Researchers discover a genetic defect linked to pediatric liver disease

For more than 35 years, Ron Sokol, MD has been treating children born with a liver disease called Biliary Atresia (BA). Though the disease is rare, it is the most common pediatric cause of end-stage liver disease, and the leading indication for liver transplantation in children, accounting for half of pediatric liver transplants. Surgery is the primary way to treat BA, and even if the surgery is successful, up to 80 percent of those who had surgery will need a liver transplant by their 20s.