Liver

Blood Cells Capable of Regenerating Liver

Livers can be regenerated using stem cells from blood -- an important discovery that means patients may be able to grow their own liver transplants using bone marrow. This adds to a growing body of evidence that stem cells, known as "master cells" because they can produce a variety of different kinds of cells, might one day be manipulated to create custom-grown organ transplants....

Laboratory Testing Can Identify Risk of Pre-Term Labor and Delivery

A test for fetal fibronectin can predict whether a pregnant woman is at risk for early labor and delivery. Those at high risk for pre-term births are women with previous pre-term deliveries, those with multiple gestation pregnancy, and those who suffer from diabetes and/or hypertension. The current approach for finding whether a woman will go into premature labor is the use of a clinical scoring...

Infant receives first bloodless liver transplant

An Iowa infant aged 7 months was the first recipient of a bloodless liver transplant in Los Angeles, the United States of America. The seven month old, Aiden Michael Rush, whose parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses are prohibited by their religion to receive transfusions. The boy received 20% of his mother’s liver during the transplantation on February 7th at the children’s hospital i...

Liver donors can thrive after transplant

Contrary to belief that donating liver can injure the donor, it is now established without doubt that a living person can donate a part of his liver to a person needing it. And the good news is that the donor would continue to live well and thrive after donating part of his/her liver. Donation of a piece of the liver's right lobe from one adult to another is a relatively new procedure. I...

Antibiotic induces liver damage in children with E.COLI infections.

The strain of bacteria known as E. coli 0157:H7 causes some of the most serious digestive infections in both children and adults. Infections with this organism are often caused by eating undercooked meat. A major study shows using antibiotics to treat children with E. coli bacterial infection increases the risk of developing a potentially deadly liver disorder. "Our data suggests that an...

Early delivery can prevent cancer

Scientists have found out why women who have a baby when they are relatively young have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. They have identified a substance produced naturally in the body that protects against the disease. Hormones released during pregnancy trigger the changes in the breast tissue of young women. The research raises the possibility of one day developing a pill that could pr...

A new treatment for liver cancer

According to researchers, a new treatment has been effective for inoperable liver cancer. It is a year since TheraSphere was launched at the University of Texas and it is showing a 25 per cent success rate in either reducing tumour size or the number of tumours. Till date, it has many patients have undergone this treatment with advanced liver tumours, who cannot be treated by a...

FDA approves drug for rare liver disease

Hereditary tyrosinemia type 1( HT-1) is a genetic metabolic disorder that causes progressive liver failure and liver cancer in young children. It's a very rare disease.// It is not among the metabolic diseases that all newborns are tested for at birth, so often infants die undiagnosed. This is an absolutely fatal disease until now. Children born with such a very rare but very lethal li...

Mothers with periodontitis may deliver premature babies

The more the mouth affected with periodontal disease, the more likely a woman is to deliver a premature baby, according to an ongoing study of more than 1500 pregnant women.// Past studies have shown that women with periodontal disease may be up to seven times more likely to deliver a preterm low birth weight baby. The women in the study had no other major risk factors for preterm bir...

Heavy Drinking Raises Risk of Liver Cancer

According to Italian researchers, drinking high volumes of alcohol each day is associated with a greater risk of developing liver cancer. According to Dr.Francesco Donato,a professor of epidemiology and public health, at the University of Texas, the quantity of alcohol consumed is the most important determinant of the risk of having liver disease due to alcohol.// Drinking a large amount of alco...

Arthritis Drug May Cause Liver Damage

According to a survey, a prescription drug for rheumatoid arthritis has been connected to dozens of serious liver injuries and 12 deaths which should be banned.// Arava began selling in 1998 as a competitor to the gold-standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, called methotrexate. When the Food and Drug Administration approved Arava, the agency noted Arava worked no better than the older drug,...

Liver transplant oversight urged

Concerned about the increasing number of partial-liver transplants from living donors, some doctors are proposing an external regulator be appointed to certify hospital units to do the surgery.// According to a survey conducted at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, which was woefully inadequate post-surgical care, when a 57-year-old man died after donating 50 percent of his liver to his brothe...

Avacado protects from liver damage

Avocado may help to protect the liver from damage, according to new research from Japan. Researchers fed avocado and 22 other fruits to laboratory rats. //The rats were then given D-galactosamine, a substance that causes liver damage by interfering with cell synthesis and results in cell death. The rats fed the avocado obtained the least amount of liver damage. The Researchers discove...

