Liver Disease News and Research

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The liver is one of the largest solid organs of the body. It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen. Most of the organ lies under cover of the rib cage.

Combination therapy shows promise for transplanting HCV-infected organs

Data from a new study presented this week at The Liver Meeting – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – found that combination therapy with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and ezetimibe.

8 Nov 2019

Natural language processing helps evaluate electronic messages from ESLD patients

Natural language processing, the technology that lets computers read, decipher, understand and make sense of human language, is the driving force behind internet search engines, email filters, digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, and language-to-language translation apps.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 Nov 2019

Affordable Care Act reduced rate of uninsured patients with head and neck cancers

The rate of uninsured patients with head and neck cancers was "significantly reduced" following the implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

5 Nov 2019

Deaths from liver cancer increased 3-fold over 20 years in England

Liver cancer is rapidly moving up the cancer killer ranks in England, according to a new study that is to be presented at the 201th NCRI Cancer Conference on November 2, 2019. Both the number of new cases and the mortality rate from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), have tripled, over the period from 1997 to 2016. HCC is the most common form of liver cancer. Moreover, a quarter of these cases occur among the least privileged fifth of society.

3 Nov 2019

Doctors report first death from fecal microbiota transplant

Details of an investigational study have emerged after a man died following a fecal microbiate transplant. The events prompted the FDA to set new safety guidelines for the practice.

31 Oct 2019

Proton radiation therapy can help treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Two new studies support and inform the use of proton radiation therapy to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common but often fatal type of liver cancer for which there are limited treatment options. One study (Sanford et al.) suggests that proton radiation, compared to traditional photon radiation, can extend overall survival with reduced toxicity.

30 Oct 2019

New contrast agent improves MRI diagnosis of early liver fibrosis

A new compound has been invented to bind to liver cells that are in the early stages of damage, thus making it easier to pick them up using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

30 Oct 2019

Studies support use of proton radiation therapy to treat patients with fatal type of liver cancer

Two new studies support and inform the use of proton radiation therapy to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, a common but often fatal type of liver cancer for which there are limited treatment options.

30 Oct 2019

MRI contrast agent enables early detection of liver disease

Researchers have developed a new MRI contrast dye that enables more accurate and safer detection of early-stage liver disease than currently approved agents.

30 Oct 2019

Cleveland Clinic successfully performs first laparoscopic living donor liver transplantation

Cleveland Clinic has successfully performed the Midwest's first purely laparoscopic living donor surgery for liver transplantation in an adult recipient.

30 Oct 2019

ACG 2019 to review latest scientific advances in diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases

More than 5,500 gastroenterologists and other health care professionals will convene at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX for the premier clinical gastroenterology event-;the American College of Gastroenterology's 84th Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course (ACG 2019)-;to review the latest scientific advances in gastrointestinal research, treatment of digestive diseases and clinical practice management.

30 Oct 2019

IU researcher receives NIH grant to perform clinical trial on cirrhosis

An Indiana University School of Medicine researcher has been awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trial, aimed at providing new avenues to improve liver function for patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.

30 Oct 2019

First effective noninvasive method for diagnosing early-stage liver diseases

A safer and more sensitive contrast dye for MRI tests developed by a team led by Georgia State University researchers may provide the first effective, noninvasive method for detecting and diagnosing early-stage liver diseases, including liver fibrosis.

29 Oct 2019

Pharma sells states on ‘Netflix model’ to wipe out hep C. But at what price?

When a long, black bus bearing the logo of drugmaker AbbVie rolls through Washington state next year, it will promote a new effort to eradicate hepatitis C infections.

25 Oct 2019

SLU research halts toxic protein linked to muscular dystrophy in animal models

There is no cure or treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, an illness that starts with facial, shoulder and upper arm weakness and eventually affects nearly all skeletal muscles of those with the disease.

23 Oct 2019

Half the drugs in use damage gut bacteria, says new study

A startling presentation at UEG Week 2019, in Barcelona, reveals that the gut microbiome is at high risk for damage each time we use a drug from one or more of 18 commonly used groups. The effects may range from changes in the relative proportions of different beneficial and potentially harmful species to alterations in the cellular metabolism of the bacteria themselves.

23 Oct 2019

Study shows why fatty liver disease contributes to increase in liver cancer

Fatty liver disease is contributing to an increase in liver cancer and basic scientists at The University of Texas Health Science at Houston have new insight as to why.

16 Oct 2019

Researchers track cell family trees to discover their role in tissue scarring and liver disease

Researchers have discovered that a key cell type involved in liver injury and cancer consists of two cellular families with different origins and functions.

15 Oct 2019

Overdose prevention should also focus on alcohol use, study suggests

For several years, the national spotlight has shone on the need to prevent and rapidly treat opioid overdoses. But a new study suggests a need for more focus on the risk of alcohol overdoses among people who use opioids of all kinds, as well as cocaine, marijuana and certain prescription drugs.

14 Oct 2019