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.

New tool appears to accurately identify patients at risk of death from alcohol-associated hepatitis

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new scoring system to help health care professionals predict the 30-day mortality risk for patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis, and the tool appears to more accurately identify patients at highest risk of death and those likely to survive.

15 Feb 2022

NIH grant renewal will enable Nebraska scientist to advance research on virtual immune system

The renewal of a National Institutes of Health grant will enable a University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher to continue developing a tool that illuminates the complex, multi-scale interplay of the immune system's many components.

8 Feb 2022

Study assesses the antibody response to additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine in transplant recipients

A study has begun to assess the antibody response to an additional dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney and liver transplant recipients, either alone or with a concurrent reduction in immunosuppressive medication.

31 Jan 2022

Blood proteoforms may help predict liver transplant rejection

Northwestern University scientists have discovered families of proteins in the body that could potentially predict which patients may reject a new organ transplant, helping inform decisions about care.

27 Jan 2022

Eligible adults urged to take part in world-first COVID-19 study of antivirals

Adults over the age of 50 or with an underlying health condition who test positive for COVID-19 are being urged to sign up for a world-first COVID-19 study which is providing life-saving antivirals to thousands of people.

24 Jan 2022

ASTRO provides new guidance on the use of external beam radiation therapy for primary liver cancers

A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides guidance on the use of radiation therapy to treat adult patients with primary liver cancers using external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).

12 Jan 2022

Maternal transfer of healthier gut bacteria helps neonates to resist biliary atresia

Biliary atresia is a rare disease that occurs when a delicate tree-like set of ducts that carry bile from the liver to the intestine becomes scarred and blocked. While some treatments can slow the damage, most children who develop biliary atresia will die without a liver transplant.

10 Jan 2022

Study uses metabolomics to discriminate drug-induced liver injury phenotypes

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an adverse reaction to ingesting a drug, which can appear both in developmental stages, in their clinical use and even after being approved as a drug.

30 Dec 2021

First pediatric-only guidelines for the use of pacemakers and implantable defibrillators

Children's Hospital Los Angeles cardiologist Michael Silka, MD, helped to pioneer the development of indications for the use of pacemakers and implantable defibrillators in young patients.

6 Dec 2021

Bariatric surgery lowers risk of liver disease, heart complications in patients with fatty liver disease

A Cleveland Clinic study shows that patients with obesity and advanced fatty liver disease who had bariatric weight loss surgery significantly lowered their future risk of liver disease complications and serious cardiovascular disease compared with patients who did not have surgery.

11 Nov 2021

SBIR grant awarded to develop treatment for alcoholic liver disease-associated hepatorenal syndrome

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and MitoPower LLC were awarded an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant of up to $6.5 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

9 Nov 2021

The impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on digestive health

The UEG Public Affairs Committee has published a position paper to educate policymakers, patients, healthcare professionals, and the general public about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on digestive health.

2 Nov 2021

Effectiveness of mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in immunocompromised individuals

Israeli researchers evaluate the antibody response in ICPs to assess antibody-mediated immunity following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

26 Oct 2021

New source of stem cells could help treat people with Alagille syndrome

Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys have discovered a new source of stem cells just outside the liver that could help treat people living with Alagille syndrome, a rare, incurable genetic disorder in which the bile ducts of the liver are absent, leading to severe liver damage and death.

12 Oct 2021

6 months to live or die: How long should an alcoholic liver disease patient wait for a transplant?

The night before Brian Gorzney planned to check into rehab for alcohol use, he began vomiting blood. First at 2 a.m. Then 5. And again at 11.

12 Oct 2021

Cesarean birth may not be the safest mode of delivery for transplant patients

New research suggests that cesarean births for transplant patients carry higher risks to baby and mother.

5 Oct 2021

Survey: Over half of chronic liver disease patients had procedures cancelled or delayed due to COVID-19

The results of a new patient survey by the British Liver Trust reveal that over half of chronic liver disease patients say they’ve had procedures cancelled or delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

24 Sep 2021

Children receiving living donor liver transplant less likely to experience organ rejection

In the United States alone, 500 children will need a liver transplant this year. While liver tissue can come from living or deceased donors, no studies have demonstrated which of these methods leads to better outcomes for children. In a new publication, researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles pooled published results from over 8,000 pediatric patients across four continents. The data reveal that children who receive living donor liver tissue for transplants are far less likely to experience serious complications like organ rejection.

22 Sep 2021

New online tool to predict mortality risk for patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure

For patients with chronic liver disease, the onset of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) instantly alters the transplant question from 'if' to 'when'. 60 to 70% of patients with ACLF die within 3 months due to poor liver function and multiple organ failure.

13 Sep 2021

Study pinpoints an entirely new approach for treatment of biliary atresia

Biliary atresia is the largest cause of end-stage liver fibrosis in children and the main reason children need liver transplants. Despite many years of worldwide research, scientists have not yet found a way to prevent the condition.

7 Sep 2021