hepatitis – Fluent in Science

Teaching old drugs new tricks

For several years, the biomedical research community has recognized that compounds already approved for human use might have additional therapeutic applications. To facilitate investigation of new applications for existing drugs, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) assembled several collections of molecules that can be screened for specific characteristics. Two recent papers report the screeningContinueContinue reading “Teaching old drugs new tricks”

New models for studying hepatitis C

For decades, chimpanzees have been the primary animal model for studying hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Efforts to develop other animal models have so far failed because chimps are the only species other than humans that are naturally susceptible to HCV. But as regulations surrounding chimpanzee research in the US have become more restrictive, theContinueContinue reading “New models for studying hepatitis C”

Ghrelin stops liver fibrosis

Fibrosis is the accumulation of tough scar tissue; in the liver, it can impair function, eventually leading to liver failure. Liver fibrosis can occur in both chronic and acute liver diseases, including hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer. The only effective treatment for fibrosis is to remove the underlying cause of the damage, which may not beContinueContinue reading “Ghrelin stops liver fibrosis”