https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/liver_disease/ Read the latest medical research on liver disease. What diets are best? Learn to recognize the symptoms of liver disease, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. en-us Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:52:31 EDT Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:52:31 EDT 60 https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/liver_disease/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251107010324.htm A Stanford-led team has replaced toxic pre-transplant chemotherapy with a targeted antibody, allowing children with Fanconi anemia to receive stem cell transplants safely. The antibody, briquilimab, removes diseased stem cells without radiation, enabling nearly complete donor cell replacement. The approach also widens donor eligibility and could soon be applied to other bone marrow failure diseases. Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:28:44 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251107010324.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241030145819.htm New research into the long-term dynamics of transplanted stem cells in a patient's body explains how age affects stem cell survival and immune diversity, offering insights that could make transplants safer and more successful. Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:58:19 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241030145819.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210728105642.htm Tragically, the opioid epidemic has led to an increase in accidental and premature deaths, which has also increased the number of hearts available for potential organ donation. Receiving a heart from a donor who used illicit drugs does not impact the recipient's survival, according to a group of researchers from Virginia, Arizona and Indiana. Wed, 28 Jul 2021 10:56:42 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210728105642.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005091216.htm The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus. Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:12:16 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005091216.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200511193720.htm France and the United States have experienced a tremendous reduction in the number of organ donations and solid organ (kidney, liver, heart, and lung) transplant procedures since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By early April, transplant centers in both countries were conducting far fewer deceased donor transplants compared to just one month earlier, with the number of procedures dropping by 91 percent in France and 50 percent in the United States. Mon, 11 May 2020 19:37:20 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200511193720.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190423133657.htm A recent policy change in allocating donor lungs has had several unintended consequences, according to a new study. The new policy has imposed a significant logistical burden on organ procurement organizations and surgical teams involved in retrieving the donated organs. Tue, 23 Apr 2019 13:36:57 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190423133657.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181217105858.htm Results of a medical records study of more than 7,000 patients awaiting a lung transplant in the United States affirm the basis of a court filing in 2017 that called the organ allocation system geographically 'rigged' in some regions of the nation. Mon, 17 Dec 2018 10:58:58 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181217105858.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180522114824.htm Increasingly, liver transplant centers are changing a long-standing practice of delaying potentially life-saving liver transplantation for patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis until after they stopped drinking alcohol for six months, according to a new study. Tue, 22 May 2018 11:48:24 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180522114824.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305174320.htm In a small study, doctors have successfully transplanted 10 hepatitis C-infected kidneys into patients without hepatitis C and prevented the patients from becoming infected by hepatitis C. The success of these transplants could mean more organs being available for the nearly 100,000 people in the US currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Mon, 05 Mar 2018 17:43:20 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305174320.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170410110849.htm At this moment, more than 118,000 people in the United States are in need of a lifesaving organ transplant. And 64 percent of them are currently on a waiting list – to which roughly 1 person is added every 10 minutes – according to the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). That’s 75,868 people in line for a transplant. Unfortunately, only about half of them will actually receive the transplant they need this year. In an effort to encourage more people to register as organ and tissue donors, researchers are tackling the issue from a few different angles – from advocacy to research to policy. Mon, 10 Apr 2017 11:08:49 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170410110849.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160208213845.htm A kidney transplant is a life-changing and life-saving procedure. Yet, a new study shows that only one-third of patients who ultimately receive a living donor kidney transplant receive it preemptively (i.e., before starting dialysis). Less than two-thirds receive a transplant either preemptively or within a year of starting dialysis. Mon, 08 Feb 2016 21:38:45 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160208213845.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150414212302.htm While heavy drinking is known to lead to liver cirrhosis, not all heavy drinkers develop the disease. Variation in susceptibility may go beyond quantity of alcohol to also involve genetics, gender, and obesity. New findings show having a father with alcohol problems who died from liver disease is a significant red flag. Tue, 14 Apr 2015 21:23:02 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150414212302.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150220190741.htm Alcoholic liver disease is a common liver ailment in the US that varies significantly by ethnicity. A new study looks the role of ethnicity in the age of onset, severity, and risk factors for progression of ALD. Results indicate that ethnicity is a major factor affecting the age and severity of different subtypes of ALD. Fri, 20 Feb 2015 19:07:41 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150220190741.