In the panorama of human health, countless conditions dot the landscape, each telling a unique story. Today, our focus turns towards a peculiarly named disorder known as the ‘Viking Disease.’ This story carries us across the epochs of time, weaving a complex narrative involving ancient Neanderthals, Norse seafarers, and modern medicine. It is the tale of Dupuytren’s Contracture, a disease as intriguing as its moniker suggests.
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a chronic, degenerative disease in which normal liver cells are damaged and are then replaced by scar tissue.
Incivek for hepatitis C infection is approved in US
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves Incivek for hepatitis C – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Incivek (telaprevir) to treat certain adults with chronic hepatitis C infection. Incivek is used for patients who have either not received interferon-based drug therapy for their infection or who have not responded adequately to prior therapies.
Coffee may reduce prostate cancer risk
Coffee may reduce risk of lethal prostate cancer in men – It is a good news for men who regularly drink coffee. They appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer, revealed by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) US.
Vitamin E or metformin not effective in liver disease in children teens
Vitamin E or Metformin May Not Be Effective for Treating Liver Disease in Children and Teens – In contrast to previous preliminary data, use of vitamin E or the diabetes drug metformin was not superior to placebo on a measured outcome for treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents.
Curcumin in turmeric may delay liver damage, cirrhosis
Indian spice may delay liver damage and cirrhosis — Curcumin improves sclerosing cholangitis in Mdr2 -/- mice by inhibition of cholangiocyte inflammatory response and portal myofibroblast proliferation – Curcumin, one of the principal components of the Indian spice turmeric, seems to delay the liver damage that eventually causes cirrhosis, suggests preliminary experimental research in the journal Gut.
A new drug may improve Hepatitis C
New drug technology produces marked improvement in hepatitis C therapy in animals – In a dramatic finding, a new drug for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections that targets liver cells produced a substantial drop in blood levels of the virus in animals and continued to work up to several months after treatment, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.
Hepatitis B hits men harder than women due to an abnormal protein
Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women – Researchers are trying to explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates — hitting men harder than women.
1 in 25 deaths attributable to alcohol
Study shows 1 in 25 deaths worldwide attributable to alcohol — CAMH researcher sees glass ‘as half full’. – 1 in 25 deaths are directly attributable to alcohol consumption worldwide, revealed by researchers from Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Low carbohydrate diet better than low calorie diet
Low-carbohydrate diet burns more excess liver fat than low-calorie diet, UT Southwestern study finds – People on low-carbohydrate diets are more dependent on the oxidation of fat in the liver for energy than those on a low-calorie diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a small clinical study.
Heart tissue can be saved after heart attacks
Preventing a broken heart: Research aims to reduce scarring from heart attacks – A heart damaged by heart attack is usually broken, at least partially, for good. The injury causes excessive scar tissue to form, and this plays a role in permanently keeping heart muscle from working at full capacity.