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
[google_news title=”” keyword=”liver diseases” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Liver diseases
- New stem cell research may have implications for liver transplantationon May 9, 2024 at 9:20 am
Liver disease, due to viral infections, alcohol abuse, obesity, or cancer, accounts for one in every 25 deaths worldwide. A liver transplant can be life saving for people with end-stage liver disease.
- Scientists discover new type of cell in the liveron May 9, 2024 at 6:49 am
Scientists have discovered a new type of cell in the liver that plays a critical role in repairing damage. These "leader cells" are responsible for dragging healthy tissue into wounds as they heal ...
- CIMA Sciences, In Partnership with Luxor Scientific Launches Revolutionary Liver Disease Teston May 9, 2024 at 5:30 am
Recent advancements signify a new era in liver disease diagnosis and treatment. GREENVILLE, SC / ACCESSWIRE / May 9, 2024 / Luxor Scientific and CIMA Sciences join forces for the US launch of OWLiver® ...
- Intermittent fasting protects against liver inflammation, liver cancer: Studyon May 9, 2024 at 5:18 am
Intermittent fasting has been found in multiple studies to be an effective way to lose weight and alleviate some metabolic disorders. Heikenwalder's team has now investigated in mice if this method ...
- Liver Disease Symptoms: Note THESE Changes In Your Feeton May 8, 2024 at 11:27 pm
Liver problems can affect different parts of the body including your feet Here are the symptoms to watch out for ...
- Intermittent fasting halts liver disease progression and reduces cancer riskon May 8, 2024 at 11:13 pm
Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Tübingen have now ...
- Ask A Doctor: What Happens If Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Remain Untreated?on May 8, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Expert opinion from Marcelle Freire Doctor of Medicine · 3 years of experience · Brazil Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a medical term used to describe an inflammatory form of fatty degeneration of ...
- Gut bacteria sometimes get people drunk, leading to DUIs and liver diseaseon May 5, 2024 at 3:00 am
Though it's a rare condition, a woman was acquitted of her DUI charge in 2016 after doctors diagnosed her with the same syndrome. She had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit.
- Liver Disease Newson May 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Overeating and Starving Both Damage the Liver: Cavefish Provide New Insight Into Fatty Liver Disease Mar. 18, 2024 — Fatty liver, which can lead to liver damage and disease, can occur from both ...
- COVID patient's strange symptoms save her from deadly undiagnosed diseases. Here's what doctors discovered.on April 26, 2024 at 5:33 pm
life-threatening diseases: autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis. Dennis, who was 27 years old at the time, was told she needed a liver transplant within the next five years to survive.
via Bing News