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150126083810.htm Although alcohol is the most important risk factor of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, less is known about the significance of different patterns of drinking. Currently scientists believe that cirrhosis is a function of the volume of alcohol consumed irrespective of patterns of drinking. Investigators have now established that alcohol drinking pattern has a significant influence on the risk of cirrhosis and that daily drinking increases that risk compared with drinking less frequently. Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:38:10 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150126083810.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140716151110.htm Research derived from early national experience of liver transplantation has shown that deceased donor liver transplants offered recipients better survival rates than living donor liver transplants, making them the preferred method of transplantation for most physicians. Now, the first data-driven study in over a decade disputes this notion. Living donor transplant outcomes are superior to those found with deceased donors with appropriate donor selection and when surgeries are performed at an experienced center. Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:11:10 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140716151110.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140703142156.htm Twenty-one living donors have changed the lives of 21 recipients so far as part of the nation’s longest ongoing single-center paired kidney transplant chain, which is currently under way at an American hospital. The chain was started by a woman who wanted to donate a kidney to a stranger in need. In a paired transplant chain, a donation like this can set off a series in which family or friends of recipients give a kidney to another person in need -- essentially paying donations forward on behalf of a loved one. Thu, 03 Jul 2014 14:21:56 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140703142156.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225162556.htm Broadly suppressing the immune system after lung transplantation may inadvertently encourage organ rejection, according to a new study in mice. Organ transplant patients routinely receive drugs that stop their immune systems from attacking newly implanted hearts, livers, kidneys or lungs, which the body sees as foreign. In a surprising discovery, researchers found that newly transplanted lungs in mice were more likely to be rejected if key immune cells were missing, a situation that simulates what happens when patients take immunosuppressive drugs. Tue, 25 Feb 2014 16:25:56 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225162556.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131115154418.htm Ten years after a transplant, a cornea from a 71-year-old donor is likely to remain as healthy as a cornea from a donor half that age, according to a study. Corneas from donors over age 71 perform slightly less well, but still remain healthy for the majority of transplant recipients after 10 years, the study found. Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:44:18 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131115154418.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130407150104.htm In a world first, a donated human liver has been 'kept alive' outside a human being and then successfully transplanted into a patient in need of a new liver. Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:01:04 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130407150104.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130405155830.htm Patients faced with the diagnosis of a life-threatening liver disease have to consider the seriousness of having a liver transplant, which can be a definitive cure for many acquired and genetic liver diseases. Among the main considerations are the anxiety of waiting for a donor organ, the risks associated with the transplant operation, and the chance that the transplant procedure will not achieve the desired result. There is also the six-figure cost of the procedure and accompanying patient care, all of which may not be completely covered by health insurance. But in a new study, researchers have found that liver transplants are worth the risk for people who have genetic liver conditions. Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:58:30 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130405155830.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314111818.htm Transplants of blood-forming stem cells from umbilical cord blood may be an effective alternative to transplants of matched donor bone marrow stem cells to treat children with a rare, debilitating disease known as Hurler's syndrome, according to new results. Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:18:18 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314111818.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120719082606.htm For children receiving kidney transplants, a potentially correctable blood condition present in about one in four recipients is associated with a moderately increased risk of the graft's later failure, suggesting that clinicians should weigh whether transplant is advisable when the condition is present, according to new research. Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:26:06 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120719082606.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110904140340.htm In recent years, a considerable increase in the number of children and adolescents evaluated, diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder has been noted. Bipolar-like symptoms are quite frequent in prepubertal children, but the age at which bipolar disorder can first be diagnosed remains controversial. Current neurobiological findings have advanced our understanding of emotional function and dysfunction in youth. Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:03:40 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110904140340.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110707101956.htm Identifying a suitable donor for leukemia and lymphoma patients who need bone marrow transplants may be far easier now that results of two clinical trials show transplant results with half-matched bone marrow or umbilical cord blood are comparable to fully matched tissue, thanks in large part to the availability of effective antirejection drugs and special post-transplant chemotherapy. The finding means that nearly all patients in need of a transplant can find donors, according to scientists who participated in the trials. Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:19:56 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110707101956.