Category Archives: Hepatology

FITCH Study of Bezafibrate for Pruritus Due to Cholestatic Liver Disease

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In the Fibrates for Itch (FITCH) study, (E de Vries, R Bolier e al. Gastroenterol 2021; 160: 734-743. Full text pdf: Fibrates for Itch (FITCH) in Fibrosing Cholangiopathies:A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial), the authors study bezafibrate, a broad peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist.

Key findings:

  • 70 patients completed the trial (44 PSC, 24 PBC, 2 SSC) (SSC =secondary sclerosing cholangitis). Treated patients received bezafibrate 400 mg once a day for 21 days.
  • For the primary end point, bezafibrate led in 45% (41% PSC, 55% PBC) and placebo in 11% to >/=50% reduction of severe or moderate pruritus (P ¼ .003).
  • Bezafibrate also reduced serum alkaline phosphatase (35%, P ¼ .03 vs placebo) correlating with improved pruritus (VAS, P ¼ .01) suggesting reduced biliary damage.
  • Serum bile acids and autotaxin activity remained unchanged.

My take: While the majority of patients did not reach the primary end point, bezafibrate merits further investigation and may be a useful agent for pruritus in the setting of cholestatic liver disease. From the associated editorial (pg 649, JK Dyson et al. Bezafibrate for the Treatment of Cholestatic Pruritus: Time for a Change in Management?): “FITCH is an important study and provides novel and important data. It suggests that bezafibrate can be part of the answer to cholestatic pruritus.”

From Editorial:

“Current treatment ladder for pruritus and the potential positioning of bezafibrate in the future.“

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Yesterday’s post alluded to alcoholic liver disease. More on that topic from NPR:

Link: Sharp, ‘Off The Charts’ Rise In Alcoholic Liver Disease Among Young Women

Cases of alcoholic liver disease — which includes milder fatty liver and the permanent scarring of cirrhosis, as well as alcoholic hepatitis — are up 30% over the last year at the University of Michigan’s health system, says Dr. Jessica Mellinger, a liver specialist there….

In the U.S., more than 44,000 people died of alcoholic liver disease in 2019. And although liver diseases still affect more men, younger women are driving the increase in deaths, a trend that began several years ago and is now supercharged by the pandemic

Here’s A Bad Idea-Alcohol Consumption on the Day of Liver Transplantation

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Yes –there is a retrospective study describing outcomes for patients who consume alchohol on the day of liver transplantation: J Ursic-Bedoya et al. Liver Transplantation 2021; 27: 34-42. Alcohol Consumption the Day of Liver Transplantation for Alcohol‐Associated Liver Disease Does Not Affect Long‐Term Survival: A Case‐Control Study

This study had 42 patients who had alcohol detectable in blood and/or urine matched with 84 controls among patients who received liver transplantation for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD); this study had a median follow-up of 12.9 years..

Key findings:

  • Long‐term survival was not different between the groups; however, rates of recurrent cirrhosis and cirrhosis‐related deaths were more frequent in the alcohol consumption group
  • Relapse to any alcohol consumption rate was higher in the case group (59.5%) than in the control group (38.1%, odds ratio 2.44; CI95% = [1.13; 5.27]), but sustained excessive consumption was not significantly different between the groups (33.3% versus 29.8% in case and control groups respectively, χ2 = 0.68). 

My take: Yikes.! Fortunately, alcohol consumption is not a significant factor in pediatric liver disease. For adult hepatologists, this study highlights the need for patient support due to the frequency of alcohol relapse.

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Chicago at Sunrise

Liver Shorts -February 2021 (part 1)

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T Mayr et al. JPGN 2021; 72: 115-122. Optimized Trientine-dihydrochloride Therapy in Pediatric Patients With Wilson Disease: Is Weight-based Dosing Justified?

In this retrospective study with 31 children with Wilson’s disease (most of whom had had previous penicillamine), those who received more than 20 mg/kg/day of trientine therapy had increased adverse effects compared to those who received less than 20 mg/kg/day: 63% vs 7%; median followup was 60 months. In addition, there was not increased response to higher doses. The authors note that trientine had lower incidence of adverse effects compared to penicillamine and “appears to be the preferred” as a first-line treatment.

