GLP-1s Gain Ground in Liver Disease Care
GLP-1 receptor agonists have become central managing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Their relevance in hepatology is now coming into sharper focus. In August 2025, the FDA approved Wegovy (semaglutide) for treating metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in adults with moderate-to-advanced fibrosis, using the accelerated approval pathway based on histologic surrogate endpoints. Even as semaglutide establishes its role in this…
Acute Liver Failure: 5 Things to Know
Acute liver failure (ALF) is one of the most time-critical syndromes in hepatology. It is rare and potentially reversible but carries high short-term mortality when recognition and management are delayed. The window for intervention is narrow, and early involvement of a transplant center is essential. Here are five concepts that sharpen the approach to this challenging…
Organ donors and recipients come together for emotional meeting
More than a dozen strangers who changed each other’s lives through organ donation came together for the first time, as part of the largest liver transplant chain in the country. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports.
University Hospital patients meet donors after record seven-pair liver transplant chain
University Hospital took part in the largest liver transplant chain in U.S. history and possibly the world conducting seven liver transplants over the last few weeks. Today the patients got to meet the donors who saved their lives. Fourteen people are now connected after Robert McDonald, an altruistic man who wanted to donate a piece…
Historic live-donor transplant at University Health saves 7 lives
Fourteen people made history at University Health this year, undergoing surgeries that saved seven lives. Reference: https://www.ksat.com/video/news/2026/04/11/historic-live-donor-transplant-at-university-health-saves-7-lives/
Acute-on-chronic liver failure: from definitions to management
Abdurrahman Kadayifci1, Sidart Pradeep2, Eugenia Tsai1,3 1Division of Gastroenterology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; 2Department of Internal Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; 3Department of Hepatology, Texas Liver Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA Contributions: (I) Conception and design: All authors; (II) Administrative support: E Tsai; (III) Provision of study materials or patients: All authors; (IV) Collection and assembly of data: All authors; (V)…
Early experience of simultaneous sleeve gastrectomy in living donor liver transplant recipients with obesity – a pilot study
Highlights Abstract Background: Increasing obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) cirrhosis present challenges in liver transplantation. Objectives: While simultaneous sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has been described in the deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) population, its role in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) remains poorly unexplored. Setting: Simultaneous SG and LDLT for obese patients with MASH cirrhosis. Methods: This is a…
Why Some Livers Can’t Recover After Alcohol Abstinence
By Eugenia Tsai, MD A recent Nature Communications study by Kalsotra and colleagues offers new molecular insight into why patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD)—particularly those with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (sAH)—often fail to regain hepatic function despite abstaining from alcohol. The investigators found that dysregulation of RNA-splicing machinery disrupts hepatocyte proliferation and contributes to regenerative failure. In healthy regeneration,…
University Health Transplant Institute | Trailblazing Innovations in Living Donor Liver Transplants
The Hospital That Says Yes: Inside the Nation’s Top-Ranked Liver Transplant Institute
For Melroy Koehler, transplant morning arrived with a surprise: his own bubble parade. He grinned as nurses lined the corridor and blew bubbles—a lighthearted send-off before two, back-to-back, life-changing operations. “It was special from the very beginning,” said Koehler. A living donor had given 60 percent of his liver so Koehler could receive the transplant…