Study Finding: Improved Mouse Model Simulates Alcoholic Liver Disease
Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have developed a new mouse model of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). The model incorporates chronic and binge drinking patterns to more closely approximate ALD in humans than any existing method. A report of the new model appears in the March issue of the journal Nature Protocols.
ALD refers to a broad range of liver injury caused by drinking. About 20–40 percent of heavy drinkers will develop more severe forms of ALD, including alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. The NIAAA model involves a 10-day feeding of an alcohol-containing liquid diet, followed by a single high-dose feeding of alcohol to approximate binge drinking. This results in marked elevation of fatty liver and enzymes indicating liver injury.
“The NIAAA model represents a significant advance in understanding the progression of alcoholic liver disease, which in severe cases can lead to liver failure and death,” said Kenneth R. Warren, Ph.D., acting director of the NIAAA.
Study Finding: Gut Bacteria May Play a Role in Obesity and Glucose Tolerance
Researchers have found that a stomach bacterium called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) may play a role in controlling glucose tolerance and body weight.
The study was partially funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH. Mice infected with certain strains of H. pylori showed less insulin resistance than uninfected mice or other mice infected with a more virulent strain, according to the study, recently published in PLOS ONE.
While H. pylori infection is associated with peptic ulcers and gastritis, it also helps control chronic inflammatory, allergic, or autoimmune diseases. The results suggest that colonization by these H. pylori strains could provide partial protection against some metabolic disorders.
Study Finding: Liver Stem Cells Discovered in Mice
Scientists successfully identified and grew a renewable population of liver stem cells
for the first time, a new study reported. Tissues derived from these stem cells slightly boosted liver function when implanted into mice with a liver disorder. The study, funded in part by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, was described in Nature on February 14, 2013.
Scientists have long known that stem cells that have the potential to create more liver cells must exist in the adult liver. But until now, no one had found a way to detect and cultivate liver stem cells. The findings could eventually lead to approaches that help rejuvenate damaged livers in people.
New and Updated Publications
Previous Issues of Diabetes Research and News
February 2013
NIH Launches New LiverTox Database
 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released LiverTox, a searchable, evidence-based database of prescription and over-the-counter medications with information about drug-induced liver injury. The database is a free source of information for health care professionals and researchers. An interactive section allows users to report cases of drug-induced liver injury, which will automatically be forwarded to the Food and Drug Administration’s MedWatch program.
Drug-induced liver injury is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, accounting for at least half of cases. “Because drug-induced liver disease is not a single, common disease, it is very difficult to diagnose, with each drug causing a somewhat different pattern of liver damage,” said Jay H. Hoofnagle, M.D., the major creator of LiverTox and director of the Liver Disease Research Branch at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
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Researchers Find New Genes Related to IBD
NIH-funded researchers from the United States, Canada, and Europe identified 71 new human genes associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, two chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The study was funded in part by the NIDDK IBD Genetics Consortium. The results were published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature.
Researchers believe that new approaches such as systems biology may provide a more complete picture of the genetic pathways involved with IBD and potentially lead to the development of more targeted treatments.
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NIH Scientists Move Closer to Predicting Hepatitis C Severity
Image courtesy of the
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases hope to continue to study genetic and blood serum markers in a larger number of people infected with hepatitis C.
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New and Updated Publications
Barrett's Esophagus
Biliary Atresia
Fecal Incontinence
Foodborne Illnesses
Gas in the Digestive Tract
Gastroparesis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Children
Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What You Need to Know
What I need to know about Bowel Control
What I need to know about Hepatitis A
What I need to know about Hepatitis B
What I need to know about Hepatitis C
What I need to know about Lactose Intolerance (Spanish)
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September 2012
NIH Study to Test Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease in Children
 NIH-funded scientists have launched a new clinical trial called Cysteamine Bitartrate Delayed-Release for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children (CyNCh). The trial will enroll 150 boys and girls ages 8 to 17 with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, in an effort to find a safe and effective treatment that helps children with fatty liver disease. The participants will receive cysteamine or placebo by mouth twice a day for a year. There are no weight cutoffs or percentiles for the children participating in CyNCh. However, more than 90 percent of the children are expected to be overweight or obese. Children with poorly managed diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic liver diseases will be excluded.
