Abigail Brooks, MA

The post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 ENHANCE study provides the first published evidence of a correlation between decreases in IL-31, bile acids, and pruritus symptoms in PBC following treatment with an investigational agent.

Patients with lean NAFLD had fewer metabolic comorbidities but maintained similar risk of NASH, cirrhosis, nonliver cancer, and mortality compared to their overweight and obese counterparts.

We sat down with Tatyana Kushner, MD, BSCE to discuss findings from her study comparing IVF treatment in women with and without liver disease.

Our December 2023 month in review highlights top news in HCV screening, treatment with DAAs, and MASLD risk factors.

Compared to nonusers, patients with type 2 diabetes and acute kidney disease administered SGLT-2is had a significantly lower risk of mortality, major adverse kidney events, and major adverse cardiovascular events.

IVF treatment and pregnancy outcomes were not significantly different between patients with and without liver disease who received assisted reproductive technology treatment.

Our December 2023 Gastroenterology Month in Review features a pair of American Gastroenterological Association guidelines and articles from the fourth installment of Qazi Corner.

Each 1-day delay in continuous renal replacement therapy initiation was associated with 3% greater odds of major adverse kidney events at 90 days, including mortality, dialysis dependence, and persistent kidney dysfunction.

Statistically significant reductions in serum ferritin, transferrin saturation index, and iron levels were observed after treatment, with hyperferritinemia eradicated in nearly all patients treated with DAAs achieving SVR.

Reduced fecal concentrations of short- and branched-chain fatty acids, secondary bile acids, and tryptophan metabolites were associated with compositional microbiome dysbiosis and risk of postoperative infection.

Greater selenium and lead exposure were associated with an increased risk of MASLD, with further analysis suggesting potential synergistic interactions between different metals and their joint effects on MASLD risk.

More than half of study participants were enrolled in the patient portal and 98% were classified as passive users, but only moderately active use of the patient portal was associated with a reduced risk of readmission.

Although no differences were observed in the safety and efficacy of FDA-approved combination DAA therapies, female participants reported numerically more adverse events than male participants.

Results from the systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated the positive effect of DAA therapy on overall survival, HCC-free survival, and liver function among patients with HCV decompensated cirrhosis compared to a non-DAA control group.

Specific interactions between binge drinking, genetic risk, and diabetes mellitus were found to significantly influence the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis.

Katie Falloon, MD, discusses findings from the SEQUENCE study, the importance of treatment positioning, and what direct data from head-to-head studies contributes to this understanding.

Budesonide is the first treatment to receive approval from the FDA for reducing the loss of kidney function in adults with primary IgAN.

Shubha Bhat, PharmD, MS, BCACP describes the ELEVATE UC program supporting the FDA approval of etrasimod and the current understanding of treatment positioning between etrasimod and ozanimod.

The guideline includes 9 conditional recommendations to support practitioners in the management of pouchitis and inflammatory pouch disorders.

More than half of patients who received a pancreas transplant alone experienced >50% decline in eGFR, had eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2, and/or received a kidney transplant 10 years after their initial pancreas transplant.

Despite the known association between infectious disease and type 1 diabetes, results showed no impact on risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.

The past year has seen a multitude of FDA approvals, ranging from IL-23 and JAK inhibitors to biologics and subcutaneous treatment administrations, that have helped redefine what it means to treat IBD.

The New Drug Application submission is supported by data from a pair of phase 3 studies, a long-term open-label study, and prior phase 2 studies. Cymabay has also requested Priority Review of the NDA.

Patients with HCV who underwent automated routine screening and the addition of a clinical pharmacist to the interdisciplinary patient care model completed treatment and achieved SVR at a greater rate than patients who were not exposed to the study intervention.

The new model outperformed existing measures of CKD progression based on longitudinal eGFR data alone and saw further improvements in AUROC with the inclusion of additional clinical variables.

Keli Coleman, MD, discusses findings from her research about the role of pain scores and opioids in predicting hospitalization and return visits in children with sickle cell disease and uncomplicated pain crises.

Results showed a 50.5% mortality rate among patients with cancer and AKI due to a variety of risk factors, ranging from length of ICU stay to sepsis.

Following years of concerns about the stigmatization and inaccurate etiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease nomenclature, 2023 finally saw revised terminology for liver disease with the implementation of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

A cohort of patients with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis saw a 7% reduction in HCV-viremic rate and primary infection rates as low as 0.01% following implementation of the link-to-treat program.

Adding navy beans to one’s usual diet may be a viable dietary strategy for modulating the gut microbiome and regulating host markers associated with metabolic obesity and colorectal cancer.