Liver key to extending life

According to an anti-ageing research, the liver is a neglected key. Professor David Le Couteu, a geriatrician, of the Concord Hospital, felt that there are many wonderful things about getting older, with a background in clinical pharmacology and toxicology.//Your mortgage is paid off, your children have moved out, you're not embarrassed about who you are, and you have the benefit of wisdom and re...

Changing stem cells to liver cells

According to researchers, this new study shows, for the first time, that stem cells from humans, mice and rats can be turned into functioning liver cells. A team at the University of Texas have been able to treat adult bone marrow stem cells so that they become liver cells.// These cells look, stain and function like authentic liver cells. They produce albumin, the most abundant protein made by l...

Novel research on liver cancer

A new study contributes to the findings of liver cancer. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report findings on a potential new treatment for this ghastly cancer. In the study, researchers injected a compound called 3-bromopyruvate// directly into the artery that leads to the cancerous tumor. They say it did not adversely affect the healthy portion of the liver or surroun...

Bridge to liver transplant looks encouraging

According to researchers a device that filters toxins from the blood can buy a patient time while waiting for a liver transplant. Liver failure is a relatively common problem and most often the only cure is a transplant.// But donated livers are in short supply and many patients die while waiting for one. Research on an artificial liver has been going on for many years now, but the liver is such...

More risks connected with live-donor liver transplants

A study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine has reported that the risk of complications for the donor in a live-donor liver transplant is more than expected, while the risk of death for the donor is less than what doctors thought. The study indicated that donors in adult live-donor liver transplants had a 1-in-7 chance of serious complications for the donor. This type of tra...

Liver cancers which spread are linked to a particular gene

Live cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers worldwide and its incidence is high in the Asian and African countries due to hepatitis infection and aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs. The cancer is also becoming prevalent in the United States. Researchers in the US and China have been studying gene activity in liver tumors using the new 'gene chip' technology and found a way of detecting t...

Liver diseases: The enemy with an accomplice

Some diseases are typical to a period. The previous decades have shown a spurt of diseases like chronic viral hepatitis and liver cancer. Death toll due to these diseases have steadily risen. With figures soaring above the estimated limits, and with scientists finding a new association between these two diseases that affect the liver, a new awareness has been created among the researchers. For s...

Troubled Childhood found to affect your Liver

Researchers believe a troubled childhood can lead to an increased risk of liver disease. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is one of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Drug use and high-risk sexual activity are common causes of hepatitis.// Alcohol abuse and hepatitis are both causes of liver disease. The researchers theorized abuse or neglect during childhood...

New Liver Tumor Treatment

A combination treatment looks like a better option for some patients with large liver tumors. The treatment includes reducing the size of the tumor //before using lasers to heat and destroy the tumor. A new study shows the combination treatment improves the overall survival of the patients. Radiologists use a procedure called laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) to heat tumors. The probl...

Transplants Help Liver Cancer Patients

New research shows cancer patients who undergo liver transplants have better survival rates than those who do not.// Researchers from Johns Hopkins reviewed data on more than 48,000 patients who underwent a liver transplant between 1987 and 2001. More than 900 of the patients underwent a liver transplant for liver cancer, and more than 33,000 of the patients underwent a liver transplan...

Most Women Unprepared for Operative Deliveries

For most women, the birth of their child is a joyous experience. But if the experience does not go as planned, it can have a detrimental impact on the woman. Researchers conducted a study to obtain the views of women on the impact of an //operative delivery in the second stage of labor. A new study shows pregnant women need better preparation and understanding about how the delivery of...

Link between C-section Delivery and Stillbirth

A new study shows women who undergo a cesarean section during their first pregnancy are at an increased risk of having a stillborn child down the road.// Researchers are uncertain why the link between C-section delivery and stillbirth exists but say it could be a biological cause. Researchers in Scotland studied data for all second births that took place in the country betwe...

Steroid-Free Liver Transplants

A new study out of Belgium suggests children undergoing liver transplants may fare better if they don't receive steroids.// Ever since organ transplants began, steroids have played a major role in helping recipients fend off rejection of their new organ. However, the treatment is not without side effects, especially in children. Steroids have been linked to infections, high blood pres...

Painkilling Patch As Effective As Intravenous Delivery Systems

Findings from a recent study has shown that an adhesive patch that resembles the size of a credit card and uses a tiny electric current to deliver pain medication through the skin does the job about as well as conventional intravenous devices. // The patch is affixed to the patient's upper arm or chest after surgery. Both the patch and some intravenous delivery systems allow the patient to self-m...

