22
Aug 2018
New drug treatment may make liver transplants unnecessary
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have found a potential treatment for sudden liver failure, which could cut the need for transplants.
The new treatment is a drug currently used to treat cancer that restores the regenerative potential. The team involved in the research have said that although the work is at an early stage, it could have a huge impact on patients as an alternative to transplants.
Currently, there are around 200 cases of sudden life-threatening liver failure each year.
Following research, mice were used as a trial involving the useof an experimental cancer therapy that could block the senescience chemical, which is when the body’s cells become tired and stop working properly. Severe injuries can rapidly trigger this process throughout the liver.
The mice were given a drug overdose which under normal circumstances would lead to liver failure and subsequent death, but they survived with the treatment.
One of the researchers of the study, Dr Thomas Bird said “The beauty of this clinically is even if you have massive injury, if the liver is regrown then you have a normal life after that.
“The most obvious thing to do now is clinical trials in patients with acute liver failure and see if we can prevent the need for transplant.”
The Wellcome Trust’s Lindsay Keir, said “The research so far suggests that a medication could be used to treat this condition, avoiding the need for a liver transplant which is a major operation and reducing the demand on the limited supply of livers available for transplant”
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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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