Liver Disease News and Research

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The liver is one of the largest solid organs of the body. It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen. Most of the organ lies under cover of the rib cage.

Hepatitis B Foundation calls for consistent monitoring and referral of HBV infected children

An expert panel of nationally recognized pediatric liver specialists convened by the Hepatitis B Foundation is calling for more consistent monitoring and referral of children chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The panel's recommendations for pediatricians and other primary care practitioners stress the need for routine monitoring of children with chronic HBV infections, and timely consultation with a pediatric liver specialist.

6 Oct 2009

FDA Advisory Committee approves Peginterferon alfa-2b for treating metastatic melanoma

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the FDA Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee voted in favor of recommending approval of PEGINTRON® as a treatment in addition to surgery in patients with metastatic melanoma.

6 Oct 2009

Bristol-Myers Squibb to present new data on BARACLUDE and other compounds at the AASLD 2009

New data on four Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) compounds will be presented at the 60th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in Boston from October 30 to November 3.

3 Oct 2009

FASgen receives $1.4 million SBIR Phase II NIH grant for obesity research

FASgen, Inc. is pleased to announce that it was awarded a new $1.4 million SBIR Phase II NIH grant for continued research for obesity. FASgen has for some time had extensive research into the effects of inhibition of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway on the regulation of appetite and weight loss.

1 Oct 2009

Research study on teens who underwent laparoscopic bypass surgery

According to a recent study of clinical characteristics of teens who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery from 2002 until 2007, doctors may have a much narrower window of opportunity to reverse morbid obesity in teens than previously thought.

30 Sep 2009

Metabolic syndrome related to elevated levels of liver enzymes in obese teenagers

Researchers studying a large sample of adolescent American boys have found an association between metabolic syndrome, which is a complication of obesity, and elevated liver enzymes that mark potentially serious liver disease.

30 Sep 2009

Child health experts to gather in Italy for Excellence in Paediatrics conference

Obesity, the flu pandemic and diabetes are just three of the hot topics that will be explored when top child health experts gather in Italy for Excellence in Paediatrics from 3 to 6 December 2009.

28 Sep 2009

Tooth cell banking for the treatment of future diseases

Pioneered by BioEDEN, tooth cell banking is a safe, natural and wholly non-invasive method of collecting and preserving precious stem cells which could hold the key to children's health.

25 Sep 2009

StemCells to take part in international networking event

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today its participation in the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit to be held September 21 – 23 in Baltimore, Maryland.

22 Sep 2009

Alcoholism in Hispanics dependent on gene/environment interaction

Hispanics with alcohol-induced problems - especially male Mexican Americans - have significantly worse health and welfare than those with other ethnic backgrounds. This study examined the influence of gene/environment interaction on alcoholism among Mexican Americans. Researchers have found that interaction between education and a polymorphism of the reward gene contribute to severe alcoholism among Mexican Americans.

21 Sep 2009

Alcoholism may be dependent on IL-1 polymorphisms: Study

Cytokines are small proteins secreted by cells that serve as molecular messengers between cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines - which function in the immune system - may be involved in alcohol dependence (AD). A study of three polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 gene complex (IL-1) and one of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) has found that IL-1 may directly contribute to AD among Spanish Caucasian males.

21 Sep 2009

AMR finds 75 percent of hetastarch recipients underwent surgical procedures

Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), a provider of premier market intelligence for the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries, finds that for the January - May 2009 time period, a significantly higher percentage of hetastarch recipients (75%) underwent a surgical procedure when compared to those receiving albumin/plasma protein fraction (51%).

19 Sep 2009

Researchers study the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer

Penn State College of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southern California, have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer.

18 Sep 2009

Study: HBV genotype is not linked to hepatocellular carcinoma

Previous studies revealed that HBV genotypes as well as mutations in the core promoter, precore or HBx gene have been shown to have an association with the clinical outcome of liver disease, however, this is still controversial. It is likely that this depends on the HBV genotype distribution in certain region.

17 Sep 2009

New CLF survey on the unawareness of Canadians in contracting food-related illnesses

A new survey from the Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) reveals more than half of Canadians over the age of 25 (57 per cent) are concerned about contracting food-related illnesses like hepatitis A, but many are unaware that their everyday food preparation and consumption habits may put them at risk for this liver disease

17 Sep 2009

Researchers investigate individual's ability to get rid of Hepatitis C

More than seventy percent of people who contract Hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives and some will develop serious liver disease including cancer. However, 30 to 40 percent of those infected somehow defeat the infection and get rid of the virus with no treatment. In this week's Advanced Online Publication at Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers working as part of an international team report the discovery of the strongest genetic alteration associated with the ability to get rid of the infection.

17 Sep 2009

Food preparation methods may put Canadians at risk of liver disease

As we head into the winter months, when locally grown food is less available and our fresh foods have to be imported, do you know just how far your food has travelled and what it may have picked up along the way?

14 Sep 2009

ALF, Celsion partner to educate physicians about primary liver cancer treatments

Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN) and the American Liver Foundation (ALF) announced today that they have formed a partnership to provide education to physicians and liver patients about the treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma (commonly referred to as primary liver cancer) and Celsion’s on-going ThermoDox Phase III global HEAT clinical study.

14 Sep 2009

PFCD-PA praises Obama's commitment to healthcare reform

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease Pennsylvania Chapter (PFCD-PA) commends President Barack Obama for his continued commitment to healthcare reform. PFCD-PA, and its partner organizations, strongly agree that the current state of the healthcare system in the United States cannot continue.

11 Sep 2009

Second-hand tobacco smoke exposure results in NAFLD

A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside has found that even second-hand tobacco smoke exposure can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common disease and rising cause of chronic liver injury in which fat accumulates in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol.

11 Sep 2009