Troubled Childhood found to affect your Liver

Researchers believe a troubled childhood can lead to an increased risk of liver disease. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is one of the 10 leading // causes of death in the United States. Drug use and high-risk sexual activity are common causes of hepatitis. Alcohol abuse and hepatitis are both causes of liver disease. Researchers theorized abuse or neglect during childhood would lead to risky...

New Method Of Delivering Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy often leaves cancer patients feeling sick and with a number of other side effects. For some people with advanced cancer, the treatment // and all they go through with it may not even get rid of their cancer. Now, doctors are taking a new, more targeted approach to delivering chemotherapy. Perfusion therapy is the most aggressive way available to deliver chemotherapy right to...

The Effects Of Delaying A Delivery Questioned

How early does a child have to be born if it starts to have complications in utero , is a question many obstetricians would answer differently.// A new study done in this area may shed some light on the benefits of delaying the birth. The study finds even a small delay could reduce the risk of a disability for the baby. Until now, no study has ever compared the effect of delaying a deliv...

Rejection Rate for Liver Transplants Patient Reduced

The dawn of the New Year has brought with it a new lease of life for Organ transplant patients who have liver failure. For these //patients the uphill struggle doesn’t stop with finding a matching donor. In fact it would have just started. Research has shown that despite all high tech matching done for liver transplant patients, organ rejection is still a common phenomenon. Transplant s...

Liver Cancer Risk increased in Diabetics

Analysis of medical records of liver cancer patients and people without liver cancer found that diabetics are stand a three fold risk // of developing liver cancer compared to the general population. After taking other factors into account, such as demographics and major risk factors for liver disease, researchers found diabetes nearly tripled the risk of liver cancer. What’s more, hepat...

Post delivery antidepressants do not affect weight loss

There is good news for women who had suffered from postpartum depression and were afraid to take// drugs for fear of not being able to lose weight. A new study by scientists of University of Rochester Medical Center, New York tells that it is possible to lose weight and still take anti-depression medications. For a long time antidepressants to be taken for post partum depression were t...

Research reports that c-section deliveries are rising

A new research that was published in the recent issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology said that there// had been an increase in the number of cesarean delivery in US by about 44% of the total births being recorded for the year 2004. In an attempt to find out the national trend, the researchers had targeted 12 causes for caesarian delivery. These included malpresentation, antepar...

Women may be more at risk of liver injury from alcohol

Women may have less tolerance to alcohol intakes than men, suggests a research report made public at the Digestive Disease Week 2005//. Researchers of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine had said that drinking alcohol within limits might mean different things to women than their male counterparts. Women may be more at risk of liver injury from alcohol consumption than men even...

Severe sleep apnea can cause liver problems

Sleep disturbances or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome affects a lot of people who are obese// and a new research says now on top of having a difficult night, these people may have liver injuries as well arising from their condition. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), also known as the condition of fragmented sleep, is associated with hypertension, heart problems, stroke, obesity...

Causes of drug induced liver disease

A new study by investigators from Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden,// had done a study on the factors and outcomes of the health condition called drug-induced liver disease. Drug induced liver disease happens with some medication. Although stops when the medication is withdrawn, some effects of this condition may be requiring liver transplant or can be fatal. An ob...

An Anti-cancer Smart Bomb delivered using a Nanocell

A nanocell that can work like a smart bomb for cancer treatment is to be reported in Nature by MIT. The nanocell will work by penetrating into the tumor, seal the opening and then deliver the lethal dose of anti-cancer toxins like a ‘stealth bimb’.// This will leave the healthy cells unharmed. The experiments currently done on mice cancer like melanoma and lung cancer have the po...

The Use Of Steroids After Liver Transplants Questioned

Ever since organ transplants began, steroids have played a major role in helping recipients fend off rejection of their new organ. However, the treatment is not without side effects, especially in children.// Steroids have been linked to infections, high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol, and impaired growth in young patientsA new study out of Belgium suggests children undergoing liver...

Liver Cancer Risk increased in Diabetics

Analysis of medical records of liver cancer patients and people without liver cancer found that diabetics are stand a three fold risk of developing liver cancer compared to the general population.// After taking other factors into account, such as demographics and major risk factors for liver disease, researchers found diabetes nearly tripled the risk of liver cancer. What’s more, hepati...