Liver repair discovery

SCIENTISTS have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease.

Researchers at the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University have discovered how to enhance the production of key cells needed to repair damaged liver tissue.

The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, could help heal livers affected by cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis.

Professor Stuart Forbes, who was the academic leader of the study, said: “If we can find ways to encourage the liver to heal itself, then we could ease the pressure on waiting lists for liver transplants.”