via News-Medical.Net
Drug therapy may effectively treat a potentially life-threatening condition associated with cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, according to a new study by Mayo Clinic researchers. The study was posted in March on Gastroenterology, the online journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Print publication is scheduled for July.
While therapies have been available to treat some forms of liver disease, including hepatitis C and autoimmune hepatitis, options have been more limited for treating portal hypertension, a condition where there is an increase in pressure within the portal vein that carries blood from abdominal organs to the liver. Portal hypertension is associated with cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases.
According to the study, the drug sivelestat may effectively lower portal hypertension, improving symptoms and outcomes for those patients. The study results were obtained from mouse models but have since been confirmed in liver samples from humans, according to Vijay Shah, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and senior author.
“This was an exciting confirmation of our findings and their applicability to human disease,” Dr. Shah says. “Sivelestat has been safely used in humans with acute lung injury and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This suggests that sivelestat and similar drugs constitute a potential means to decrease portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease.”
The Mayo study showed that deposits of fibrin — microvascular blood clots — contributed to portal hypertension, and inflammatory cells known as neutrophils contributed to the formation of fibrin. By inhibiting neutrophil function with sivelestat, they were able to decrease portal hypertension.
“Neutrophils had not previously been identified as significant drivers of portal hypertension,” says Moira Hilscher, M.D., the paper’s first author. Results were verified in two different models of chronic liver disease.
“The study paves the way for developing new drugs and repurposing of existing compounds to target inflammation in the liver driven by disease-related mechanical forces,” says Dr. Hilscher. “Given the increasing prevalence of advanced liver disease due to alcohol and obesity, this is clearly an unmet need.”
Learn more: Mayo Clinic researchers identify potential new therapy for liver diseases
The Latest on: Liver diseases
via Google News
The Latest on: Liver diseases
- Seventy Percent of Liver Cancer Cases in the US Could be Preventedon October 16, 2019 at 6:16 am
Men are three times more likely than women to develop liver cancer 5. Several medical societies advise liver disease patients to get screened for cancer every 6 months. "Every day I see patients who ...
- Cell family trees tracked to discover their role in tissue scarring and liver diseaseon October 16, 2019 at 5:23 am
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the main cells responsible for scar production following all liver injuries, from surgery to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Scarring or 'fibrosis' is a ...
- Serum markers of type III and IV procollagen processing predict recurrence of fibrosis in liver transplanted patientson October 16, 2019 at 2:09 am
However, this needs validation in larger cohorts. Development and progression of recurrent liver fibrosis may follow different paths dependent on the underlying etiology. Even though the etiologies ...
- NIH: Drug reverses liver fat, slows fibrosis in HIV-positive peopleon October 15, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a growing cause of serious liver problems in HIV-positive people with 25 percent of HIV-positive people impacted, according to a report released earlier this year.
- Study identifies therapy for liver disease in HIV patientson October 15, 2019 at 7:18 am
WASHINGTON DC: A therapeutic strategy found by researchers recently, could significantly improve a form of liver disease that affects HIV patients. There is currently no treatment for non-alcoholic ...
- Drug reverses signs of liver disease in people living with HIVon October 15, 2019 at 6:16 am
in Boston report that the injectable hormone tesamorelin reduces liver fat and prevents liver fibrosis (scarring) in people living with HIV. The study was conducted by the National Institute of ...
- NASH and Liver Cancer: The New Cancer Headlineon October 14, 2019 at 2:27 pm
The most common primary liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, is driven by fatty liver disease and is among the most prevalent and deadly of cancers driven by obesity. Rising rates of overweight and ...
- Mass General Hospital doctors create new liver disease treatment for people with HIVon October 12, 2019 at 1:37 pm
A new potential therapy developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has been shown to significantly improve a form of liver disease found in people with HIV. Many people with HIV have ...
- SOX9 broadly modifies the severity of Alagille syndrome liver disease in miceon October 11, 2019 at 3:47 pm
In this study, Jafar-Nejad and his colleagues uncovered new genetic clues that contribute to our understanding of the extreme variability in the expression of this childhood liver disease and also ...
- Liver fluke linked to liver disease in U.K. horseson October 10, 2019 at 6:20 am
A harmful parasite that costs the U.K. cattle and sheep industry an estimated £300 million per year may also be an under‐recognised cause of liver disease in horses, a study by the University of ...
via Bing News
