Liver Disease

Research

Mayo Clinic has a long history of important contributions to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease. In fact, Mayo Clinic scientists and physicians publish more than 200 original gastroenterology and hepatology-related research articles every year.

Mayo Clinic researchers have pioneered new treatments of many liver diseases, as well as a new generation of endoscopes to perform incision-free, minimally invasive procedures for liver disease and other conditions.

Examples of Mayo's contributions, past and present, to liver disease diagnosis and treatment include:

• Mayo researchers are testing hepatocyte transplantation, which involves the transfer of normal liver cells into a diseased liver.
• Mayo researchers are studying exciting new treatments such as gene therapy, in which physicians treat a disorder by inserting a missing gene into a patient's cells instead of using drugs or surgery.
• Mayo Clinic researchers are studying new treatments for primary oxalosis, a genetic liver disease, at the Hyperoxaluria Center in Minnesota.
• Mayo participates in research on hereditary hemochromatosis, and collects blood and tissue samples from patients for a patient registry for genetic research.
• Mayo Clinic doctors published the first clinical description of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic liver disease.

Related Information

Early warning for liver disease: From MRI to MRE

Receptors of Death: Apoptosis and Liver Injury

Research in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology