In the April 2018 Nature Communications, Karim C. El Kasmi, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Ronald Sokol, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus published their research results done in hope to improve the quality of life of people who rely on intravenous nutrition due to intestinal damage.
As written in an article published on News-Medical.net, an AZoNetwork Site,
“Drs. El Kasmi and Sokol developed a mouse model that mimics the situation in humans with intestinal failure who depend on IV nutrition. Mice with intestinal injury that are given PN through a central venous catheter for 7 to 28 days develop decreased liver function, called cholestasis, and liver injury.
The researchers were able to show that products from bacteria in the intestine of the mice, called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), are absorbed through the injured intestine and activate the immune system in the liver to produce a cytokine, IL-1 beta, leading to cholestasis. The combination of IV lipids and intestinal injury lead to the intestinal failure-associated disease.
With this understanding, the researchers identified three possible new targets for drug intervention to prevent or treat intestinal failure-associated disease. Several drugs that target these disease-causing pathways are already approved or in development. Further testing in clinical trials with affected patients is required, but this research opens the possibility of treating patients who need long-term IV nutrition without the worry of developing serious liver damage.”
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