Researchers from Rutgers, the University of Michigan, the University of Texas Southwestern, and the Medical University of South Carolina discovered that levels of a short-lived but abundant serum protein called carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) helped predict which patients would survive or die without a transplant.

A study of blood samples and medical records from 270 patients admitted to the hospital with acute liver failure (ALF) discovered that concentrations of a short-lived but abundant serum protein called carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) helped predict which patients would survive or die without a transplant.

Researchers examined records and samples from 103 individuals with acetaminophen-induced liver failure and 167 patients with other causes of liver failure. People in the first group who underwent liver transplants or died within 21 days of being admitted to the hospital had around twice the amount of CPS1 in their blood as those who recovered spontaneously. CPS1 levels were higher in the second group of patients who died or had transplants than in those who survived.

A larger investigation with additional patients will strive to confirm the findings in a separate patient cohort and determine with greater clarity if there is a link between CPS1 and ALF outcomes from factors unrelated to acetaminophen. Adding CPS1 measures to existing techniques for predicting outcomes in liver-failure patients increases their accuracy, especially in the early days after a liver failure occurs or as part of a daily assessment of CPS1 level throughout hospitalization.

(Source: https://theprint.in/health/research-might-speed-identification-of-individuals-who-require-liver-transplants/1479289/)