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.

Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood

UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened.

27 Apr 2005

Abnormal liver tests in a Mediterranean population

recent population-based study in a small town in Southern Italy found that one in eight residents had abnormal liver tests.

26 Apr 2005

High levels of immunosuppressant may lead to tumor recurrence

A new study on the incidence of liver cancer after transplant found that high levels of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine favored tumor recurrence and identified blood levels of the drug that should not be exceeded. Lower levels of cyclosporine levels did not affect rejection rates.

22 Apr 2005

Pneumonia jab now available for over 65s in UK

People over 65 in the UK are to be offered a routine jab to help protect against diseases, including pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia. Two in 1,000 over-65s are admitted to hospital with pneumococcal pneumonia each year and the infection can cause serious diseases.

5 Apr 2005

New trial for treatment of liver disease

The Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network is launching its first two clinical trials for the study of NASH, a liver disease that resembles alcoholic liver disease but occurs in patients who drink little or no alcohol.

3 Apr 2005

New drug approved for treating endometriosis

Drug manufacturer Pfizer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the release of depo-subQ provera 104 to be prescribed for the management of pain associated with endometriosis, a gynecological condition that affects one in ten women of reproductive age.

30 Mar 2005

Patients with Hepatitis C have a significant decrease in their health-related quality-of-life

Patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a significant decrease in their health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL), although treatment success can mitigate this negative effect.

28 Mar 2005

Statins appear to be safe for people with fatty liver disease

Statins appear to be safe for people with fatty liver disease who could benefit from their cholesterol-lowering capabilities, concludes a review paper published in the April 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

28 Mar 2005

Three risk factors have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation

Three risk factors: donor age; the length of time an organ is cooled between procurement and transplantation; and how urgently the recipient needs the transplant; have the greatest impact on patient and graft survival rates for liver transplantation, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Alcohol relapse adversely affects liver transplant survival

A new study on how alcohol relapse affects survival rates after liver transplants found that it adversely affected survival rates only after 10 years. The decrease in survival rates may, however, be due to other alcohol-related diseases.

22 Mar 2005

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help diagnose diseases of the esophagus

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help gastroenterologists diagnose and evaluate diseases of the esophagus, or swallowing tube. This new diagnostic tool is a further modification of capsule endoscopy, which has been used clinically since late 2001 to examine the small intestines.

15 Mar 2005

New hepatitis drug wins approval by FDA

An experimental hepatitis B drug has earned the praise of US health experts for its effectiveness and has been recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel to treat the liver disease in adults.

14 Mar 2005

Diabetic patients run three times the risk of developing liver cancer

The researchers trawled a surveillance database used for patients in receipt of Medicare funding for health care, to identify patients aged 65 and older, who had been diagnosed with liver cancer.

7 Mar 2005

New therapeutic targets in liver diseases

Many patients with liver diseases often encounter difficulties with therapy and ultimately require liver transplant to survive. Since many acute and chronic liver diseases are driven by immune-mediated mechanisms, there is a necessity to find new therapies that can inhibit these immune-based triggers and block liver damage.

6 Mar 2005

Pfizer acquires Idun Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Idun Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapies to control apoptosis, a process of cell death that occurs in a broad range of diseases.

24 Feb 2005

Scientists have replicated hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the laboratory

For the first time, scientists have replicated hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the laboratory. The ability to replicate HCV in cell culture will allow researchers to better study the life cycle and biology of this virus and to test potential antiviral compounds, which may lead to new therapies for the liver disease that results from infection with HCV.

22 Feb 2005

Pitt researcher presents findings on when to accept organ transplants

A transplant is the only option for someone with end-stage liver disease, but patients face difficult questions when choosing the best time to receive a transplant.

20 Feb 2005

Biochemical marker aids prognosis in liver transplant patients

A new study on whether the model used to identify patients most in need of a liver transplant can be improved upon found that measuring serum sodium in potential transplant patients helps to better predict those with a poor prognosis.

20 Feb 2005

Nonsurgical microspheres an option for liver cancer patients

A study in February’s Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology found that patients undergoing liver cancer treatment with Theraspheres?, radioactive microspheres containing Yittrium-90, can tolerate a 150 Gy single dose or 268 Gy repeated dose without risk of radiation-induced liver disease.

17 Feb 2005

Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens

The Department of Health and Human Services released its Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens today, adding seventeen substances to the growing list of cancer-causing agents, bringing the total to 246.

31 Jan 2005