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110330101246.htm If the U.S. Congress reversed its ban on allowing people with HIV to be organ donors after their death, roughly 500 HIV-positive patients with kidney or liver failure each year could get transplants within months, rather than the years they currently wait on the list, new research suggests. Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:12:46 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110330101246.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206101257.htm Results from four innovative studies help answer outstanding questions about stem cell transplant procedures in treating various hematologic malignancies. New research reveals that there is no increase in overall cancer risk in people who donate stem cells and that the utilization of a double cord blood stem cell transplant is associated with better overall outcomes when used early in the treatment of acute leukemias. Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:12:57 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206101257.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100805143103.htm A study from researchers in Italy found that a split-dosage schedule of bowel preparation is the most effective method for bowel cleansing before colonoscopy. Colonoscopies performed within six to eight hours of the end of preparation were associated with significantly better cleansing than those performed more than eight hours after the end of preparation. This is the first study to demonstrate that the advantage of split-dosage intake is also true for low-volume bowel cleansing solutions. Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:31:03 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100805143103.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100126133354.htm Doctors have examined the ethical issues posed by transplant tourism, an offshoot of medical tourism, which focuses solely on transplantation surgery. These transplant tourists may be subject to sub-standard surgical techniques, poor organ matching, unhealthy donors, and post transplant infections, prompting US health care institutions to refuse treatment of these patients upon return to the US. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:33:54 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100126133354.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091207100015.htm The methods and outcomes for stem cell transplants are constantly improving as leading experts continue to investigate new approaches for reducing the serious adverse events associated with the procedure. New research takes a closer look at complications of stem cell transplants, including veno-occlusive disease and graft-versus-host disease. Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:00:15 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091207100015.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125081620.htm Researchers compared the outcomes of cirrhotic patients who underwent liver transplants for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) versus alcoholic liver disease (ETOH) and found no statistically significant differences in post-transplant survival rates between the NASH and ETOH groups. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:16:20 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125081620.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081207133713.htm Two studies examining the effects of stem cell source and patient age on stem cell transplantation outcomes will be explored at a press conference taking place on Sunday, Dec. 7, at 8 a.m., during the 50th Annual Meeting of the American ASociety of Hematology in San Francisco, Calif. Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:37:13 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081207133713.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201112618.htm A new study finds the use of the drug therapy etanercept ineffective in treating alcoholic hepatitis, an acute inflammation of the liver caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:26:18 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201112618.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134349.htm Lung transplants have been performed successfully for more than 20 years in humans but never before in mice -- until now. Surgeons have developed the first mouse model of lung transplantation, and they're hoping it will help explain why the success of the procedure in humans lags far behind other solid organ transplants. Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:43:49 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134349.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061003191718.htm Transplant surgeons at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC have saved two patients with life-threatening liver conditions utilizing a technique known as a domino transplant. It is only the nation's second domino transplant involving a patient with maple syrup urine disease. Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:17:18 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061003191718.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030904075022.htm As if the ordeal of waiting for, receiving and living with an organ transplant weren't enough, a new study finds that people who get a second chance at life from new hearts, lungs, livers or intestines are very likely to have their lives cut short by failing kidneys. Thu, 04 Sep 2003 07:50:22 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030904075022.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/02/010212074323.htm A team of Mayo Clinic kidney transplant specialists has developed a new kidney transplant procedure that could make transplants possible for thousands of people who previously were unlikely to have a successful transplant. The advancement, called positive crossmatch transplants, greatly reduces the chance of organ rejection in patients with elevated antibody levels. Mon, 12 Feb 2001 07:43:23 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/02/010212074323.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/04/990408070659.htm Scientists are studying new treatments to combat two viruses that cause chronic liver inflammation, can have catastrophic consequences, and are expected to become increasingly devastating over the next decade. Inflammation of the liver, or hepatitis, can result from a variety of activities or events such as drug and alcohol abuse, ingestion of toxic chemicals or medications, or exposure to one of several viruses that affect the liver. Thu, 08 Apr 1999 07:06:59 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/04/990408070659.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/09/970902123800.htm Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Md., have identified a strain of hepatitis E virus in pigs that is very similar to the strain that causes disease in humans. Tue, 02 Sep 1997 12:38:00 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/09/970902123800.htm