American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases - The Liver Meeting Digital Experience

UDCA for primary sclerosing cholangitis may lower biliary tract cancer risk

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20201222180001

Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) who are treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) may have a lower risk of liver transplantation, all-cause death, or biliary tract cancer, according to a study from Japan.

Liver enzyme elevations in COVID-19 secondary to other conditions

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20201208180001

The elevations in liver enzymes that occur in patients with COVID-19 may be due to other conditions and not as a direct result of COVID-19, according to a poster presented at the AASLD 2020 Liver Meeting.

Lanifibranor efficacy in NASH evident in diabetics and non-diabetics

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20201127180001

The efficacy of lanifibranor in reducing histological markers of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is comparable in patients with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to the phase IIb NATIVE study presented as a poster at AASLD 2020.

Seladelpar improves histologic, biochemical responses in NASH patients

Audrey Abella, 20201127100000

Use of the potent and selective PPARδ* agonist seladelpar led to improvements in histologic responses and liver chemistry in patients with biopsy-confirmed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a phase II study has shown.

Durable treatment response seen with dapagliflozin-saxagliptin add-on in T2D patients on metformin

Audrey Abella, 20201125100000

Reductions in liver fat and adipose tissue volumes were sustained in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with the addition of the SGLT-2* inhibitor dapagliflozin (DAPA) and the DPP-4** inhibitor saxagliptin (SAXA) to metformin (MET), compared with a regimen comprising glimepiride (GLIM)+MET, according to the extension period results of a phase IIIb trial.

TAF during pregnancy curbs HBV transmission from mother to child

Pearl Toh, 20201121140010

Antiviral treatment with tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) during pregnancy in highly viraemic mothers effectively prevents mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with no safety concerns, according to two studies presented during the AASLD 2020 Liver Meeting.

Neural network model predicts death among patients on liver transplant waitlist

Stephen Padilla, 20201119120000

A type of machine learning algorithm using neural networks (NN) appears more accurate than the older model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scoring in predicting mortality among patients on the liver transplant (LT) waitlist, according to a study.

Novel fatty acid synthase inhibitor for NASH makes good in early trial

Jairia Dela Cruz, 20201118140000

The small molecule fatty acid synthase inhibitor TVB-2640 boasts a win in addressing the three key drivers of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—namely liver fat, fibrosis, and inflammation—in the phase II FASCINATE-1 trial presented during The Liver Meeting Digital Experience of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Low liver fat may be bad for the heart

Stephen Padilla, 20201118120000

The distribution of body fat contributes to the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), with the risk of cardiovascular events further increasing among individuals with low liver fat (LF) and high visceral adipose tissue (VAT) or abdominal fat, results of a recent study have shown.

Slight amino acid tweak weakens HBV

Tristan Manalac, 20201118090000

The substitution of isoleucine to leucine at amino acid 97 (I97L) in the core region of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) seems to reduce its potency, decreasing the efficiency of both infection and the synthesis of the virus’ covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA, reports a new study presented at The Liver Meeting Digital Experience by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD 2020).