Adult stem cells take root in livers and repair damage
May 10, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Johns Hopkins researchers have demonstrated that human liver cells derived from adult cells coaxed into an embryonic state can engraft and begin regenerating liver tissue in mice with chronic liver damage.
Liver-cell transplants show promise in reversing genetic disease affecting liver and lungs
April 20, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
April 21, 2011 — (Bronx, NY) — Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may work in treating a genetic liver-lung disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, according to an animal study in the April 18 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Jayanta Roy-Chowdhury, M.D. , professor of medicine and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, is the study’s senior author.
Scientists grow human liver tissue to be used for transplantation
January 19, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Experimental human model advances liver cell transplantation
A new study reports on the success of growing human liver cells on resorbable scaffolds made from material similar to surgical sutures. Researchers suggest that this liver tissue could be used in place of donor organs during liver transplantation or during the bridge period until a suitable donor is available for patients with acute liver failure. Findings of this study appear in the February issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Gene mutation play a major role in 1 cause of kidney disease
January 19, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
Screening may be warranted when the disease runs in families
Mutations in a gene called INF2 are by far the most common cause of a dominantly inherited condition that leads to kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results may help with screening, prevention, and therapy.
Olive oil protects liver
October 27, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Extra-virgin olive oil can protect the liver from oxidative stress. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism exposed rats to a moderately toxic herbicide known to deplete antioxidants and cause oxidative stress, finding that those rats fed on a diet containing the olive oil were partially protected from the resulting liver damage.
Stem cell technology applied to liver diseases
August 24, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Great excitement greeted the discovery a few years ago that certain cells from mice and humans could be reprogrammed to become inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), as they hold promise for cell replacement therapy and modeling human disease. Two independent research groups one led by Ludovic Vallier, at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and the other led by Holger Willenbring, at the University of California San Francisco have now shown that both possibilities are true for iPS cellderived liver cells known as hepatocytes.
High fructose, trans fats lead to significant liver disease, says study
Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have discovered that a diet with high levels of fructose levels equivalent to that in high fructose corn syrup and of trans fats not only increases obesity, but also leads to significant fatty liver disease with scar tissue.
Adults with newly diagnosed diabetes at risk of liver disease
June 20, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Adults with newly diagnosed diabetes are at higher long-term risk of serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver failure, according to a research article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj092144.pdf.
Study finds beta blockers alone more effective for first variceal bleeding
June 8, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Dawn Peters
healthnews@wiley.com
781-388-8408
Wiley-Blackwell Read more
Pitt team finds commonly used seizure drug could treat severe genetic liver disease
June 2, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Anita Srikameswaran
SrikamAV@upmc.edu
412-578-9193
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
PITTSBURGH, June 3 The liver scarring of α1-antitrypsin (AT) deficiency, the most common genetic cause for which children undergo liver transplantation, might be reversed or prevented with a medication that has long been used to treat seizures, according to findings from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that will published in Science and are available online today through the Science Express website.
