Cancer Information
More articles below:
New Colorectal Cancer Drug Shows Promise in Study
Four Unhealthy Behaviors Linked to Premature Death
Moving Closer to a Urine Test for Colon Cancer
Few Over 50 Get Skin Cancer Screenings
New Form of Painkiller May Fight Colon Cancer
Heavy Alcohol Use Linked to Cancer
Chinese Scientists Develop Database on the Liver
FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Chinese scientists report that they have created an extensive database about proteins produced by genes in the human liver, an endeavor they say could become the foundation for new treatments for liver disease.
To develop the database, reportedly the largest of its kind for any organ, the researchers examined 10 liver-tissue samples from volunteers and identified 6,788 proteins, half of which had never before been encountered. One unexplained discovery, they said, was that many seem to be connected to diseases of the nervous system.
The researchers said that though the liver has many crucial functions, including the production of enzymes and hormones, the workings of its proteins are not well understood.
Cirrhosis and chronic liver disease kill an estimated 27,000 people a year in the United States, and hepatitis kills thousands more, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A report on the database has been published online in the Journal of Proteome Research.
More information
The American Liver Foundation has more on liver disease.
DON'T HAVE Rx COVERAGE?Click Here to print out your FREE OPTIMIZERx Card and instantly begin savings on your next prescriptions!
