A
unique property of the liver to repair itself has become the most potent weapon
in the fight against
liver diseases in which a transplant is the only option. All one
needs is a
little stimulant,
say doctors, who claim to have successfully delayed the
need for a transplant
in many
patients. They are now taking their research further to
see if organ failure
can be reversed
using stimulants, also known as growth factors.
These include GCSF, which is essentially
a cell product that makes the white cells
and red blood cell forming growth
factor called
“darbopoietin“.
“Liver
transplantation is the only treatment for patients with chronic liver failure
but
not all of
them get it due to a scarcity of donors. But we were able to prolong the
survival of over 100
patients on waiting list for transplant at our hospital using GCSF,
in addition
to standard medical
care.It also helped improve their clinical outcome
significantly,“ said Dr Anil
Arora, director,
Institute of Liver, Gastroenterology and
Pancreatico biliary Sciences at Sir
Ganga Ram
Hospital (SGRH).
GCSF
is an injectable growth factor that stimulates the bone marrow to release stem
cells into circulation
to repair tissues, including liver, he explained. “While the exact
mechanism is
not clear,
we believe that the growth factors help in regeneration of the
liver by
mobilising certain cells,“ Arora added. The study has been published in the
latest issue of the “European Journal
of Gastroenterology and Hepatology“.
Dr S
K Sarin, director of In stitute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), said
liver
can work even
if more than 75% of its overall mass is damaged. “This is the reason
why one
can donate
a portion of his or liver to the needy without worrying about any
impact on his
or her own
health.“
At
ILBS, doctors have been using GCSF as well as red blood cell forming growth
factor called
darbopoietin to stimulate regeneration of the liver.
“The
results so far are satisfactory for certain group of patients. We hope to save
lives of many
patients who cannot get a donor immediately ,“ Sarin added.
Source: The Times of India
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