Cirrhosis News and Research

Latest Cirrhosis News and Research

Underlying malignancies can cause rebleeding after negative angiography

Acute non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding accounts for approximately 20% of emergency room visits and 5% of admissions. Although endoscopy has been used as a first-line treatment option in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, angiographic intervention can be used as a safe diagnostic and treatment method in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding that is refractory to endoscopic treatment.

17 Sep 2009

Merck update on the status of telcagepant clinical development programs

Merck & Co., Inc. today updated the status of the clinical development programs for telcagepant (MK-0974) and MK-3207, the Company's investigational oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists for the intermittent treatment of acute migraine.

11 Sep 2009

Higher rate of motor vehicle crashes in MHE patients

A recent study by Jasmohan Bajaj, M.D., and colleagues from Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire VA Medical Center found that patients with cirrhosis of the liver who developed minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) had a 16% rate of motor vehicle crashes compared to only 4% of those without MHE over one year.

10 Sep 2009

Genetic risk factor involved in cystic fibrosis discovered

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a genetic risk factor for severe liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis. Those who carry a particular variant of the SERPINA1 gene (also known as alpha-1-antitrypsin or alpha-1-antiprotease) are five times more likely to develop cirrhosis and other liver complications than patients who carry the normal version of the gene.

9 Sep 2009

Rise in primary liver cancer cases attributed to increased alcohol consumption

Cases of primary liver cancer have tripled in the last 30 years according to statistics published today by Cancer Research UK.

7 Sep 2009

Medtronic's COPE-HCV clinical study commences

Medtronic, Inc., today reported the initiation and first enrollments of patients in COPE-HCV (COntinuous Interferon Delivery via the Medtronic Paradigm Pump Infusion System Clinical Evaluation for Chronic HCV), the company’s first-ever clinical study using an external pump infusion system to treat patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

3 Sep 2009

Government, medical and community experts to discuss about prevention and detection of viral hepatitis

To address this public health challenge, government, medical and community experts will meet September 10-11 in Washington, D.C. to plan an improved national response to viral hepatitis. The conference "The Dawn of a New Era: Transforming our Domestic Response to Hepatitis B & C" will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions and scientific poster sessions focused on enhancing the prevention and detection of viral hepatitis and improving care for people who are already living with the disease.

2 Sep 2009

Paper discussing the mechanism of the selective TGR5 agonist INT-777 published in Cell Metabolism

Bile acids are known to be key regulators of lipid, glucose and overall energy metabolism. Bile acid activation of the G protein-coupled receptor TGR5 has been shown to induce energy expenditure in muscle and brown fat, thereby conferring resistance to weight gain.

2 Sep 2009

Caucasians have a higher rate of HBV recurrence compared to Asian Americans and African Americans

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1.5 to 2 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Prior studies have shown there to be significant racial differences in access to and outcomes of liver transplantation. Recently, doctors from across the U.S. conducted a multicenter retrospective-prospective study of the waitlist status and outcomes of liver transplant patients with HBV infection.

28 Aug 2009

Relationship between the CD14 variation and the formation of portal lymphoid aggregates discovered

It is still unknown why the natural history of chronic disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), which currently infects 3% of the world's population, varies from mild in some patients to rapidly progressing in others. Age, sex, alcohol consumption and liver sensitivity to gut-derived bacterial endotoxins, were the early factors defined to enhance the risk of fibrosis progression.

27 Aug 2009

FDA accepts for filing Salix Pharmaceuticals' NDA for rifaximin tablets

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) today announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and designated for Priority Review the Company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for rifaximin tablets 550 mg for the maintenance of remission of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Additionally, the FDA has informed the Company of its plan to schedule an Advisory Committee meeting in late February 2010 to discuss the application.

25 Aug 2009

USPTO grants MultiCell Technologies patent for its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MCET) announced today it has been granted U.S. patent 7,566,567 by the United States of America Patent and Trademark Office covering its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines.

20 Aug 2009

Research reveals effectiveness of carvedilol in preventing variceal hemorrhage

Patients with cirrhosis are at risk for developing portal hypertension that can lead to the formation, dilation, and rupture of esophageal varices. The annual incidence of esophageal varices is approximately 5% and one third of those will bleed.

