006

vCJD may have infected far more people than previously thought

Scientists at the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the University of Edinburgh say that thousands may be infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) without showing signs or symptoms.

21 May 2006

Hidden thousands devastated by myalgic encephalomyelitis

New research published by the UK's leading Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) charity, Action for M.E., suggests that a hidden 55,000 people in Britain are so severely affected by the illness that they're either bed-bound or house-bound.

11 May 2006

Mad cow disease appears again in Canadian cattle

According to Canada's Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), tests have confirmed that a six-year-old dairy cow in the Canadian province of British Columbia suffered from mad cow disease.

16 Apr 2006

Similarities and differences in outcomes of cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatitis C

Cirrhosis related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with fewer complications and a lower mortality compared to cirrhosis from hepatitis C, despite NASH patients' greater risk of dying from cardiovascular events.

11 Apr 2006

Increase in variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease predicted

According to the latest research far more people may be at risk of contracting variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) than previously thought.

28 Mar 2006

Successful cell engineering may prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)

Researchers at Texas A&M University have successfully "knocked down" the expression of possible disease-causing genes in a cloned goat fetus, perhaps paving the way for breeding disease resistance in other animals, even those genes that might cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad Cow Disease.

23 Mar 2006