J Teckman et al. (ChiLDReN Network). J Pediatr 2020; 227: 81-86. Longitudinal Outcomes in Young Patients with Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency with Native Liver Reveal that Neonatal Cholestasis is a Poor Predictor of Future Portal Hypertension

In this prospective cohort with 350 participants (all with either PiZZ (90%) or PiSZ (10%) and native livers), 278 (79%) entered the cohort (in 2007 or later) without portal hypertension and 18 developed portal hypertension during follow-up. Portal hypertension was defined by development of ascites, varices or combination of splenomegaly/thrombocytopenia. Thirty participants required liver transplantation; 2 patients died during 1077 person-years of follow-up. Median length of followup was 2.5 years. My take: While most children with Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency do well, monitoring is warranted as some will develop progressive liver disease (even in the absence of neonatal cholestasis).

SA Harrison et al. Gastroenterol 2021: 160: 219-231. Full text PDF: Efficacy and Safety of Aldafermin, an Engineered FGF19 Analog, in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

In this phase 2 double-blind study with 78 patients with NASH, at week 24, the aldafermin group had a significant reduction in absolute liver fat content (reduction of 7.7%) compared with placebo (reduction of 2.7%) (P=.002). Fibrosis improvement (1 stage) with no worsening of NASH was achieved in 38% of patients receiving aldafermin vs 18% of
patients receiving placebo (P = .10). And, NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis was observed in 24% of patients given aldafermin vs 9% of patients given placebo (P = .20)

A Chanpong, A Dhawan. JPGN; 2021: 72: 210-215. Long-Term Urinary Copper Excretion on Chelation Therapy in Children with Wilson Disease Key finding:  24-hour UCE decreases to ≤8 μmol/day and <6 μmol/day after 1 and 5 years of treatment, respectively.

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Surprise, Surprise: Inadequate Physical Activity is a Predictor of Fatty Liver Disease (Plus 2)

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Briefly noted:

Hepatology 2020; 72: 1556-1568. Inadequate Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Are Independent Predictors of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. D Kim et al found that leisure‐time physical activity (≥150 minutes per week) demonstrated 40% lower odds of NAFLD. This study used the 2007‐2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with 24,588 participants; the authors defined NAFLD based on three noninvasive panels.

Liver Transplantation 2020; 26: 1409-1421. Low Health Literacy Is Associated With Frailty and Reduced Likelihood of Liver Transplant Listing: A Prospective Cohort Study. T Bittermann et al showed that low health literacy was independently associated with physical frailty (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50‐8.59; P = 0.004) and not being wait‐listed (aOR 1.96; 95% CI, 1.03‐3.75; P = 0.04).

Liver Transplantation 2020; 26: 1477-1491. Impact of Preexisting Inflammatory Bowel Disease on the Outcome of Liver Transplantation for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. In this retrospective study with 87 patients who underwent liver transplantation for PSC, 52 (60%) had pre-existing IBD. Key findings:

  • Excluding those who died within the first 3 months, the 10‐year patient survival and graft survival rates were 92.6% and 77.1%, respectively, in the PSC with IBD (PSC‐IBD) group and 97.1% and 83.2% in the isolated PSC group, respectively.
  • The rate of recurrent PSC was 21% in the PSC‐IBD group and 11% in the isolated PSC group

Thus, it appears that having pre-existing IBD did not significantly influence survival after transplantation.

Genetic Testing for Fatty Liver Disease Is Not Ready For Routine Use

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A recent study (H Gellert-Kristensen et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 845-856. Combined Effect of PNPLA3, TM6SF2, and HSD17B13 Variants on Risk of Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the General Population) describes genetic risk score (GRS) which can stratify the risk of developing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The study utilized data and plasma markers from 110,761 individuals from Copenhagen, Denmark, and 334,691 individuals from the UK Biobank. GRS scores were from 0 to 6 based on three common genetic variants: PNPLA3, TM6SF2, and HSD17B13.

Key finding:

  • A GRS of 5 or 6 (compared to GRS of 0) for fatty liver disease confers up to a 12‐fold higher risk of cirrhosis and up to a 29‐fold higher risk of HCC in individuals from the general population

The editorial by RM Pfeiffer et al (Hepatology 2020; 72: 794-795. Genetic Determinants of Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Due to Fatty Liver Disease: What’s the Score?) is very helpful in placing the findings in context.

