Liver News and Research

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Study: Stricture recurrence rate is low, recurrence can be retreated endoscopically

Researchers from Italy have reported results from more than 10 years of follow-up showing that the placement of multiple endoscopic stents for the treatment of postoperative biliary strictures remains excellent with a low rate of stricture recurrence after this lengthy period of time. When strictures do recur, they can be safely and successfully retreated endoscopically. The study appears in the September issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

22 Sep 2010

Impact of cancer treatment on cardiovascular function

For the past two decades, cancer therapy has become more sophisticated and effective, resulting in an ever-expanding group of long-term cancer survivors. There is also a growing awareness of the potentially negative effects of cancer treatment on the heart and the management of cardiac disease during and after cancer therapy.

22 Sep 2010

Phenex Pharmaceuticals announces closure of Series C financing round

Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, a drug discovery and development company headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, today announced the closure of its Series C financing round with a volume of 6 M € (7,8 M USD) bringing the total amount of funds raised to 17,2 M € (22,4 M USD).

21 Sep 2010

Annals of Internal Medicine publishes GRACE study data on HIV therapy

Data from the GRACE study will be published in the September 21st issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. GRACE is the largest-ever study of treatment experienced adult women with HIV-1 to examine gender differences in response to HIV therapy. Sponsored by Tibotec Therapeutics Clinical Affairs, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Services, LLC, the GRACE study enrolled 67 percent women, demonstrating that it is possible to recruit large numbers of women into U.S.-based HIV treatment studies.

21 Sep 2010

Stanford Cancer Center announces successful treatment of 5,000th patient with CyberKnife system

When Lori Brownell's first tumor appeared − on her left carotid artery − it was surgically removed, leaving an inches-long incision to heal. It was eight years before the feeling returned to that side of her neck, and for a time, she couldn't drive because she couldn't turn her head far enough.

21 Sep 2010

Regular consumption of watercress can prevent breast cancer: Research

Watercress, the super food, is now watercress the breast cancer preventive according to a study released September 20, 2010 in The British Journal of Nutrition conducted by the Cancer Research Centre at the School of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital in the United Kingdom.

21 Sep 2010

Talecris Biotherapeutics announces 2010 eALTA award recipients

Talecris Biotherapeutics GmbH announced yesterday the recipients of the 2010 European alpha1-antitrypsin Laurell's Training Awards (eALTA). The annual awards, sponsored by Talecris, provide two fellowships of 50,000 euros to young investigators whose research aims to enhance the understanding and treatment of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AAT deficiency).

21 Sep 2010

Sanofi-aventis releases Lantus(R) study results for type 2 diabetes

Sanofi-aventis announced today results of two studies presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 46th Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

20 Sep 2010

Lisofylline drug effective for Type 2 diabetes

Australian scientists, in association with US pharmaceutical company DiaKine Therapeutics, have shown that a drug candidate, Lisofylline, could be useful in treating Type 2 diabetes.

20 Sep 2010

Adenovirus exposure may cause obesity in children: Study

The emerging idea that obesity may have an infectious origin gets new support in a cross-sectional study by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers who found that children exposed to a particular strain of adenovirus were significantly more likely to be obese.

20 Sep 2010

Improper biological clocks tend to develop diabetes, obesity: Research

Biologists have found that a key protein that regulates the biological clocks of mammals also regulates glucose production in the liver and that altering the levels of this protein can improve the health of diabetic mice.

20 Sep 2010

Blood test developed for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease diagnosis

Scientists at the Basque Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE) and OWL Genomics Ltd. (Bilbao, Spain), in collaboration with researchers at the INSERM and University Hospitals (APHP Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, Pierre & Marie Curie University Paris and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Nice, University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, France), Vanderbilt University (Nashville, US), the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, US), Clinic Hospital and IDIBAPS (Barcelona, Spain) and the Alcalá de Henares University (Alcalá de Henares, Spain) have used metabolomics technology to develop a blood test for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) diagnosis.

19 Sep 2010

Scientists discover simple blood test for accurate diagnoses of liver damage

Scientists have discovered that the presence of specific proteins in the blood are indicative of early liver cell damage and can determine the point at which cell death occurred, the type of cell death, and the extent of any damage. This could lead to liver damage being assessed faster and more accurately in the future information which could prove valuable when treating people following drug overdoses.

18 Sep 2010

Use of oral medications for diabetes increases among Americans: Report

The proportion of Americans reporting treatment for diabetes who took oral medications to treat their condition increased from 60 percent in 1997 to 77 percent in 2007, a 28 percent increase according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. During the same period, the proportion taking insulin to control their diabetes fell from 38 percent to 24 percent.

18 Sep 2010

Accuray Incorporated showcases CyberKnife VSI System at ESTRO Annual Congress

Accuray Incorporated, a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced today that for the first time in Europe the company showcased its latest offering, the CyberKnife VSI System, at ESTRO 29, the Annual Congress of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Barcelona, Spain.

18 Sep 2010

Biomedical applications of 'warrior worms' in snails

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a caste of genetically identical "warrior worms" -- members of a parasitic fluke species that invades the California horn snail. The findings are reported in the early online version of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

17 Sep 2010

Vital Therapies expands SILVER clinical trial to Middle East

Vital Therapies, Inc., is pleased to announce that the first subject has been enrolled at National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the further expansion of its SILVER clinical trial to the Middle East. The trial is evaluating whether VTI's biological cellular therapy product, ELAD, can prevent deterioration of liver function and improve the survival of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

17 Sep 2010

BCM-95 curcumin exhibits anti-inflammatory properties

Top researchers at the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Lab at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas are exploring the clinical applications of BCM-95®, a new patented extract of curcumin with unprecedented potency, and bioavailability.

17 Sep 2010

FDA grants AGTC $1M for Phase II human clinical trial in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that it has received a grant of $1 million from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA Orphan Drugs Program) to fund a Phase II Human Clinical Trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment for Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AAT), a genetic disease known to result in serious lung and/or liver disease.

17 Sep 2010

Artificial pancreas for diabetics

In another few years diabetics may be treated using an artificial pancreas developed by Professor Joan Taylor professor of Pharmaceutics at De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester. This could mean freedom from daily insulin injections she said.

16 Sep 2010