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.

Military physicians will soon pick up joysticks to save lives of children

Military physicians will soon pick up joysticks instead of textbooks to learn skills that could save lives of children with serious health threats.

7 Jul 2014

Exome sequencing improves diagnosis of mitochondrial disease

Use of exome sequencing improved the ability to identify the underlying gene mutations in patients with biochemically defined defects affecting multiple mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (enzymes that are involved in basic energy production), according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Jul 2014

Heavy drinkers at greater risk of developing pneumonia and ARDS

Heavy drinking damages the body in many ways. In addition to liver failure, alcoholics are at a much greater risk of developing pneumonia and life threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), for which there is no treatment.

1 Jul 2014

EMA CHMP adopts positive opinion for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Daklinza for HCV treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending that Daklinza (daclatasvir), an investigational, potent pan-genotypic NS5A complex inhibitor (in vitro), be granted approval for use in combination with other medicinal products for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adults.

27 Jun 2014

Hormonal imbalance is not the sole cause of childhood obesity, say experts

The number of children who are obese remains alarmingly high in the U.S. and, unfortunately, diseases associated with obesity are on the rise.

26 Jun 2014

Alcoholic liver disease: an interview with Dr Vinood Patel, University of Westminster

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also in the UK. As its name indicates this disease arises due to consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (80 g/day) over an extended period, normally 10-20 years.

24 Jun 2014

SLU researchers discover pain pathway and potential way to block it

In a recently published study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Saint Louis University professor of pharmacological and physiological sciences Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D. describes two discoveries: a molecular pathway by which a painful chemotherapy side effect happens and a drug that may be able to stop it.

24 Jun 2014

Researchers shown how free radicals contribute to fatty liver disease

An international team of scientists led by Monash University researchers has shown how free radicals contribute to type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease.

23 Jun 2014

Continuation of metformin after cirrhosis diagnosis improves survival rates in diabetes patients

Researchers at Mayo Clinic released a new study reversing current thought on the treatment of cirrhotic patients with type 2 diabetes.

20 Jun 2014

NIH receives $10 million grant for research on breast cancer metastasis

The American Cancer Society predicts that 40,000 American women will die from breast cancer this year. Most of those deaths will occur due to cells from the primary tumor that spread to other parts of the body-the process known as metastasis.

20 Jun 2014

Mayo Clinic study: Reversing current thought on treatment of cirrhotic patients with type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Mayo Clinic released a new study reversing current thought on the treatment of cirrhotic patients with type 2 diabetes. The study found that the continuation of metformin after a cirrhosis diagnosis improved survival rates among diabetes patients.

19 Jun 2014

New clinical guidelines on diagnosis and management of idiosyncratic DILI

New clinical guidelines on the diagnosis and management of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) appear in the July issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

18 Jun 2014

Co-ops struggle to enroll people

Elsewhere, Oregon officials are planning on limiting access to a new, pricey hepatitis C drug to state health plan members. Also, UnitedHealthcare is considering entering Georgia's health care exchange next year.

13 Jun 2014

Janssen, Viiv Healthcare to develop single tablet regimen for maintenance treatment of HIV

Janssen R&D Ireland Ltd announced today that they have entered into a collaboration with ViiV Healthcare to develop and commercialize a new single tablet regimen containing Janssen's Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor rilpivirine (marketed as EDURANT®) and ViiV's Integrase Inhibitor dolutegravir(marketed as TIVICAY®) as the sole active ingredients for the maintenance treatment of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

12 Jun 2014

Auxilium and Prasco introduce authorized generic version of Testim

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has partnered with Prasco, LLC ("Prasco") to introduce an Authorized Generic version of Testim® (testosterone gel).

11 Jun 2014

Alnylam announces new pre-clinical results with DC for ALN-CC5 to treat complement-mediated diseases

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today new pre-clinical results with its Development Candidate (DC) for ALN-CC5, a subcutaneously administered investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting complement component C5 in development for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases.

10 Jun 2014

Probiotics effectively prevent hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis of the liver

Probiotics are effective in preventing hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis of the liver, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Hepatic encephalopathy is a deterioration of brain function that is a serious complication of liver disease.

9 Jun 2014

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends hepatitis B screening for high risk individuals

A simple blood test can detect if a person is one of the two billion people worldwide infected with hepatitis B. And now the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all teens and adults who are high risk for hepatitis B get screened for the infection.

6 Jun 2014

Regeneration of a chronically diseased liver may be possible, say Harvard researchers

Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Boston Children's Hospital have new evidence in mice that it may be possible to repair a chronically diseased liver by forcing mature liver cells to revert back to a stem cell-like state.