Liver Disease

It is dependent on the hepatitis B virus, so as vaccination against hepatitis B has increased, the prevalence of hepatitis D has decreased. A new treatment drug, Gilead's Hepcludex (bulevirtide), has been approved by European drug regulators but not by the FDA.

Researchers found that only 9% of vaccine-eligible patients at HIV Centers in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio had completed the three-dose series in a 365-day time period.

The update recommends a simplified hepatitis C treatment for people with HIV.

Charles Rice’s work led to the development of antiviral cures of hepatitis C. Now his lab is turning to hepatitis B and a technique that uses pregenomic RNA.

The antiviral has not been approved by FDA. Gilead Sciences received a complete response letter late last year.

The administration unveiled the $11 billion plan in March. Now the hard part: Getting Congress to fund it.

Findings reported in JAMA Network Open don’t find racial disparities among those who meet the treatment criteria. But Black individuals were less likely than Asian or White individuals to be among those meet the criteria.

Researchers suggest future studies should compare interferon-based versus noninterferon-based treatment and the effects on hepatocellular carcinoma.

Other research has come to a similar conclusion, but this study used an insurance claims database to make a more rigorous comparison between transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people and cisgender individuals.

The hepatitis A, B and C viruses are common in the U.S. , and hepatitis D is a fellow traveler with B. But the hepatitis E virus infects millions of people in the world each year, and the infection can be a serious illness. German researchers reported findings earlier this year that may pave the way for improved treatment of hepatitis E infections.

A modeling study involving people who are incarcerated and those that inject drugs in Australia shows that incarceration is a risk factor for transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The results highlight the importance of HCV programs targeting prison populations.

Thai researchers found that delaying endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograpy was not associated with disease-related or ERCP-related complications.

Austrian study found that approximately one-quarter of patients with chronic liver disease and COVID-19 developed laboratory signs of cholestatic liver failure.

A review of 23 studies found that evidence of kidney disease before a liver transplant is the strongest predictor of kidney disease afterward.

At a placeholder price of $19,000, resmetirom would produce cost savings, says the drug evaluation group. Obeticholic acid’s price would need to be slashed to meet a commonly used cost-effectiveness threshold.

A retrospective study published in JAMA Surgery shows that robotic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with shorter hospital stays and fewer admissions to the intensive care unit than open surgery, despite longer operating time and greater blood loss.

Testing and effective treatment of hepatitis C with the direct-acting antivirals is the most explanation.

Results suggest that Veterans Health Administration’s outreach efforts to veterans with hepatitis C who had been previously incarcerated could serve as a model.

In the three cases documented by researchers, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAG) levels were reduced by more than 50% after Japan began its COVID-19 vaccination program.

A trio of leading hepatitis researchers survey the treatments in development for chronic hepatitis B. They end on a high note: That for the first time in 20 years, a cure is in sight.

Using survival after recurrence as the measure, most patients would benefit from reoperative hepatectomy or thermoablation, according to an algorithm developed by Italian researchers. The researchers stress that the algorithm would be used to guide decisions by physicians and patients, not replace them.

The new device collects some information automatically but also relies on patient reports of measures like well-being.

A study in mice has found that a combination immunotherapy slowed tumor growth and activated anti-tumor immune response.

Researchers stress that attention to cardiac risk intervention is warranted for lean patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

The percentage of livers from donors who died of overdose increased by 26% from a pre-COVID-19 period of January 2019 to February 2020 compared with a pandemic period of May 2020 to June 2021.

Evaluation of 111 studies showed a link between the endocrine-disrupting chemicals and elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase, a liver enzyme elevated in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

An animal study of histotripsy suggests that powerful, focused ultrasound might be a way of treating liver cancer. It is a preliminary study. Much more research will need to be done before the technology is accepted as safe and effective.

The goal is to screen 20,000 people in the U.S. with at-home genetic tests for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

The overall number of deaths involving alcohol spiked 25.5% to 99,017 between 2019 and 2020.

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is significantly higher in men (33%) than women (20%).