Cirrhosis News and Research

Latest Cirrhosis News and Research

Hep C treatment peginterferon reduces the virus but liver damage continues

Treating patients who have chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease with long-term pegylated interferon significantly decreased their liver enzymes, viral levels and liver inflammation, but the treatment did not slow or prevent the progression of serious liver disease, a study finds.

5 Dec 2008

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

Fatty liver disease and body shape

For years, pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen.

5 Dec 2008

Low-dose peginterferon used for hepatitis C doesn't work

An NIH funded multi-center clinical trial found no benefit from "maintenance therapy," low-dose peginterferon used for hepatitis C patients who have not responded to an initial round of treatment.

3 Dec 2008

Etanercept found to be ineffective in treating alcoholic hepatitis

A new study from Mayo Clinic finds the use of the drug therapy etanercept ineffective in treating alcoholic hepatitis, an acute inflammation of the liver caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. The results of the study are published in the December issue of Gastroenterology.

1 Dec 2008

Bariatric surgery may resolve liver disease

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the U.S. with a significant increase in prevalence from 15 percent to 32.9 percent from 1980 to 2004. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging problem related to the obesity epidemic, becoming one of the most common causes of liver disease in the nation.

1 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.

1 Dec 2008

Cytori announces seven new investigator-initiated clinical studies in Japan

All seven studies are investigator-initiated and to be performed under local and country guidelines. Cytori, who will not sponsor these studies, will continue work with country authorities, such as the Ministry of Health and Labor in Japan, to obtain specific regulatory approvals for its products.

19 Nov 2008

Discovery of possible link between chronic pancreatitis and liver cirrhosis of alcoholic etiology

Chronic alcoholism is a well-known etiologic factor associated with chronic and irreversible pancreatic and liver disorders.

12 Nov 2008

Researchers look at sildenafil use in cirrhosis patients

Sildenafil is valuable in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension in patients with end-stage liver disease through inhibition of the type-5 phosphodiesterase.

11 Nov 2008

By imaging live cells, researchers show how hepatitis C replicates

The hepatitis C virus is a prolific replicator, able to produce up to a trillion particles per day in an infected person by hijacking liver cells in which to build up its viral replication machinery.

30 Oct 2008

Phenomix starts phase 1a trial of hepatitis C protease inhibitor

Phenomix Corporation today announced it has begun administering subjects in a Phase 1a clinical trial of PHX1766, the company's internally discovered, orally available NS3/4A protease inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

28 Oct 2008

Resveratrol shows promise for treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease

The accumulation of fat in the liver as a result of chronic alcohol consumption could be prevented by consuming resveratrol, according to a new study with mice. The research found that resveratrol reduced the amount of fat produced in the liver of mice fed alcohol and, at the same time, increased the rate at which fat within the liver is broken down.

14 Oct 2008

New pig model of cystic fibrosis provides better understanding of human disease

For the first time, researchers have developed a genetically altered animal model for cystic fibrosis (CF) that closely matches the characteristics of the disease in humans. By studying the complex and multi-organ disease process in the pig model, researchers can now better understand how the complications of CF develop, an advancement that may lead to new avenues for research in prevention and treatment.

25 Sep 2008

Gene variant boosts risk of fatty liver disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that individuals who carry a specific form of the gene PNPLA3 have more fat in their livers and a greater risk of developing liver inflammation.

25 Sep 2008

Living sensor can warn of arsenic pollution

Scientists studying arsenic pollution have discovered a living sensor that can spot contamination. They have also discovered new bacteria that can clean up arsenic spills even in previously untreatable cold areas, microbiologists heard today (Monday 8 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

7 Sep 2008

Health care professionals seeing more children with fatty liver disease; condition prevalent among Hispanics

As many as 2% to 5% of children older than age five -- most of whom are obese -- are thought to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and the condition seems to be most prevalent among Hispanic children, the AP/San Mateo Daily Journal reports.

4 Sep 2008

Non-invasively measuring liver stiffness with transient elastography accurately identifies advanced liver disease without biopsy

Non-invasively measuring liver stiffness with transient elastography accurately diagnoses patients with late-stage liver disease, reports a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

1 Sep 2008