Leipzig University Medical Center
Team Leader
Prof. Dr. Thomas Berg (MD, FAASLD)
Fax: +49 341 971 233 9
Team Staff
PD Dr. Florian van Bömmel
Fax: +49 341 972 592 9
Dr. med. Niklas Aehling
Fax: +49 341 972 592 9
Institute Presentation
The Leipzig University Medical Center (ULEI) is a maximum-care hospital which offers the entire spectrum of medical care with the exeption of heart surgery and pediatric cardiology. One focus of the Department of Hepatology is on the professional and comprehensive assessment and treatment of patients with elevated liver markers and liver diseases. New ultrasound technologies such as Fibroscan and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography make it possible to easily assess the extent of liver damage. With the aim of making the most up-to-date therapeutic options directly available to our patients and thus constantly improving treatment, we are conducting numerous national and international studies, especially in the field of viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver diseases, fatty liver, and liver cancer. In advanced liver disease (cirrhosis with and without decompensation), liver transplantation is the only life-saving measure so far.
The scientific focus of our working group in the Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Hepatology is on research into the oncogenic potential of morphogenic signalling pathways and their influence of gender in the development of hepatobiliary diseases and malignancies. We also work on the development of biomarker-adapted personalised therapy concepts for chronic liver diseases and hepatobiliary malignancies as well as chronic liver failure.
In the A-TANGO project, ULEI will be one of the study centers for the treatment of patients with the combination of TLR4 inhibition by TAK-242 and G-CSF. Furthermore, we will investigate several biomarker for early prediczion of the efficiancy of the patient treatment as well as mass spectrometric analysis concepts for the diagnostic determination of plasma eicosanoid levels in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. At the molecular level, we will perform genetic analysis that provide informations about SNP’s including TLR4-SNP’s in the innate immune system.