Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is among the most common chronic hepatic disorders in Western industrial countries and the rate is also rapidly rising in newly industrialized countries. Experts estimate that about 30 to 40 percent of the population worldwide develop this liver condition. In the United States, this disease is well on the way to becoming the most frequent indication for liver…
More than 100 million Americans have potentially deadly fatty liver disease and most do not even know it. Overeating and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol this holiday season could put someone with the disease on the fast track to liver failure. “There are no symptoms associated with fatty liver disease and no pain, so most people never get checked or treated for it and, over time, if it is…
A drug which has been used to treat liver disease for decades could help to restore cells damaged by Alzheimer's, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found. The pioneering study discovered the drug ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) improves mitochondrial dysfunction – which is known to be a causative factor for both sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease.
Another piece in the puzzle that is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has been solved by a University of Queensland researcher in a step towards developing treatments for a disease that affects about one in every five Australians. PhD student Laurence Britton has discovered a pivotal mechanism by which iron is able to make the liver more vulnerable to the injury and metabolic dysfunction that…
Scientists at the University of Delaware and the University of Illinois at Chicago have found a new way to kill liver cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth. First, they silence a key cellular enzyme, and then they add a powerful drug. They describe their methods in a new paper published in Nature Communications. This research could accelerate the development of new treatments for liver cancer,…
Patients with cirrhosis should be screened regularly for liver cancer, though few are – in part because busy physicians often don’t order the screening tests, said UT Southwestern oncologists. “The frequency of liver cancer is increasing rapidly in the U.S. and liver cancer-related mortality has nearly doubled over the past decade. The poor prognosis of the disease is largely driven by the…
In April 2016 CEUS received the USA’s FDA approval. This year‘s RSNA Samsung Symposium ‘Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS): Innovations and a Problem-Solving Tool in Clinical Practice’ provided an opportunity to take stock. For European Hospital, Professor André Clevert, Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ultrasound at University Hospital Munich, Germany, describes the current…
Liver disease is widespread in Germany. It is, in fact, the most common cause of death in patients under the age of 40, with liver cirrhosis, which can develop into liver cancer, playing a major role here. These days, modern, comprehensive treatment concepts are unimaginable without interventional radiology, for liver cirrhosis as well as liver cancer. Prof. Dr. Christian Stroszczynski, Director…
Professor Dr Thomas Kröncke, Medical Director of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Klinikum Augsburg, has been dealing with liver diseases for 17 years. Talking to European Hospital he explains which diseases the liver tends to mask and why fatty liver has become a public health issue.
From its earliest beginnings in 2006 to its most recent update this year, the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) is helping radiologists deliver clearer and more consistent imaging reports to hepatologists and surgeons worldwide. "LI-RADS is the leading system for interpretation and reporting of liver imaging exams in adults with cirrhosis. It is also the first radiology…
A new study found that increased utilization of split liver transplantation could decrease the number of children who die awaiting liver transplantation without decreasing liver transplantation access for adult patients. “Among children listed for liver transplant in the United States, more than one in 10 infants and one in 20 older children die while waiting for a liver,” says Emily Perito,…
Approximately 10 percent of the general population take a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug to block stomach acid secretions and relieve symptoms of frequent heartburn, acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease. That percentage can be as much as seven times higher for people with chronic liver disease. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have discovered…
A Spanish team has, for the first time, successfully placed a pulmonary valve using catheterisation through the hepatic vein in a paediatric patient. Specialists believe this type of intervention could become an interesting alternative when traditional access points are not available.
German researches have linked the increased production of a certain enzyme in the liver to fatty liver and insulin resistance.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent liver diseases worldwide and an estimated 20 million people in Germany are affected.
For almost three quarters of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in Europe it is too late for curative treatment because the disease is often only diagnosed at a very advanced stage. Interviewed Professor Guido Gerken MD, Director of the Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University Hospital Essen, about improved and timelier diagnostic capabilities that have already been…
New MRI techniques are set to offer advances in the earlier detection of liver disease in patients. Radiologists are harnessing the potential of highly-targeted MRI, whilst exploring the imaging modality as a means of delivering non-invasive biomarkers, reducing the need for biopsy to measure treatment response.
New 3-D simulation models that include haemodynamics enable better treatment of hepatic tumours via radio-embolisation, according to eminent Spanish radiologist José Ignacio Bilbao Jaureguizar.
NEW: Evolution 3.0 EPIQ ultrasound upgrade offers high-res PureWave crystal transducer technology, shear wave elastography, contrast enhanced ultrasound, and image fusion. Could you ask for more?
Riad Salem, MD, MBA, will be honored with the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Foundation Leaders in Innovation Award March 7, during the group's annual scientific meeting in Washington, D.C., for his work in radioembolization.
Researchers at University of Vienna discover unexpected role of signalling protein in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Scientists have shown that a mutation in a gene called Arid1b can cause liver cancer. The gene normally protects against cancer by limiting cell growth, but when mutated it allows cells to grow uncontrollably. The researchers have shown that two existing drugs can halt this growth in human cells. This points to a new approach to treating liver cancer.
Contrast enhanced ultrasound is part of clinical routine and makes a substantial contribution towards increasing the significance of tissue and organ diagnosis with ultrasound for difficult cases.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes hepatitis B, an infectious disease that afflicts 230 million people worldwide, thereof 440 000 in Germany. Persistence of the virus in liver cells leads to progressive organ damage in the patient and contributes to a high risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer development. Providing a new paradigm to hepatitis B understanding, researchers at the German Cancer Research…
‘Already used in adults for several years, elastography is a promising tool in paediatric imaging,’ according to radiologist Dr Mehrak Anooshiravani-Dumont, from Geneva University Hospital. ‘It allows detection of changes in the mechanical properties of tissues, such as fibrosis, based on viscoelastic characteristics.‘