‘Keto’ molecule may be useful in preventing and treating colorectal cancer, study suggests
A molecule produced in the liver in response to low-carb “ketogenic” diets has a powerful effect in suppressing colorectal tumor growth and may be useful as a preventive and treatment of such cancers, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In the study, published […]
A new study relates liquid fructose intake to fatty liver disease
A high-fat diet is not enough to cause short-term fatty liver disease. However, if this diet is combined with the intake of beverages sweetened with liquid fructose, the accumulation of fats in the liver accelerates and hypertriglyceridemia — a cardiovascular risk factor — can appear. This is explained in a study on a mouse experimental […]
Did HIV Status Affect Transplant Patients’ Long-Term Outcomes?
Patient survival in liver transplant recipients and graft survival in kidney transplant recipients was comparable among patients living with and without HIV, even 15 years later, researchers found in a retrospective study. For liver transplant recipients, patient survival at 15 years among those living with HIV was 70% (95% CI 60.6-80.8%) compared to 75.7% (95% […]
Blood-Based Biomarkers Prove Mettle in Liver Disease Diagnosis
Multiple noninvasive blood biomarkers for metabolic liver disease met accuracy assessments for diagnosing metabolic liver disease in the first step of an advanced qualification system to better utilize these noninvasive tools, a researcher said. Top-line analyses of the Non-Invasive Biomarkers of Metabolic Liver Disease (NIMBLE) Stage 1 initiative found high sensitivity and specificity for the […]
Iron Load in NAFLD Tied to Higher Liver Cancer Risk
Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) had a significantly higher risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on elevated biomarker levels of serum iron or transferrin saturation, a researcher reported. In an analysis of over 18,000 NAFLD patients, elevated serum iron levels over 175 μg/dL were associated with a more than two-fold higher risk […]
How Did the COVID Pandemic Affect Liver Transplant Outcomes?
The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on liver transplantation outcomes, with lower graft survival and patient survival at 90 days post-transplant versus a pre-pandemic time period, a researcher said. Graft survival was significantly lower during the COVID versus pre-COVID period (95.2% vs 96.0%) and there was a significant decline in patient survival (96.0% vs […]
A newly discovered genetic link to non-alcoholic inflammatory liver disease
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the accumulation of fat in the liver unrelated to alcohol abuse or other liver diseases. It is often associated with obesity and diabetes and is considered a manifestation of metabolic syndrome. It progresses into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with the onset of inflammation, although it is currently unclear how this […]
A Cup of Joe to Thwart Liver Fibrosis? How About Four
High coffee consumption was linked to a lower risk for elevated liver stiffness, though no such association was seen with steatosis, researchers found in a cross-sectional study. In a dietary analysis involving over 4,500 adults, drinking more than 3 cups of coffee (versus none) was associated with a 0.9 kPa reduction (95% CI -1.6 to […]
FDA Panel Nearly Unanimous on Liver Transplant Perfusion Device
TransMedics’ Organ Care System liver perfusion device got near unanimous support for an indication in liver transplantation by an FDA advisory committee. The agency’s Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel voted 14-0 in favor of both efficacy and safety, supporting an indication for the resuscitation, preservation, and assessment of liver allografts from donors after brain death […]
Some Liver Transplant Patients Got Hepatitis B From Donors
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was discovered in patients receiving liver transplants, despite donors testing negative for the virus, CDC researchers found. From 2014 to 2019, the agency received reports of 20 patients who contracted HBV after liver transplants from donors who had no evidence of prior HBV infection, according to Danae Bixler, MD, and colleagues […]