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Combination Antiviral Therapy is More Effective for Pediatric Chronic Hepatitis C
A clinical trial has shown that combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin is more effective than therapy with peginterferon and placebo in treating chronic hepatitis C in children and adolescents. This trial was conducted at 11 sites throughout the United States. Recent US census results show that 23,048 to 42,296 children are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus. Eradication of the virus in an infected child has the dual benefits of eliminating social stigma as well as the progression of liver disease.
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Functioning Bioengineered Anal Sphincters Implanted in Mice
Building on research that may have implications for future treatment for fecal incontinence, scientists have successfully implanted a physiologically functional bioengineered internal anal sphincter (IAS) in mice. The IAS is a ring-like muscle located just inside the rectum; along with the external anal sphincter, these two muscles keep the anus closed and maintain fecal continence. Loss of IAS muscle tone is a primary cause for the uncontrolled release of stool that occurs in people with fecal incontinence, a condition that places devastating emotional, social, physical, and economic burdens on people who are affected by it.
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New Publications
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Previous Issues of Digestive Diseases Research and News
February 2013
NIH Launches New LiverTox Database
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released LiverTox, a searchable, evidence-based database of prescription and over-the-counter medications with information about drug-induced liver injury. The database is a free source of information for health care professionals and researchers. An interactive section allows users to report cases of drug-induced liver injury, which will automatically be forwarded to the Food and Drug Administration’s MedWatch program.
Drug-induced liver injury is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, accounting for at least half of cases. “Because drug-induced liver disease is not a single, common disease, it is very difficult to diagnose, with each drug causing a somewhat different pattern of liver damage,” said Jay H. Hoofnagle, M.D., the major creator of LiverTox and director of the Liver Disease Research Branch at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
|
Researchers Find New Genes Related to IBD
NIH-funded researchers from the United States, Canada, and Europe identified 71 new human genes associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, two chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The study was funded in part by the NIDDK IBD Genetics Consortium. The results were published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature.
Researchers believe that new approaches such as systems biology may provide a more complete picture of the genetic pathways involved with IBD and potentially lead to the development of more targeted treatments.
|
NIH Scientists Move Closer to Predicting Hepatitis C Severity
Image courtesy of the
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases hope to continue to study genetic and blood serum markers in a larger number of people infected with hepatitis C.
|
New and Updated Publications
|
September 2012
NIH Study to Test Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease in Children
NIH-funded scientists have launched a new clinical trial called Cysteamine Bitartrate Delayed-Release for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children (CyNCh). The trial will enroll 150 boys and girls ages 8 to 17 with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, in an effort to find a safe and effective treatment that helps children with fatty liver disease. The participants will receive cysteamine or placebo by mouth twice a day for a year. There are no weight cutoffs or percentiles for the children participating in CyNCh. However, more than 90 percent of the children are expected to be overweight or obese. Children with poorly managed diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic liver diseases will be excluded.
|
Combination Antiviral Therapy is More Effective for Pediatric Chronic Hepatitis C
A clinical trial has shown that combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin is more effective than therapy with peginterferon and placebo in treating chronic hepatitis C in children and adolescents. This trial was conducted at 11 sites throughout the United States. Recent US census results show that 23,048 to 42,296 children are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus. Eradication of the virus in an infected child has the dual benefits of eliminating social stigma as well as the progression of liver disease.
|
Functioning Bioengineered Anal Sphincters Implanted in Mice
Building on research that may have implications for future treatment for fecal incontinence, scientists have successfully implanted a physiologically functional bioengineered internal anal sphincter (IAS) in mice. The IAS is a ring-like muscle located just inside the rectum; along with the external anal sphincter, these two muscles keep the anus closed and maintain fecal continence. Loss of IAS muscle tone is a primary cause for the uncontrolled release of stool that occurs in people with fecal incontinence, a condition that places devastating emotional, social, physical, and economic burdens on people who are affected by it.
|
New Publications
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Page last updated June 12, 2013
