liver fibrosis tagged posts

A study spearheaded by Oregon State University has shown why certain polyunsaturated fatty acids work to combat a dangerous liver condition, opening a new avenue of drug research for a disease that currently has no FDA-approved medications.

Scientists led by Oregon State’s Natalia Shulzhenko, Andrey Morgun and Donald Jump used a technique known as multi-omic network analysis to identify the mechanism through which dietary omega 3 supplements alleviated nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, usually abbreviated to NASH.

The mechanism involves betacellulin, a protein growth factor that plays multiple positive roles in the body but also contributes to liver fibrosis, or scarring, and the progression to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

“We only succeeded in ...

The finding opens the door for a possible treatment for many liver diseases. A study identifies a molecule behind the runaway growth of bile duct cells inside the liver, which underlies many liver diseases.

The liver is the all-important organ behind processing of various substances we put into our bodies, from food and drink to alcohol and drugs. When things go awry with the liver, the consequences can be deadly. At the root of many liver diseases, from hepatitis to Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis, commonly known as NASH, is scarring, otherwise known as liver fibrosis — and currently, there are no drugs available to treat this scarring.

Researchers are investigating the root causes of liver fibrosis in the hopes of identifying potential targets for drugs in the future...

TRAF6 is required for skeletal muscle regeneration.

Salk team develops Drug that prevents, reverses deadly liver damage in mice. Chronic damage to the liver eventually creates a wound that never heals. This condition, called fibrosis, gradually replaces normal liver cells -which detoxify the food and liquid we consume – with more and more scar tissue until the organ no longer works.

Scientists at the Salk Institute have identified a drug that halts this unchecked accumulation of scar tissue in the liver. The small molecule, called JQ1, prevented as well as reversed fibrosis in animals and could help the millions of people worldwide affected by liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, caused by alcoholism and diseases like hepatitis.

“After too much damage in the liver, the scar tissue itself causes m...