Bio-artificial Liver, A Less-invasive, Long-Term Option For Acute Liver Failure

Spheroid Reservoir Bioartificial Liver device could allow physicians to treat and extend the lives of more patients cost-effectively, with fewer risks.

Each year 30,000 – 40,000 people die from liver disease and for those with acute liver failure, the only proven treatment has been liver transplantation.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed an alternative to liver transplantation called the Spheroid Reservoir Bioartificial Liver (SRBAL). It is tested for healing and regeneration of the injured liver, improve outcomes and reduce mortality rates for patients with acute liver failure — without requiring a transplant.

Liver Transplantation - Facts, Contraindications, Procedure, Follow up, Complications & Prognosis
Liver transplantation is a surgical option for the treatment of liver failure where the diseased liver is replaced with a healthy one.

Dr. Scott Nyberg, Principal investigator in the Artificial Liver and Liver Transplantation Laboratory at Mayo Clinic and liver transplant surgeon, developed the device. It uses healthy hepatocytes, or liver cells, from pigs to aid in digestion, removal of waste and toxins from the bloodstream.

“Acute liver failure claims the lives of over 30 percent of people who are diagnosed with this condition. Liver transplantation has been the go-to option for treating acute liver failure, but it also comes with many risks and isn’t always an option, due to compatibility and availability of donor livers,” said Dr. Nyberg.

In pigs, treatment with the Spheroid Reservoir Bioartificial Liver has been shown to reduce the severity of liver disease and improve survival. Future clinical studies are planned to assess the SRBAL as a less-invasive, long-term treatment option to liver transplantation.

Adult to Child Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Adult to child liver transplantation refers to removing a small segment of liver from an adult and transplanting this segment into a child.

Dr. Nyberg said, “Although the artificial liver is not yet cleared for use on humans, these findings show promise as an effective treatment option for diseases like liver cancer and hepatitis, which is becoming an increasingly common diagnosis.”

Source-Medindia

Current Treatments for Liver Cancer | Hepatoma | Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Current Treatments for Liver Cancer (also known as hepatoma or hepatocellular carcinoma) can result in complete cure of the disease if it is detected early.

Living Donor Liver Transplant: What Are the Risks? - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
The risk of dying as a result of a living donor liver segment removal is between 0.2-2.0%. The risk of morbidity is anywhere between 1.3% (in highly experienced centers) to 60%.