title: Hepatic assist devices: will they ever be successful?
abstract: Hepatic assist remains elusive. Bioartificial livers (BALs), consisting of liver cells or tissue in a synthetic housing, have been promising but have not proven successful in clinical trials. Artificial livers that consist of sophisticated sorbents and membranes cannot support a failing liver but may shorten episodes of acute decompensation in patients with stable cirrhosis. These artificial livers are most likely to find a place as temporary support prior to transplantation. True liver support will require a BAL. This article proposes goals for making a clinically useful BAL, with attention to systems biology and potential sources of hepatocytes.
authors.affiliation: University of Utah, 30 North 1900 East, SOM 4R118, Salt Lake City, UT 84132-2410, USA. norman.sussman@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: Norman L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Sussman
authors.forename: Brendan M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D022781:Hepatocytes; D006801:Humans; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000628:therapy*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D019164:Liver, Artificial
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials