Feature Channels: Liver Disease

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The researchers demonstrated that glucokinase activation was effective in lowering blood glucose in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity, while it potentially raised the risk of increasing hepatic lipid accumulation that triggered the PERK-UPR pathway. Thus, this study provides clinical reference and theoretical basis for the application of glucokinase activator (GKA) in treating patients with type 2 diabetes (or combined with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).

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A brief roundup of news and story ideas from the experts at UCLA Health.

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In a recent study published in the journal of Genes & Diseases, researchers have discovered a compelling link between a specific gut bacterium and the progression of atherosclerosis, a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. The culprit is a microbe known as Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (D. desulfuricans), found to be responsible for increasing intestinal permeability and prompting a potent inflammatory response, contributing to the disease's progression.

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A new study analyzing toxins produced by Microcystis, the main type of cyanobacteria that compose the annual harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Lake Erie, suggests that the toxicity of the bloom may be overestimated in earlier warm months and underestimated later in the summer.

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The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has launched the “RSNA 2023 Abdominal Trauma Detection AI Challenge” to explore whether artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to aid in the detection and classification of traumatic abdominal injuries.

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Helen is an 8 1/2-year old gentle giant who’s fighting osteosarcoma and, through participation in a clinical trial through the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center, is helping develop a new cancer treatment.  The dog's owners have a 1-year-old son enrolled in a clinical trial for a rare liver disease, which gave them the idea to also enroll Helen in a clinical trial.

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New research shows how using molecular tools and alternative gene splicing can make a protein called CEACAM1 more protective against liver injury during transplantation, thus reducing organ injury and ultimately improving post-transplant outcomes.

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Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings for 2023-2024.

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New insights into the underlying mechanisms of Type 2 diabetes and novel potential therapeutic targets for the disease were revealed in a recent study.

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Valance Sams Sr.’s world was turned upside down 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a rare inflammatory disease that caused a buildup of scar tissue on his heart and left him unable to work, exercise or even walk.

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A new study, which involved experiments on mice and human patients, uncovered an important communication pathway between two molecules called CEACAM1 (CC1) and TIM-3, finding that the pathway plays a crucial role in controlling the body's immune response during liver transplantation.

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A surgical team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently performed the first robotic liver transplant in the U.S. in May at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

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The randomized controlled study was conducted by 15 liver transplant centers in the United States, including Ochsner Health Liver Transplant Institute, and compared the use of normothermic machine preservation (NMP)—which maintains the organ at normal body temperature-- with static cold storage (SCS) in 383 donor organs.

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Fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, proved to be the busiest year yet for Cedars-Sinai’s Comprehensive Transplant Center and Smidt Heart Institute, with more than 600 organs transplanted.

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Doctors in Seattle are reporting a history-making case in which a patient received two donor organs, a liver and a heart, to prevent the extreme likelihood that her body would reject a donor heart transplanted alone. In this innovative case, the organ recipient’s own healthy liver was transplanted, domino-like, into a second patient who had advanced liver disease.

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Researchers found increasing cases of the alcohol-related liver illness from 2016 through 2020, but the rise was particularly pronounced the year COVID-19 arrived in the U.S. in 2020, which saw a 12.4% increase over 2019 levels.

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Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital used genomics to inform the creation of genetic and new cell-line models for hepatoblastoma, which pointed toward the DNA damage repair pathway as a promising therapeutic route.

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The July issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology includes new ACG Clinical Guidelines on Acute Liver Failure, addressing a time-sensitive condition gastroenterologists and hepatologists encounter.

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The arrival of summer marks the return of a cherished activity: backyard grilling. A UT Southwestern Medical Center toxicologist offers some cautionary guidelines to help you and your guests avoid food poisoning.

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A team of surgical experts led by Gregory J. Tiesi, M.D., FACS, FSSO, began implanting hepatic artery infusion pumps in patients at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in June. They are among the first in New Jersey to provide the pump for patients.