LIVER REPAIR STUDY OFFERS HOPE.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Genetic manipulation of liver cells is pointing toward a promising new therapy that one day might offer hope for the 20 million Americans who suffer from liver disease.

Laboratory experiments that restored normal function in rats that had lost 90 percent of their livers suggest that the genetic manipulation of cells grown in test tubes could rejuvenate failing liver functions.

The study, to be published in the journal Science, found a way to grow millions of liver cells, called hepatocytes, and then transplant them into rats that had virtually no liver function.

The new liver cells took over the job of …