Liver News and Research

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Slowing engines of mitochondria could extend life

In making your pro-longevity resolutions, like drinking more red wine and maintaining a vibrant social network, here's one you likely forgot: dialing down your mitochondria. It turns out that slowing the engines of these tiny cellular factories could extend your life-an observation relevant not only to aging research but to our understanding of how cells communicate with each another.

10 Jan 2011

FDA, EMA accept boceprevir for expedited review

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that regulatory applications for boceprevir, Merck's investigational oral hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, were submitted in 2010 and have been accepted for expedited review in both the U.S. and the European Union.

10 Jan 2011

Study finds link between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and stroke

People suffering from fatty liver disease may be three times more likely to suffer a stroke than individuals without fatty liver, according to a study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the London Health Sciences Centre.

10 Jan 2011

Entelos receives U.S. Patent for Predictive Toxicology for Biological Systems

Entelos, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,853,406 entitled "Predictive Toxicology for Biological Systems" to the Company.

9 Jan 2011

Vaccines for alcoholism and cocaine addiction coming soon

In a latest development, researchers from Chile have come up with a vaccine to cure alcoholics. It will help them kick the habit by creating a sensation of a terrible hangover after just a few drinks. The mechanism by which this vaccine acts is by neutralizing a group of enzymes that help the body to break down alcohol. When the enzymes aldehyde dehydrogenase is disabled the body accumulates the alcohol to create the hangovers after just a few drinks.

9 Jan 2011

Positive results from LifeCycle Pharma's LCP-Tacro comparative trial in de novo liver transplant patients

LifeCycle Pharma A/S has announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 58 patients comparing LCP-Tacro™ tablets administered once-daily versus Prograf® (tacrolimus) capsules (Astellas Pharma) administered twice-daily in de novo liver transplant patients for one year.

7 Jan 2011

Athersys completes patient enrollment in MultiStem Phase I study for leukemia

Athersys, Inc. today announced that it has completed patient enrollment of the single dose arm of a clinical study involving administration of MultiStem to patients being treated for leukemia or other blood born cancers.

7 Jan 2011

Isis Pharmaceuticals announces addition of two new drugs to development pipeline

Isis Pharmaceuticals, announced today that it has added two new drugs to its development pipeline, ISIS-FGFR4Rx and ISIS-STAT3Rx.

7 Jan 2011

Liver transplant recipients develop PTMS, face high risk of cardiovascular disease

Researchers from Israel have determined that more than half of liver transplant recipients develop post-transplantation metabolic syndrome, placing them at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.

7 Jan 2011

Findings of AM095 in various in vitro, in vivo models of fibrotic disease published in JPET

Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the publication of its findings in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics which describes the biologic effects and the characterization of AM095, a lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 antagonist, in various in vitro and in vivo models of fibrotic disease.

6 Jan 2011

Scientists identify prognostic biomarker to treat patients with HCV

Scientists at Inserm and Institut Pasteur have performed biomarker discovery on patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C infection. Their work, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that the plasma levels of the protein IP-10 predict, prior to treatment initiation, the efficacy of treatment with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin.

6 Jan 2011

Positive topline results from ZGN-433 Phase 1b study in obesity patients

Zafgen, a pharmaceutical company pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism, today announced positive topline results from its Phase 1b study of ZGN-433, a methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor, for the treatment of severe obesity.

6 Jan 2011

Investigators receive two Alpha-1 Foundation grants for research on lung disorder

The Alpha-1 Foundation announced today that it has awarded two research grants to investigators whose research will contribute to our understanding of the causes and mechanisms that give rise to lung disease.

6 Jan 2011

Betulin in birch bark appears to provide metabolic benefits

An ingredient found in abundance in birch bark appears to have an array of metabolic benefits, according to new studies in animals that are reported in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

5 Jan 2011

ReproCELL to enter collaborative iPS cell-derived hepatocytes R&D agreement with NIBIO

ReproCELL, Inc. (CEO: Chikafumi Yokoyama PhD) announces today that the company will enter a collaborative R&D agreement with the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO; Director General: Koichi Yamanishi; Osaka, Japan), which could offer new hepatocyte derived from human iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells used for an effective in-vitro drug screening for hepatic toxicity and liver metabolism.

5 Jan 2011

Critical tuning dial for controlling whole body energy

Researchers have found what appears to be a critical tuning dial for controlling whole body energy, according to a new report in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. When energy levels within cells drop, it sets off a series of events designed to increase the amount of calorie-rich dietary fat that the body will absorb.

5 Jan 2011

Alnylam presents ALN-VSP Phase I trial results for liver cancer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today presented new clinical data from its ALN-VSP Phase I liver cancer trial in a presentation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Results from molecular analysis of human biopsy samples showed achievement of pharmacologically relevant siRNA drug levels in tissues.

5 Jan 2011

Hepatitis A scare at Long Island church

Health officials have warned that parishioners who received Holy Communion during Christmas Mass at a church on Long Island may have been exposed to hepatitis A and may need vaccinated as soon as possible. Particularly those who received Communion at the 10.30am and 12pm (local time) masses on December 25, 2010, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Massapequa Park should get the shots.

4 Jan 2011

Fear of the fat promoted to curb obesity

The Australian Medical Association has recommended the use of graphic television advertisements in Victoria to warn people about the risks of eating fatty foods. Rising rates of obesity has prompted these extreme measures. The proposed ads in television and newspaper would cost $25 million and would show the effects of fat on the body’s internal organs. The AMA’s proposals are part of a submission calling for $63 million to fight obesity.

3 Jan 2011

FDA authorizes Juventas' JVS-100 Phase II clinical trial for critical limb ischemia

Juventas Therapeutics, a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing novel therapies for cardiovascular disease, announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized commencement of a Phase II clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead product, JVS-100, for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI).

3 Jan 2011