Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis

The AHFIRM trial did not demonstrate a beneficial effect of larsucosterol on 90-day mortality or the need for liver transplant among patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, or AH, according to a study published in NEJM Evidence.

From 2002 to 2021, the incidence rate of alcohol-associated hepatitis “more than doubled” among adolescents and young adults in Ontario, Canada, with the highest uptick observed among females, according to research in JAMA Network Open.

In a Healio video exclusive, Mitchell L. Shiffman, MD, reports that U.S. patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis treated with larsucosterol experienced a “statistically significant” reduction in 90-day mortality — more than 50%.

The FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Durect’s larsucosterol for the treatment of patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, despite mixed results from previously released topline data.

Each January, Alcohol Change UK runs Dry January, a post-holiday campaign that encourages people to abstain from alcohol for 31 days at the beginning of the year and drink more healthily year-round.

BOSTON — Mortality rates were consistently lower in patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis treated with steroids during vs. before the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting infection mitigation may have benefited this population.

Larsucosteral was well-tolerated and improved short-term biomarkers of liver injury or disease in a subset of patients with moderate to severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, according to research in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Alcohol-associated hepatitis and acute cholangitis were accurately diagnosed by machine-learning algorithms, which also outperformed physicians in distinguishing the two diseases, according to a study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

LONDON — Lower MELD score predicted short- and long-term survival in patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis who were declined for early liver transplantation, according to research presented at the International Liver Congress.

A new prognostic scoring tool accurately assessed 30-day mortality risk in patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.