The 5th International Symposium on Albumin Dialysis in Liver Disease recently took place in Rostock, Germany.

June 19, 2003 - Scientists have grown small amounts of liver tissue which could act as "dialysis" for patients who need transplants. Story from the BBC.

January 8, 2003 - A review published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that mortality in acute liver failure cases is not changed with the use of artificial and bioartificial support systems. However, support systems appeared to reduce mortality by 33 percent in acute-on-chronic liver failure. Abstract from JAMA.

July 31, 2001 - Researchers at Northwestern University Medical School are using a new "artificial liver" called a molecular adsorbent recirculation system, or MARS. They are studying whether adding albumin to a dialysis solution helps patients wake up faster from coma due to chronic liver failure.

According to this press release from Northwestern University/EurekAlert, toxic substances in the "blood bind to the albumin, cross into the dialysis solution and are therefore removed from the body".

June 21, 2001 - RenalWEB has received information that one of the companies in the "liver dialysis" marketplace is halting its operations related to liver dialysis for financial reasons.

Inquiries by phone and e-mail to HemoTherapies in San Diego have gone unreturned.

May 21, 2001 - Scripps Green Hospital in San Diego County, California is now offering liver dialysis treatments for patients suffering from decompensation of chronic liver disease due to Hepatitis C and cirrhosis, as well as victims of drug overdose or drug toxicity. (link is no longer available)

HemoTherapies Inc. and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center (RMPDC) have announced that they will collaborate on a study of the HemoTherapies Unit™ for Liver Dialysis as a treatment for acetaminophen or severe drug overdose cases. (link is no longer available)

March 26, 2001 - Here is a recent article by a Wall Street Journal writer about the growing use of liver dialysis machines. (link is no longer available) There are over 17,000 patients in the US waiting for liver transplants. Approximately 4700 liver transplants were performed last year.

December 4, 2000 - A liver dialysis machine was used for the first time in the US to treat a trauma (gunshot) patient at the University of Arizona Medical Center.

April 3, 2000 - Another artificial liver is being developed by the University of Minnesota and Algenix, Inc.

Estimates are that over 4.5 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the liver and, in many cases, permanent cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver tissues and mortality. The cycle of disease from infection to significant liver damage can take 20 years or more. Some experts estimate that without substantial improvements in treatment, deaths from hepatitis C will surpass those from HIV. Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver cancer and the primary reason for liver transplantation in many countries.

RenalWEB has an extensive resource page for hepatitis information.

March 23, 2000 - HemoTherapies is now offering a combination Liver Dialysis and CRRT (continuous renal replacement therapy) service in the Phoenix area.

January 25, 2000 - Using technology similar to dialysis machines, liver-assist therapy machines are now in use or in the testing phase in several major medical centers around the USA. One company, HemoTherapies, has had its device cleared by the FDA and its Liver Dialysis Unit™ is now in use in 15 medical centers.

Here is a news release from the Mayo Clinic on their testing of another liver dialysis machine from Circe Biomedical. (link is no longer available)

Here are three companies and their liver-assist devices:

The HepatAssist Liver Support System from the Circe Biomedical web site. (link is no longer available)

The Sybiol® synthetic bio-liver device (link is no longer available) now being developed by Exten Industries' Xenogenics Corporation subsidiary.

The ELAD™ Artificial Liver System from Vitagen Incorporated. (link is no longer available)