Liver Transplantation News and Research

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The extremes of BMI a cause for concern in liver transplantation

A recent study by doctors at the University of Washington explained that patients who are significantly underweight or very severely obese prior to liver transplantation are at increased risk of death following transplantation surgery.

4 Aug 2009

Mortality rates higher in hepatitis C virus carriers

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world's population, approximately 170 million people, are infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation.

31 Jul 2009

Hepatitis C infection: Treatment options equally effective, likelihood of success known early on

Results of a long-awaited study of 3,070 American adults at Johns Hopkins and 118 other U.S. medical centers show that treatment with either of the two standard antiviral drug therapies is safe and offers the best way for people infected with hepatitis C to prevent liver scarring, organ failure and death.

22 Jul 2009

New pathology tests double sensitivity to detect bile duct and pancreatic cancers

Pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer are difficult to diagnose and often fatal because they are discovered in the advanced stages of the disease. Researchers have developed new tests that double the ability to detect bile duct and pancreatic cancers, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the June issue of Gastroenterology.

1 Jun 2009

Scientists create human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the Hepatitis C virus

Taking aim at a leading cause of liver failure in the United States, a team of scientists at the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has developed a human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

5 May 2009

Anti-viral drug telaprevir improves response, halves duration of hepatitis C treatment

The addition of the anti-viral drug telaprevir to a standard treatment for hepatitis C can shorten the duration of therapy and increase the number of patients who can be cured of their disease, according to the results of study coordinated by investigators from the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

29 Apr 2009

Transplant physicians express serious concern about organ procurement practices in China

The globalization of health care and the growth of "transplant tourism" (traveling abroad to purchase donor organs and undergo organ transplantation) have outpaced the implementation of internationally accepted ethical standards for procurement of organs for transplantation.

22 Apr 2009

Early treatment for hepatitis C offers a good chance of a cure

Australian researchers say as many as 70% of hepatitis C carriers can possibly be cured of the disease with early treatment - this is excellent news as hepatitis C, if left untreated can lead to serious liver disease.

22 Apr 2009

Experts say propylthiouracil should not longer be used as first-line treatment for Graves' disease in children

Of the 4000 children with Graves' disease treated in the U.S. annually, 40 percent are routinely treated with the drug propylthiouracil.

16 Apr 2009

Omega-3 fatty acids may help cancer patients undergoing major operations

New research from Trinity College Dublin published in this month's Annals of Surgery points to a potentially significant advance in the treatment of patients undergoing major cancer surgery.

12 Apr 2009

The immune system's role in hepatitis C recurrence after liver transplantation

A new study pinpoints certain aspects of the immune system that may play a role in the recurrence and progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers investigate new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new way to block reproduction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) - targeting not the virus itself but the human genes the virus exploits in its life cycle.

20 Mar 2009

Liver transplant recipients with hepatitis B may need lifelong antiviral treatment

Patients who undergo liver transplantation for hepatitis B-related liver damage should receive lifelong antiviral treatment to keep the disease from coming back.

26 Feb 2009

Capn4 protein predicts liver cancer recurrence and after transplantation

A new study suggests that Capn4, a protein involved in cell migration, is associated with liver cancer recurrence and metastasis after liver transplantation.

3 Feb 2009

Blocking off splenic artery helps liver transplant patients with small-for-size syndrome

Blocking off the splenic artery, either through surgical ligation or radiological coiling, helped six out of seven patients suffering from small-for-size syndrome after a partial liver transplant.

3 Feb 2009

Transplanted fatty livers associated with worse prognosis for patients with hepatitis C

A new study suggests that patients with hepatitis C (HCV) who need a liver transplant should not receive an organ with high levels of fatty deposits (a.k.a. hepatic steatosis).

14 Jan 2009

Interferon as long-term treatment for hepatitis C not effective

Use of the drug interferon as a long-term maintenance strategy to slow the progression of liver disease associated with the hepatitis C virus is ineffective, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers and their colleagues from nine other institutions have found in a multicenter study.

5 Dec 2008

Anadys Pharmaceuticals receives fast track for ANA598 treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation to ANA598 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. ANA598 is Anadys' investigational hepatitis C non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor.

1 Dec 2008

Liver disease tackled with dedicated unit at Imperial College London

Liver disease death rates are rising in the UK, in contrast to other common diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and the new Robert Hesketh Hepatology Clinical Research Facility aims to provide care and develop new therapies to reverse this trend.