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FDA Testing Artificial Liver

Posted by samzenpus on from the with-artificial-onions dept.

NIckGorton writes "Research is now underway in the US to seek FDA approval for an artificial liver. The Extracorporeal Liver Assist Device (ELAD) filters blood through a cartridge containing immortalized human liver cells with fiber tubes running through that allow the patients blood to interact with them. This allows the matrix of liver cells to perform both the metabolic (cleansing the blood of toxins/waste) and synthetic (producing albumin, clotting factors, etc) functions of the patient's failing liver. A small trial in China showed a statistically and clinically significant difference in 30 day survival with ELAD."

18 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Hello, Eh, Can we have your Liver? by Zymergy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obligatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o

    "Don't worry, there's nobody who's had their Liver taken out by Us who's survived."

  2. Yum by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Now if we could just get some artificial onions to go with that...

    1. Re:Yum by Holi · · Score: 5, Funny

      I was feeling more like fava beans, and maybe a nice chianti.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    2. Re:Yum by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

      It tastes almost (but not entirely) unlike real chianti.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  3. Immortalized? by gmuslera · · Score: 3, Funny

    And they take your blood... wooden stake anyone?

  4. Imagine... by CapsaicinBoy · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just imagine... a beowulf cluster of cancer cells! Woo!

  5. An artificial liver? by Trillan · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll drink to that!

    1. Re:An artificial liver? by ibbie · · Score: 2, Funny

      Kind of ironic that they're doing the trial in China - now the test subjects can have their very own drunken immortal. :D

      --
      The wise follow a damned path, for to know is to be forsaken.
  6. Chinese controls by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

    A small trial in China showed a statistically and clinically significant difference in 30 day survival with ELAD.

    So more people with this ELAD liver replacement were alive at 30 days than a control group, who presumably had their livers removed and replaced with nothing...

  7. Re:IMMORTAL! by grotopotamus · · Score: 2, Funny

    This research brought to you in part by the Umbrella Corporation.

    --
    If you are none of these, you can be sure that it will kill you, but there will be no special hurry.
  8. For the US market, they're offering a range.... by CFD339 · · Score: 1, Funny

    The product line itself will vary in capability and price. From the basic "Joe Sixpack" model, you can move up to the "Jazz Musician". If you've got enough money you can go all the way up to the full "Kieth Richards" model.

    --
    The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
  9. A longer term solution... by MikeUW · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think I'd just ask if they could immortalize all of my body's cells.

  10. Never compete with bacon by rhinokitty · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oi, the fake bacon kicks ass. The fake liver can't hold a candle to it, I don't care how many fiber tubes it contains.

  11. Re:IMMORTAL! by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Side effects may include nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, and the tendency to transform into a zombie when exposed to the light of the full moon.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  12. funding by Lord+Ender · · Score: 2, Funny

    Surprisingly, it was revealed that funding for liver replacement research was provided entirely by the liquor industry.

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
  13. Now the guy at Mickey Mantle's press conference by vandelais · · Score: 2, Funny

    who asked the transplant surgeon if the donor was still alive, to which the surgeon replied

    "You're a sportswriter, aren't you?"

    won't feel like such a roob anymore.

    --
    Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
  14. Re:IMMORTAL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Until you chop off their heads to gain their power.

  15. Re:I'm confused by your post by geminidomino · · Score: 2, Funny

    How is that different from any other Wednesday?

    Very different.

    Today's Thursday. ;)