Latest Liver Stories

A new study presented today at the International Liver Congress™ 2012 indicates the potential for gallbladder tissue (which is routinely discarded from organ donors and surgical interventions) to be a highly available candidate source for multipotential stem cells. Biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (BTSCs) have previously been identified in the glands of normal adult human extrahepatic bile ducts and been shown to generate in vitro and in vivo mature cells of the hepato-biliary and...

BARCELONA, Spain, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Exciting new data presented today at the International Liver Congress(TM) 2012 shows the gut microbiota's causal role in the development of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), independent of obesity[1]. Though an early stage animal model, the French study highlights the possibility of preventing diabetes and NAFLD with gut microbiota transplantation - the engrafting of new microbiota, usually through...

PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In recognition of April as National Donate Life Month, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in partnership with Gift of Life Donor Program honored PA State Troopers Corporal Donald Hughes and Corporal Paul Roy at an event yesterday with the Children's Champion Award for flying patient Colin Vengen to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia during Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011. (Photo:...

Experts call for evaluation of current criteria for allocating organs for transplantation New research shows increasing disparity in mortality among candidates with and without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are on the waiting list for liver transplantation. The study available in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found that liver cancer patients are less likely to die...

Success at Texas Hospital Offers Hope for Millions Affected by Liver-Destroying Hepatitis C SAN ANTONIO, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Liver transplant surgeons at a San Antonio hospital are poised to save hundreds of lives as deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C increase, with recent reports indicating baby boomers are highest risk. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120314/DC70663) The Liver Transplant Program at Methodist Specialty and...

HOUSTON, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Texas Children's Hospital announced today that doctors recently performed a rare double organ transplant to save the life of Tyler Nelson, a 17 year old patient with cystic fibrosis. The wait is over for Nelson who has lived in Houston during a 16-month wait for a double organ transplant of lungs and liver. Tyler received those life-saving organs at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston on Feb. 29, 2012. Doctors are optimistic about...

The liver is unique among mammalian organs in its ability to regenerate after significant tissue damage or even partial surgical removal. Laurie DeLeve and her colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wanted to better understand which cells are specifically responsible for driving liver regeneration. A specialized cell type, known as liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, has generally been thought to promote regeneration of liver tissue. However, the DeLeve team...

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Pathfinder Therapeutics, a medical device company with first to market products for "surgical GPS" of the abdomen, is pleased to announce that it has hired Jim Cloar as President and CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Cloar previously held the position of General Manager of the Navigation and Imaging division at Medtronic. Under his leadership, the division globally launched numerous new products in the field of Cranial Neurosurgery,...

Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease. Researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh have discovered how to enhance the production of key cells needed to repair damaged liver tissue. The study, published in...

Japanese scientists have recently discovered that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) – the chemical responsible for such malodorous phenomena as human flatulence, bad breath and rotten eggs – can be used to efficiently convert stem cells from human teeth into liver cells. While the fetid chemical compound is produced in small quantities by the human body for use in a variety of biological signaling mechanisms, at high concentrations it is highly poisonous and extremely flammable. A team of...