Top in GI: Ozempic in NASH-related cirrhosis; infection risk with PPIs
During the International Liver Congress, researchers presented 48-week trial data that showed once-weekly Ozempic improved cardiometabolic markers but not liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and compensated cirrhosis.
Although the primary endpoint of the trial was not met, Rohit Loomba, MD, MHSc, director of hepatology and the NAFLD Research Center at UC San Diego School of Medicine, noted that Ozempic (semaglutide, Novo Nordisk) also improved markers of liver injury associated with fibrosis progression. It was the top story in gastroenterology last week.
The second top story was also based on a presentation at the International Liver Congress. Nadim Mahmud, MD, MS, MPH, MSCE, an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, reported that patients with compensated cirrhosis who used proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) had a greater risk for cirrhosis decompensation and severe infection than those who did not, with risk increasing with higher dose exposure.
Read these and more top stories in gastroenterology below:
Ozempic boosts cardiometabolic markers, falls short for fibrosis in NASH-related cirrhosis
Semaglutide improved cardiometabolic parameters and markers of liver injury yet failed to improve liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and compensated cirrhosis, according to late-breaker data. Read more.
PPIs linked to risk for severe infection, decompensation in patients with cirrhosis
Exposure to PPIs correlated with an increased risk for severe infection and cirrhosis decompensation among a subset of patients with cirrhosis, according to research presented at the International Liver Congress. Read more.
Noninvasive testing may predict portal hypertension, clinical outcomes in cured HCV
Noninvasive testing may predict clinically significant portal hypertension and other outcomes in patients after hepatitis C virus cure, data show. Read more.
Practices better off with strategic partner, not just a banker
Capital Digestive Care did not go the route of private equity, but it did go the route of a strategic partner. Read more.
Physician-owned management model: An alternative to private equity
Many physicians have looked at different organizational structures for joint ownership. I would never propose that there is a one-size-fits-all for the different gastroenterology groups out there. Read more.