  • Only 0.5% of individuals had a GRS of 5 or 6. “A GRS of 4 [or more] which still conveyed large risks (cirrhosis, OR =5.2; HCC, OR =3.3) was found in approximately 5% of this population.”
  • Using a GRS of 4 or more, the positive predictive value of GRS-based test in the Danish population is “0.008 for cirrhosis and 0.003 for HCC. In other words, among 1000 persons with GRS greater than or equal to 4, only 8 will develop cirrhosis and 3 will develop HCC.”

My take: This study confirms that specific genetic variants increase the risk of complications from fatty liver disease. However, poor predictive value will likely preclude routine application.

Prenatal Liver Pollutants: Perfluoroalkyl Substances

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It is very difficult to try to understand potential toxic substances in our environments. Some of the reasons for this are that there are always numerous simultaneous exposures and harm from substances can accrue over long periods. Once a substance is identified, it can take a long time to develop convincing evidence and even longer time frames to try to enact policy changes.

Despite these challenges, fortunately researchers continue to try to tease out these dangerous agents. A recent study (N Stratakis et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 1758-1770. Free Full text: Prenatal Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances Associated With Increased Susceptibility to Liver Injury in Children)

Background/Methods: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread and persistent pollutants that have been shown to have hepatotoxic effects in animal models. However, human evidence is scarce. PFAS chemicals have a myriad industrial/household applications which include nonstick cookware and products that confer resistance to stains. According to the editorial (MC Cave, pg 1518-21), some refer to PFAS as “forever chemicals” due to their decades-long half-lives.

The study authors used data from 1105 mothers and their children (median age 8.2 years) from the European Human Early-Life Exposome cohort. Key findings:

  • High prenatal exposure to PFAS resulted in children who were at higher risk of liver injury (odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–1.92)
  • PFAS exposure is associated with alterations in key amino acids and lipid pathways characterizing liver injury risk.

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Help Wanted in Hepatology

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MW Russo et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 1444-1454. Modeling the Hepatology Workforce in the United States: A Predicted Critical Shortage

Overall, this article details the estimated shortage of hepatologists in the coming years.

Key points:

  • One of the more interesting suggestions in this article is the need to change the name of specialty training from “transplant hepatology” to “advanced hepatology” to more accurately reflect the type of liver conditions managed by hepatologists.
  •  In 2018, the adult and pediatric workforce included 7,296 and 824 hepatology providers, respectively, composed of hepatologists, gastroenterologists, and advanced practice providers whose practice was ≥50% hepatology
  • The modeling analysis projects that in 2023, 2028, and 2033, there will be shortages of 10%, 23%, and 35% adult hepatology providers, respectively, and 19%, 20%, and 16% pediatric hepatology providers, respectively

The authors note that there are many challenges when predicting workforce needs. The main reasons for the predicted shortfall with hepatology include the following:

  • Older age of current clinicians
  • Increasing amount of liver disease (~34% increase from 2018 to 2033), particularly fatty liver disease. This is happening among adults and children.

Related blog post: Sad Truth: Job Security in Hepatology

From The Onion

Liver Shorts -November 2020 and Georgia’s ACA Waiver

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E Zuckerman et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 18: 2544-53. Full text link: Eight Weeks of Treatment With Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir Is Safe and Efficacious in an Integrated Analysis of Treatment-Naïve Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection

  • “We pooled data from 8 phase 2 or phase 3 trials of treatment-naïve patients with HCV genotype 1 to 6 infections, without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis, who received 8 weeks of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir.” (n=1248) Key finding:  Overall rates of sustained virologic response at post-treatment week 12 were 97.6% (1218 of 1248) in the intention to treat (ITT) and 99.3% (1218 of 1226) in the modified ITT populations.

JA Silverman et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 283-287. Composite Lipid Emulsion for the Infant at Risk of Intestinal Failure–associated Liver Disease: The Canadian Perspective

This review discussed the use of SMOFlipid that includes soybean, medium-chain triglycerides, olive and fish oils. Key points:

  • “Lipid minimization strategies have also been shown to reverse IFALD [intestinal failure associated liver disease]. There are, however, considerable concerns regarding adequate weight gain, compromise to neurodevelopment, and EFAD [essential fatty acid deficiency]”
  • “Thee is actually considerable safety data for CLE [composite lipid emulsion] in neonates, albeit over the short term.”
  • “In Canada, CLE is currently the lipid emulsion of choice for all infants at risk of IFLAD.”

