Transplant Chief Was an Organ Recipient Herself
Though it wasn’t so long ago that Sara Kathryn Smith, MD, was a liver transplant patient herself, last year she became the medical director for pediatric liver transplantation at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Smith’s unique perspective on patient care has primed her for the role, and for advocating for the importance of organ […]
Study explores effects of dietary choline deficiency on neurologic and system-wide health: Reaching adequate dietary choline intake is critical to offset organ pathologies and may help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease
Choline, an essential nutrient produced in small amounts in the liver and found in foods including eggs, broccoli, beans, meat and poultry, is a vital ingredient for human health. A new study explores deficiency in dietary choline adversely affects the body and may be a missing piece in the puzzle of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s estimated […]
Fatty liver disease endangers brain health
In a study examining the link between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and brain dysfunction, scientists at the Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology, affiliated to King’s College London and the University of Lausanne, found an accumulation of fat in the liver causes a decrease in oxygen to the brain and inflammation to brain tissue — […]
Tackling the Global Burden of Liver Cancer
MedPage Today brought together three leaders in the field of liver cancer to discuss the latest research and clinical advances. In this last of four exclusive episodes, moderator Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, is joined by Amit Singal, MD, of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, […]
Robotic Surgery Proves Its Mettle for Liver Cancer
Fully robotic liver resection was safe and effective for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with open liver resection, a cohort study found. Propensity score-matched analysis showed “better perioperative tolerability … based on clinical, oncologic, and technical criteria” compared with open resection, reported Fabrizio Di Benedetto, MD, PhD, of the University of Modena and Reggio […]
NAFLD Tied to Higher Risk of Heart Failure
Middle-age patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) had a moderately higher risk of developing heart failure, an updated meta-analysis found. Pooled data on over 11 million participants showed NAFLD to be associated with a 50% greater risk of incident heart failure over a decade (pooled random-effects HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.34-1.67, P<0.0001), reported Giovanni […]
Daily avocados improve diet quality, help lower cholesterol levels, study finds
Eating one avocado a day for six months was found to have no effect on belly fat, liver fat or waist circumference in people with overweight or obesity, according to a new study. However, it did lead to a slight decrease in unhealthy cholesterol levels. In the randomized trial, the team — including Penn State […]
Liver Cirrhosis Tied to Elevated Risk for Stroke
Liver cirrhosis was linked to a greater risk for stroke in a large retrospective study, and the association was independent of established cardiovascular risk factors, a research reported. In the study of nearly 1.3 million individuals in Germany, multivariable analysis showed a 21% higher risk for any cardiovascular event — stroke or myocardial infarction (MI) […]
How Long Can a Person Live after Being Diagnosed with Hep C?
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. There are a variety of toxins, diseases, illicit drugs, medications, bacterial and viral infections, and heavy alcohol use can case inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C viral infection (HCV) is one type of hepatitis. According to the CDC, in 2014 there were an estimated 30,500 cases of acute hepatitis […]
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Lean Patients Linked With CVD Risk
Lean patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were more likely to have cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those overweight or obese, a researcher reported. Among over 18,000 such patients, logistic regression analysis — adjusting for demographics and clinical risk factors — showed patients with overweight or obesity with NAFLD were associated with a significantly lower […]