Diseases and injuries affecting the bile ducts can lead to a host of health problems. From blockages to leaks, problems with your bile ducts, which play a crucial role in digestion, can contribute to serious, sometimes severe symptoms. Fortunately, new medications and treatments show promise when it comes to treating bile duct issues.
Medical researchers have developed a way to grow bile ducts within a lab setting using stem cells, which helps with the study of liver diseases like primary sclerosing cholangitis. While further research and study are required before regenerated bile ducts can have applications in repair procedures, these regenerated ducts can currently help healthcare professionals better understand the effects of primary sclerosing cholangitis.
For instance, cell samples taken from people with the disease appear to have an inherent vulnerability to cellular senescence. Once in the state of senescence, cells cease dividing on a permanent basis, but they don’t die off. As a result, these so-called zombie cells release substances that harm one’s health.
While lab-generated bile ducts may be some years away, robotic surgery is being used now to strive for better outcomes when it comes to bile duct repair. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy is a surgical procedure used to address injuries and blockages within bile ducts and elsewhere in the biliary system, but the surgery can be quite complex. Incorporating robotic technology with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy can improve patient outcomes and lessen the risk of serious complications.
Cholangiocarcinoma (also known as bile duct cancer) is usually treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and other traditional cancer treatments. Another treatment involves taking new types of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors, which are medications shown to increase lifespan in people with bile duct cancer who have a specific genetic mutation. In the past, these medications would typically stop working after a few months, but new iterations continue to provide therapeutic benefits beyond the initial treatment.