T Mitchell et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 18: 1584-1591. Decreased Physical Working Capacity in Adolescents With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Associates With Reduced Iron Availability

  • Methods: “We collected information on weight-adjusted, submaximal physical work capacity (PWC), ultrasound-determined hepatic steatosis, iron indices, and hematologic and metabolic parameters from 390 female and 458 male participants of the Raine Study—a longitudinal study of disease development … in Western Australia”
  • Key finding: “Fourteen percent of the cohort had NAFLD. PWC was significantly reduced in adolescents with NAFLD compared to adolescents without NAFLD (reduction of 0.17 W/kg, P = .0003, adjusted for sex and body mass index [BMI])… we found NAFLD to be associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness, independent of BMI. The relationship between transferrin saturation and PWC in adolescents with NAFLD indicates that functional iron deficiency might contribute to reductions in cardiorespiratory fitness.”

In other news, Georgia has received approval for an affordable care act waiver. From the AJC (October 15, 2020): Kemp’s health care waivers win federal approval Two key points:

  • “Thousands of Georgia’s poor and uninsured adults who meet a work or activity requirement will soon be eligible for Medicaid, with perhaps 50,000 added to the rolls within two years…And more than 350,000 very poor, uninsured Georgia adults still won’t meet Georgia’s requirements for Medicaid”
  • “At the same time, the 400,000 Georgians who bought individual health insurance plans on the federal healthcare.gov Affordable Care Act shopping website will find they can’t do that anymore. Instead they will be directed to contact information for private brokers or insurance companies”
These tweets were posted on 11/2/20.

How Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Alters Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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PJ Trivedi et al. Gastroenterol 2020; 159: 915-928. Effects of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis on Risks of Cancer and Death in People With Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Based on Sex, Race, and Age

Methods: The authors linked prospectively collected data from national health care registries maintained for all adults in England on hospital attendances, imaging and endoscopic evaluations, surgical procedures, cancer, and deaths.

Key findings:

  • Over 10 years, we identified 284,560 incident cases of IBD nationwide; of these, 2588 patients developed PSC. This study excluded patients <18 years of age.
  • Development of PSC was associated with increased risk of death and CRC (hazard ratios [HRs], 3.20 and 2.43, respectively; P < .001) and a lower median age at CRC diagnosis (59 y vs 69 y without PSC; P < .001)
  • Compared to patients with IBD alone, patients with PSC-IBD had a 4-fold higher risk of CRC if they received a diagnosis of IBD at an age younger than 40 years
  • Development of PSC also increased risks of cholangiocarcinoma (HR, 28.46), hepatocellular carcinoma (HR, 21.00), pancreatic cancer (HR, 5.26), and gallbladder cancer (HR, 9.19) ( P < .001 for all)
  • The greatest difference in mortality between the PSC-IBD alone group vs the IBD alone group was for patients younger than 40 years
  • Patients with PSC-UC had >40% risk of colonic resection compared to patients with IBD alone (aHR 1.65)

My take: This study shows the impact the added diagnosis of PSC has for patients with IBD. One of the limitations in assessing outcomes is determining whether someone with IBD has PSC as there are a lot of patients with IBD who have asymptomatic changes in their biliary tree.

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Bariatric Surgery Helps NASH

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G Lassailly et al. Gastroenterol 2020; 159: 1290-1301. Bariatric Surgery Provides Long-term Resolution of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Regression of Fibrosis

This was a  prospective study of 180 severely obese patients with biopsy-proven NASH.

Key findings:

  • NASH: At 5 years after bariatric surgery, NASH was resolved, without worsening fibrosis, in samples from 84% of patients (n = 64; 95% confidence interval, 73.1%-92.2%). 
  • Fibrosis: Fibrosis decreased, compared with baseline, in samples from 70.2% of patients (95% CI, 56.6%-81.6%). Fibrosis disappeared from samples from 56% of all patients (95% CI, 42.4%-69.3%) and from samples from 45.5% of patients with baseline bridging fibrosis. 
Graphic Abstract

My take: This study showed that patients with NASH who underwent bariatric surgery had resolution of NASH in liver samples from 84% of patients 5 years later. The reduction of fibrosis was progressive, beginning during the first year and continuing through 5 years.

. Related blog posts: