PATIENTS with liver disease are to receive a new cell therapy for the first time as part of a trial which it is hoped will lead to fresh ways to tackle the condition.
Researchers from Edinburgh University have received funding to lead the world's first clinical trial into the treatment for liver cirrhosis, which happens when scar tissue forms in the organ.
The only current successful treatment for end-stage liver cirrhosis is an organ transplant but a lack of donors means many people die waiting for the procedure.
It aims to turn cells from the blood of patients into macrophages - white blood cells which are key to repairing the liver - in the lab before re-injecting them into the patient in the hope they will reduce scarring and help to rebuild the organ from within.
Professor Stuart Forbes, of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Liver cirrhosis is on the increase in the UK and is one of the top five killers. If successful, we hope that this approach could offer a new way to tackle the condition."
Scientists have been funded by the Medical Research Council and Innovate UK. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Cell Therapy Catapult is also involved.
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