AUGUST 13, 2021
New Dialysis Machine May Reverse Liver Failure
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Banwari Agarwal, MBBS, MD
Hope may be on the horizon for people who have acute-on-chronic liver failure, according to results from an early-phase international, multicenter study.
Researchers have found that DIALIVE, a novel liver dialysis device, is safe and effective in this group of patients, significantly increasing the proportion of them who recover from organ failure and shortening the time required to do so.
“DIALIVE is a mechanical liver device, which hits at the heart of what we believe are the two most important pathobiological mechanisms which drive further organ failure in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure,” said Banwari Agarwal, MBBS, MD, a consultant in critical care medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London. “First, the device removes a patient’s dysfunctional albumin and infuses fresh albumin into the patient. Second, it adsorbs circulating endotoxin, which leads to a significant attenuation of systemic inflammation and has a direct impact on recovery of other organ failure.”