The liver is central in processing anything and everything we take in – from our favorite breakfast cereal, vitamins and medications, to our late night snack of chocolate and wine. For many people, caring for the liver may not come easily with all the medications they must take. But just how dangerous are drugs to the liver? Using a new database, finding out the specific effects of a pharmaceutical drug to the liver is now just a few mouse clicks away.
This month of October, the National Institute of Health (NHI) proudly introduced LiverTox, a free pharmaceutical database that provides accurate and updated information on a wide range of drugs including prescription and non-prescription medicines, herbal products and dietary supplements. It provides a thorough report on a particular drug, including its chemical structure, manufacturer information, and related case studies.
With LiverTox, it is now convenient to access information on the relative effects of certain medications on the liver. It gives an overview of drug-induced liver injury, illustrating the different clinical patterns of liver damage, and the process of liver biopsy.
LiverTox is indeed a valuable resource for healthcare professionals, researchers and patients. To date, the database has data on over 700 pharmaceutical products, and around 300 more are set to include in the next years.
LiverTox is the product of innovative incorporation of medical research and informatics to give people across the world access to evidence-based data. Every section of the database has been verified by the Food and Drug Association (FDA), pharmaceutical scientists and medical experts.
Another feature of this comprehensive database is a case registry, which contains information that will improve clinical analysis of the different signs and patterns of liver diseases. Finally, it encourages user interaction, allowing users to submit cases of drug-induced liver damage that NIH automatically sends to the FDA and MedWatch for futher analysis. So for all you liver and drug-related questions — LiverTox has your answers!
