News by Subject Medicine & Health

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba found significant differences in the clinical presentation of non-obese patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on their sex and body mass index. They found that non-obese NAFLD patients had lower muscle mass and strength (pre-sarcopenia) compared to obese NAFLD patients. Further, fat accumulation in muscles was more common among women. These findings help us understand the clinical presentation of NAFLD.

Trinity College Dublin study is the first to demonstrate significant improvements in biopsy-measured liver outcomes in a metabolic associated fat liver disease (MAFLD) cohort following an exercise-only intervention, without clinically significant weight loss.

Researchers have discovered a new drug candidate that offers a major advance in the treatment for diabetes. Tested on isolated human and mouse pancreatic islets, mouse and rat cell cultures and animal models of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, the experimental drug significantly improved four detrimental characteristics of diabetes: hyperglycemia; hyperglucagonemia, elevation in the hormone glucagon; excessive production of glucose by the liver; and fatty liver, known as hepatic steatosis.

Critics of the universal hepatitis C screening argue that it's wasteful to test pregnant women for a disease that can't be immediately treated, but results of a small phase I clinical trial suggest otherwise: pregnancy could be an excellent time to diagnose and cure hepatitis C infection.

What is the incidence of viral hepatitis caused by blood transfusions before and after Sweden introduced screening of blood in the early 1990s? In an article published in Eurosurveillance ahead of World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, the authors also try to estimate how many people of those who were infected with hepatitis B and C through blood transfusion still live with undiagnosed hepatitis.

A suite of articles in The Journal of Infectious Diseases contains the first swath of important data from the world's largest study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in people with HIV.

Alcohol's popularity and its central place in socialising in Australia obscures the dangers of excessive drinking and possible liver disease, Flinders University experts warn. As Dry July awareness month highlights the various health risks, the Head of Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at Flinders Medical Centre Associate Professor Alan Wigg says alcohol misuse remains a major health challenge in Australia as seen by high in rates of life-threatening liver disease.