Cirrhosis News and Research

Latest Cirrhosis News and Research

Should we be screening blood for hepatisi G?

Hepatitis G virus was identified in 1995. Some little research was carried out on the virus and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared it a non-harmful virus in 1997. Researchers in Saudi Arabia, writing in the International Journal of Immunological Studies present evidence to suggest that this may have been the wrong decision.

22 Aug 2011

Saffron promotes apoptosis and inhibits growth of cancerous cells

New research suggests that saffron provides a significant chemopreventive effect against liver cancer in animal models. When saffron was administered to rats with diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced liver cancer an inhibition of cell proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis was observed. Full findings appear in the September issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

22 Aug 2011

NCRM at Case Western Reserve to host stem cell conference in Cleveland

The National Center for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM) at Case Western Reserve University is proud to present "MSC 2011: Innovations in Cell-Based Regenerative Therapies," a three-day forum to highlight transformative breakthroughs in the area of adult stem cell medicine with a focus on how this research is being applied in patient care settings through innovative clinical trials.

18 Aug 2011

Gene therapy cocktail can treat inherited diseases with 'misfolded' proteins

In a kind of molecular gymnastics, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have devised a gene therapy cocktail that has the potential to treat some inherited diseases associated with "misfolded" proteins.

16 Aug 2011

Hepatitis on the rise

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the battle is on to fight the rising numbers of hepatitis B cases. Medical experts are calling for global action to tackle the viruses that cause the liver disease hepatitis. The first worldwide estimates in drug users show 10 million have hepatitis C while 1.3 million have hepatitis B.

29 Jul 2011

OR models verify cost effectiveness of hepatitis B interventions

With hepatitis B infecting as many as 10% of people of Asian descent, operations researchers collaborated with a liver transplant surgeon to develop mathematical models that verified the cost effectiveness of hepatitis B interventions.

27 Jul 2011

Health Canada issues notice of compliance for OCPI's SAMSCA to treat hyponatremia

Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc. (OCPI) announced today that Health Canada has issued a notice of compliance for SAMSCA (tolvaptan), the first medicine approved in Canada for the treatment of hyponatremia.

27 Jul 2011

Metabolic syndrome linked to increased risk of primary liver cancers

Incidence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have increased in the U.S. This population-based study publishing in the August issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found that metabolic syndrome significantly increases risk of developing these primary liver cancers.

22 Jul 2011

Measures to reduce BMI could improve outcome for patients with cirrhosis

Researchers from the United States and Europe involved in an NIH-funded multicenter study have determined that increased body mass index (BMI) is an independent predictor of clinical decompensation in patients with compensated cirrhosis, independent of portal pressure and liver function.

22 Jul 2011

Galectin, University of Michigan enter collaboration to study role of Galectins in cardiovascular disease

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Dr. Jose Jalife of the University of Michigan Medical School to better understand the relationship of Galectin-3 to cardiac fibrosis in chronic cardiac arrhythmias.

21 Jul 2011

French scientists publish paper on guidelines for drinking and relation of alcohol to cancer

A group of French scientists have published a paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) on guidelines for drinking and the relation of alcohol to cancer.

21 Jul 2011

Roche, Merck sign new non-exclusive agreement for HCV triple combination therapy

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that it has signed a new non-exclusive agreement with Roche, through the companies' respective subsidiaries, for the global promotion, upon appropriate marketing approvals, of VICTRELIS (boceprevir) as part of a triple combination therapy regimen with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin.

21 Jul 2011

Neutrons show how massive enzyme complexes inside cells control rate of sugar metabolism

Neutrons have shown how massive enzyme complexes inside cells might determine whether sugar is burnt for energy or stored as fat. These findings will improve understanding of diabetes and a range of metabolic diseases.

18 Jul 2011

Sequana Medical's ALFApump System for liver cirrhosis receives CE Mark approval

Sequana Medical announced today that it has received CE Mark approval for the commercial sale of its ALFApump System.

13 Jul 2011

New insight into tumor biology

Cancer cells are well known for their altered metabolisms, which may help them generate the energy they need for rapid growth. Using an emerging imaging technology, researchers reporting in the July Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have discovered that those metabolic shifts actually develop even before detectable tumors form.

6 Jul 2011

European joint project to develop novel HCV vaccine based on nanotechnology

HCVAX is a European joint project that reaches out to develop a vaccine against hepatitis C based on nanotechnology. The German Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and its department "Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology" is now a part of the transnational consortium with researchers from Germany, France and Switzerland.

2 Jul 2011

Gene PNPLA3 offers potential therapeutic target in chronic hepatitis C liver damage

New research confirms that a variant on the patatin-like phospholipase-3 (PNPLA3) gene increases risk of steatosis and fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The PNPLA3 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs 738409 may represent an important genetic predictor and potential therapeutic target in chronic HCV liver damage.

29 Jun 2011

Prototype small molecule drugs could suppress hepatitis C

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

29 Jun 2011

Tibotec, Gilead Sciences enter license agreement for new combination product of PREZISTA and cobicistat

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc., for the development and commercialization of a new once-daily single tablet fixed-dose antiretroviral combination product containing Tibotec's protease inhibitor PREZISTA® (darunavir) and Gilead's cobicistat, an investigational pharmacoenhancing or "boosting" agent.

28 Jun 2011

Flamel, Digna Biotech enter joint development agreement for multiple products

Flamel Technologies SA and Digna Biotech SL today announced that the two companies have entered into a joint development agreement for the pre-clinical and clinical development of multiple products.

27 Jun 2011