Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Liver Disease / Hepatitis News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/liver_disease/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156366.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156366.php Scientists at Singapore's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have made a novel discovery about how the gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule" (FAIM), protects both immune and liver cells from apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Their research is published in the current journal Cell Death and Differentiation. The scientists, Jianxin Huo, Ph.D., and Shengli Xu, Ph.D. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156372.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156372.php Certain mutations in the DNA of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with the development of liver cancer and may help predict which patients with HBV infections are at increased risk of the disease, according to a large meta-analysis in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online July 2. HBV infection is a known cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156214.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156214.php Diets high in protein and cholesterol are associated with a higher risk of hospitalization or death due to cirrhosis or liver cancer, while diets high in carbohydrates are associated with a lower risk. These findings are in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156215.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156215.php Counseling patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on how to increase physical activity leads to health benefits that are independent of changes in weight. These findings are in a new study in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156200.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156200.php Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. These findings are in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155997.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155997.php Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, is pleased to announce its renewed publishing partnership with The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), the leading European association in the field of liver research. The agreement calls for Elsevier to publish the society's flagship journal, the Journal of Hepatology, for the next five years. EASL is a society with over 1500 members. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155852.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155852.php Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) (OTCBB: AMAR) and CytoPharm, Inc. today jointly announced the start of enrollment for a study of ABI's oral interferon-alpha lozenges for chronic hepatitis C virus infection. The aim of the trial is to reduce the virologic relapse rate for those patients who have completed the standard combination therapy, which consists of high dose injectable interferon-alpha and Ribavirin. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155731.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155731.php Deterioration of renal function with CNI therapy has been widely reported in liver transplant recipients. Microproteinuria has been used to monitor the early changes of nephropathy in renal disease or cardiovascular events. However, whether microproteinuria could be used as an early and sensitive indicator to monitor CNI-related nephrotoxicity in liver transplant recipients has not been unequivocally addressed. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155721.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155721.php Biolex Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has completed patient enrollment in the SELECT-2 Phase 2b trial of its lead product candidate Locteron® for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Locteron, controlled-release interferon alpha 2b, is designed to improve patient care by providing a more convenient once-every-two week dosing schedule and by reducing the side effects, including flu-like symptoms, associated with pegylated interferons, the current standard of care. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155621.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155621.php Kenya's Medical Services Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi announced Thursday that the government is in negotiations with PEPFAR for support in building additional blood transfusion centers in the country, Capital News reports. Blood / Hematology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155246.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155246.php Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the initiation of a second Phase 2 clinical trial with a novel drug candidate for the treatment of liver disease associated with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. The trial will enroll patients for whom treatment with approved standard of care treatments is not currently advised. Results from an earlier clinical trial in HCV patients who failed standard of care treatment are expected to be reported later this year. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155203.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155203.php Acute hepatic radiation injury could lead to necrosis of hepatocytes, fatty degeneration and hepatic fibrosis. At the present, the gold standard test is liver biopsy. However, this procedure is invasive, uncomfortable for the patients and sometimes results in serious complications. 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used to study liver metabolism in vivo for several years. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154706.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154706.php Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced that Novartis has completed enrollment and initial dosing in a Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Albuferon(R) (albinterferon alfa-2b) administered monthly in combination with ribavirin in treatment-naive patients with genotypes 2 and 3 chronic hepatitis C. Albuferon is being developed by HGS and Novartis under an exclusive worldwide co-development and commercialization agreement entered into in June 2006. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154616.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154616.php Scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered a potential strategy for cancer therapy by focusing on what's missing in tumors. Noticing the conspicuous absence of single-stranded genetic snippets called microRNAs in cancer cells, a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins and Nationwide Children's Hospital delivered these tiny regulators of genes to mice with liver cancer and found that tumor cells rapidly died while healthy cells remained unaffected. Cancer / Oncology Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154531.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154531.php Risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary malignancy of the liver, was statistically significantly higher among women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection than among women without the virus, according to a study published online June 17 in the JNCI. Because hepatocellular carcinoma mostly occurs in men, few women have been included in long-term studies of the association between HBV infection and this carcinoma. In this study, Chien-Jen Chen, Sc.D. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154345.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154345.php In a multi-center trial led by a Saint Louis University researcher, investigators found that a new combination therapy of daily consensus interferon and ribavirin helps some hepatitis C patients who have not responded to previous treatment. The findings, published in the June issue of Hepatology, offer a new option for hepatitis C patients, and may be effective even for those patients with factors that make their condition difficult to treat. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154199.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154199.php Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals announced positive results of the U.S.-based, randomized Daily-Dose Consensus Interferon and Ribavirin: Efficacy of Combined Therapy (DIRECT) clinical trial authored by Bruce R. Bacon, M.D., of Saint Louis University, and colleagues at 44 centers in the United States. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154154.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154154.php Scarring of the liver, which can progress to cirrhosis and/or cancer of the liver, is caused by persistent liver damage, such as occurs in those with untreated hepatitis C or alcoholism. Although such scarring (fibrosis) develops in an inflammatory environment, the role of inflammatory molecules has not been well defined. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153822.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153822.php In middle-aged and older men with low testosterone levels, long-term testosterone replacement therapy greatly improves their fatty liver disease and their risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a new study found. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Testosterone deficiency, which becomes more common with age, is linked not only to decreased libido but also to a number of medical problems. Endocrinology Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153651.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153651.php A new study suggests that delivering small RNAs, known as microRNAs, to cancer cells could help to stop the disease in its tracks. microRNAs control gene expression and are commonly lost in cancerous tumors. Researchers have shown that replacement of a single microRNA in mice with an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer can be enough to halt their disease, according to a report in the June 12 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. Cancer / Oncology Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153700.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153700.php In a study comparing two strains of mice, one susceptible to developing cancer and the other not, researchers found that a high-fat diet predisposed the cancer-susceptible strain to liver cancer, and that by switching to a low-fat diet early in the experiment, the same high-risk mice avoided the malignancy. The switched mice were lean rather than obese and had healthy livers at the end of the study. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153591.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153591.php Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been associated with HCC. However, the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the underlying liver cirrhosis, and the effects of antidiabetic therapy on HCC risk have not yet been fully evaluated. A research team led by Dr. Valter Donadon from Pordenone Hospital addressed this question. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153590.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153590.php Liver cirrhosis has been recently studied in the light of the new view of the renin angiotensin system (RAS). While the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-Ang 2-AT1 receptor arm contributes to liver tissue injury and fibrosis and the maintenance of basal vascular tonus in non-compensated cirrhosis, the activation of the ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas receptor arm exerts anti-fibrotic actions and probably has also a role in arterial vasodilation in liver cirrhosis. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153596.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153596.php The Arizona AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has reduced the number of medications it will cover - antiretrovirals and drugs that treat opportunistic infections will not be affected, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The program relies heavily on federal funding. Judy Norton, chief of the state's Office of HIV, STD and Hepatitis C Services, said the state received $2. HIV / AIDS Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153378.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153378.php Three pseudo kinases of the Tribbles family have been recently recognized, which include TRB1, TRB2 and TRB3. Recent research has found that the expression of hepatic TRB3 increased in a rat model of diabetes. TRB3 could block the insulin signaling pathway through inhibiting Akt activation, which contributes to insulin resistance. This research, lead by Dr. Diabetes