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Artificial Livers Coming Soon

By Riya Chauhan

Washington, February 7: Treatment for liver damage may soon reach a
new level
with the development of a system made up of human liver cells,
designed to mimic
the function of the organ.
The decades-long quest for a suitable replacement of a dying liver
recently saw
a sudden boost as scientists began testing on the world's first artificial
liver.

The device, called Extracorporeal Liver Assist Device (ELAD), is a 4-inch
plastic disk filled with "immortalized" lab-cultured human liver cells to
perform the complicated functions of a the master organ.

The cells are grown around a series of hollow fibers and the patients'
plasmadefine is passed through them. Toxins in the plasma are filtered
through
the fiber membrane, and they get metabolized by the liver cells.

The cells are also made to synthesize essential proteins, enzymes,
blood-clotting factors, all of which are sent back into the plasma.
The cellular
components of blood are added to this filtered plasma and it is
returned to the
patient.

Liver, unlike other vital organs of the body, has a remarkable
capability to
regenerate if allowed enough recovery time. Transplant is only carried
out when
the damage is beyond the liver's capacity to regenerate.

ELAD helps buy time for the liver to recover on its own and
consequently helps
delay, or avoid, the transplant.

"If we could buy some time while the liver is recovering, that
potentially would
be a great advance," says Dr. Lena Napolitano of the University of
Michigan, who
is among the team of scientists testing the ELAD.

Clearly, the device cannot replace the liver but it "comes closer to
replacing
the amount of liver" people need, said Dr. Robert Brown of New
York-Presbyterian
Hospital and Columbia University.

People with progressive hepatitis or cirrhosis may benefit the most
from the
device.

Previous attempts in this direction had also met with early success
but they had
to be discarded eventually.

This is still a very early stage; a lot needs to be explored in the
field to
combat the liver failures effectively. Nearly 28,000 people die from liver
disease in the United States each year, and fewer than 6,000 get liver
transplants.

The FDA wants to know if three to 10 days of ELAD liver support
improves 30-day
survival over the patients who receive the standard supportive care
available
today.

Vital Therapies Inc., the manufacturer of the device, claims that 85
percent of
the first 49 patients studied in China, had better short-term survival
compared
with half of patients given regular care.

The device carried a $30,000 price tag; the doctors also need to
evaluate if the
benefits of ELAD make up for the huge cost.

http://www.themedguru.com/articles/artificial_livers_coming_soon-86120508.html