Liver Transplant News and Research

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When a patient presents with end stage liver disease or liver failure he or she may be considered for a liver transplantation. The first step in this is often a rigorous assessment and being placed on a waiting list.

Can-Fite's CF102 decreases HCV viral load in liver cancer patients

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reported today that a significant decrease in HCV viral load was detected in 3 patients with liver cancer who are treated daily orally with CF102. The company is studying CF102 as a treatment for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC). The results announced today relate to data which came out of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CF102 in the treatment of patients with advanced HCC.

26 Jul 2010

UDCA fails to improve overall histology in NASH patients: Study

A study conducted by researchers at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany found that high doses of ursodeoxycholic acid, suggested by some studies to have a beneficial effect on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, does not improve overall histology in these patients. Full findings of this study are published in the August issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

21 Jul 2010

First triple-organ transplantation performed on young Brenham resident at Texas Children's Hospital

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston has performed the hospital's first triple-organ transplant on a 16-year-old Brenham resident. The patient, Taylor Sherrouse, underwent a 13-hour surgery on Tuesday, June 22 to replace her heart, lungs and liver, which had been severely damaged by cystic fibrosis. Taylor is one of only three pediatric patients in the country this decade to receive heart, lungs and liver in one operation.

15 Jul 2010

Researchers identify a set of molecular signatures for biliary atresia

Researchers have identified a set of "molecular signatures" for biliary atresia - the most common diagnosis leading to liver transplant in children - that can help identify the progression of disease at diagnosis and predict clinical outcomes.

1 Jul 2010

5-month-old, 4 pound infant receives lifesaving liver transplant

A 5-month-old New York infant received a lifesaving liver transplant for advanced liver failure diagnosed following her birth 10 weeks premature. One of the smallest babies ever to successfully receive a liver transplant, she weighed 4 pounds at the time of the surgery.

30 Jun 2010

Antiviral therapy prevents recurrence of HCC, extends patients' lives, researchers report

Previous studies have shown that antiviral treatment reduces the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis B. But now, researchers from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University are reporting that the antiviral therapy also prevents recurrence of HCC and extends patients' lives.

25 Jun 2010

Cyclosporine treatment develops higher de novo cancer risk in liver transplant patients: Researchers

Researchers at Erasmus MC University Medical Centre in The Netherlands found that cyclosporine treatment is a significant risk factor for the development of de novo cancer in liver transplant patients. Full details appear in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

25 Jun 2010

St. Luke's joins Dr. John Goss in celebration of his 1,000th liver transplantation procedure

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (St. Luke's) joins John Goss, M.D., in celebrating his milestone as he recently performed his 1,000th liver transplantation procedure. The largest liver transplant program in Houston's world-renowned Texas Medical Center, St. Luke's performs approximately 75 liver transplants annually. Additionally, St. Luke's liver transplant survival rate is the highest in the nation, with a one-year adult patient survival rate of 96.5 percent compared to the national expected survival rate of 89.38 percent.

24 Jun 2010

Arterial reconstruction in adult-to-adult LDLT has high risk of thrombosis: Study

Hepatic artery thrombosis, which is the most common vascular complication after living donor liver transplantation, can result in graft loss and devastating consequences. Surgical techniques are suggested to an important factor in causing HAT. Despite improvements in surgical techniques, arterial reconstruction in LDLT has a high risk of thrombosis.

21 Jun 2010

Discarded livers have potential to be reengineered into usable replacement organs: Researchers

A team led by researchers from the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a technique that someday may allow growth of transplantable replacement livers. In their report that will be published in Nature Medicine and is receiving early online release, the investigators describe using the structural tissue of rat livers as scaffolding for the growth of tissue regenerated from liver cells introduced through a novel reseeding process.

14 Jun 2010

Combination of SIR-Spheres and Sorafenib confers survival benefit for patients with inoperable HCC

A unique combination of liver targeted radioactive microspheres (SIR-Spheres) and a standard-of-care systemic agent (Sorafenib) appears to confer a survival benefit for patients with inoperable primary hepatocellular cancer including those with disease that has spread outside the liver, according to the results of a prospective clinical study presented today at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.

10 Jun 2010

Vital Therapies commences enrollment in ELAD SILVER trial for acute-on-chronic liver failure

Vital Therapies, Inc., (VTI) is pleased to announce that the first two subjects have been enrolled at King's College Hospital in London in the expansion of its SILVER (Stabilization In LiVER failure) clinical trial in Europe. 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 (ACLF).

9 Jun 2010

Combined cardiac bypass and liver tumor surgery performed on 63-year-old Nigerian

Adding another feat to the history of cardiothoracic surgery at Fortis Hospitals Bangalore, the team of experts led by noted Dr. Vivek Jawali, Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Dr. Ramcharan Thiagarajan, Consultant Surgical GI & Hepato-Pancreatic Biliary Surgoen has performed a combined cardiac bypass and liver tumor surgery on a 63 year old Nigerian.

8 Jun 2010

Montefiore-Einstein announces Abdominal Organ Transplant Symposium on June 10, 2010

The Montefiore-Einstein Abdominal Organ Transplantation Service will hold an Abdominal Organ Transplant Symposium on Thursday, June 10, 2010 from 7:30 am - 4:30 pm at the Moses Division of Montefiore Medical Center on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx, NY.

4 Jun 2010

Anti-seizure drug can be used to treat AT deficiency: Pitt researchers

The liver scarring of α1-antitrypsin deficiency, the most common genetic cause for which children undergo liver transplantation, might be reversed or prevented with a medication that has long been used to treat seizures, according to findings from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that will published in Science and are available online today through the Science Express website.

4 Jun 2010

Old practice may discourage organ donation among minority individuals

A new Mayo Clinic study, published in the June 2010 issue of Gastroenterology, disputes a long-held hypothesis that a donor's race has an impact on the success of liver transplants.

3 Jun 2010

New treatment benefits patients with advanced liver disease due to HCV infection: Researchers

Researchers at the UCLA Medical Center found that antiviral therapy during compensated cirrhosis, when compared with all other strategies, is the most cost-effective approach to treating patients with advanced liver disease due to hepatitis C infection. Full details appear in the June issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

28 May 2010

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