20 Aug 2009

Study unveils detrimental effects of high-dose ursodeoxycholic acid on patients with PSC

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an uncommon chronic liver disease characterized by progressive inflammation and destruction of the bile ducts. The disease progresses slowly, usually leading to biliary cirrhosis, portal hypertension and liver failure over a 10-15 year period. PSC is a common cause of adult cholestatic liver diseases and a primary source behind many of the liver transplantations in U.S. adults. At least 70% of PSC cases are associated with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), usually ulcerative colitis. Currently, there is no cure for PSC and prospective treatments remain ineffective.

20 Aug 2009

InterMune receives $20 million event payment from Roche for initiating the Phase 2b trial of RG7227/ ITMN-191

Roche (SIX: ROG.VX; RO.S, OTCQX: RHHBY) and InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN) today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2b study evaluating the hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, RG7227/ ITMN-191, in combination with PEGASYS(R) (pegylated interferon alfa-2a) and COPEGUS(R) (ribavirin). The study, to be conducted at 45 sites globally, will further define the safety and efficacy profile of RG7227/ ITMN-191, for a treatment duration of up to 24 weeks. Approximately 300 treatment-naive patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1 - the most difficult to treat form of the virus - will participate.

20 Aug 2009

Discovery of mechanism that allows hepatitis C virus to remain in the body for decades

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that the virus blocks the actions of a specific ion channel in the cell membrane that would usually trigger apoptosis - the cell's self-destruct programme - and in doing so, has evolved another way of protecting itself from being eliminated from the body.

19 Aug 2009

New findings on how hepatitis C survives for so long in the body

Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to remain in the body for decades.

18 Aug 2009

New biomarker predicts response to hepatitis C treatment

Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. Duke University Medical Center scientists says the biomarker not only predicts who is most likely to respond to treatment and who isn't, but also may explain why there are such different rates of response among racial and ethnic groups, a phenomenon that has puzzled physicians for years.

16 Aug 2009

New strategy for inhibiting virus replication

Viruses need living cells for replication and production of virus progeny. Thus far, antiviral therapy primarily targets viral factors but often induces therapy resistance. New improved therapies attempt to targets cellular factors that are essential for viral replication.

16 Aug 2009

Dynavax announces European development strategy for investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine in Europe

Dynavax Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:DVAX) today announced that it has met with the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) to discuss its plans for continued clinical development of HEPLISAVTM Phase 3 investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine in Europe.

12 Aug 2009

Cirrhosis News and Research

Latest Cirrhosis News and Research

Underlying malignancies can cause rebleeding after negative angiography

Merck update on the status of telcagepant clinical development programs

Higher rate of motor vehicle crashes in MHE patients

Genetic risk factor involved in cystic fibrosis discovered

Rise in primary liver cancer cases attributed to increased alcohol consumption

Medtronic's COPE-HCV clinical study commences

Government, medical and community experts to discuss about prevention and detection of viral hepatitis

Paper discussing the mechanism of the selective TGR5 agonist INT-777 published in Cell Metabolism

Caucasians have a higher rate of HBV recurrence compared to Asian Americans and African Americans

Relationship between the CD14 variation and the formation of portal lymphoid aggregates discovered

FDA accepts for filing Salix Pharmaceuticals' NDA for rifaximin tablets

USPTO grants MultiCell Technologies patent for its Fa2N-4 and Ea1C-35 immortalized human hepatocyte cell lines

Research reveals effectiveness of carvedilol in preventing variceal hemorrhage

Study unveils detrimental effects of high-dose ursodeoxycholic acid on patients with PSC

InterMune receives $20 million event payment from Roche for initiating the Phase 2b trial of RG7227/ ITMN-191

Discovery of mechanism that allows hepatitis C virus to remain in the body for decades

New findings on how hepatitis C survives for so long in the body

New biomarker predicts response to hepatitis C treatment

New strategy for inhibiting virus replication

Dynavax announces European development strategy for investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine in Europe

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Cirrhosis News and Research

Latest Cirrhosis News and Research

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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