Browsing by Author "Terrault, Norah"

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    Association of Histologic Disease Activity With Progression of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
    (JAMA Network, 2019-10-02) Kleiner, David E.; Brunt, Elizabeth M.; Wilson, Laura A.; Behling, Cynthia; Guy, Cynthia; Contos, Melissa; Cummings, Oscar; Yeh, Matthew; Gill, Ryan; Chalasani, Naga; Neuschwander-Tetri, Brent A.; Diehl, Anna Mae; Dasarathy, Srinivasan; Terrault, Norah; Kowdley, Kris; Loomba, Rohit; Belt, Patricia; Tonascia, James; Lavine, Joel E.; Sanyal, Arun J.; Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Importance: The histologic evolution of the full spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and factors associated with progression or regression remain to be definitively established. Objective: To evaluate the histologic evolution of NAFLD and the factors associated with changes in disease severity over time. Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective cohort substudy from the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) NAFLD Database study, a noninterventional registry, was performed at 8 university medical research centers. Masked assessment of liver histologic specimens was performed, using a prespecified protocol to score individual biopsies. Participants included 446 adults with NAFLD enrolled in the NASH CRN Database studies between October 27, 2004, and September 13, 2013, who underwent 2 liver biopsies 1 or more year apart. Data analysis was performed from October 2016 to October 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: Progression and regression of fibrosis stage, using clinical, laboratory, and histologic findings, including the NAFLD activity score (NAS) (sum of scores for steatosis, lobular inflammation, and ballooning; range, 0-8, with 8 indicating more severe disease). Results: A total of 446 adults (mean [SD] age, 47 [11] years; 294 [65.9%] women) with NAFLD (NAFL, 86 [19.3%]), borderline NASH (84 [18.8%]), and definite NASH (276 [61.9%]) were studied. Over a mean (SD) interval of 4.9 (2.8) years between biopsies, NAFL resolved in 11 patients (12.8%) and progressed to steatohepatitis in 36 patients (41.9%). Steatohepatitis resolved in 24 (28.6%) of the patients with borderline NASH and 61 (22.1%) of those with definite NASH. Fibrosis progression or regression by at least 1 stage occurred in 132 (30%) and 151 [34%] participants, respectively. Metabolic syndrome (20 [95%] vs 108 [72%]; P = .03), baseline NAS (mean [SD], 5.0 [1.4] vs 4.3 [1.6]; P = .005), and smaller reduction in NAS (-0.2 [2] vs -0.9 [2]; P < .001) were associated with progression to advanced (stage 3-4) fibrosis vs those without progression to stage 3 to 4 fibrosis. Fibrosis regression was associated with lower baseline insulin level (20 vs 33 μU/mL; P = .02) and decrease in all NAS components (steatosis grade -0.8 [0.1] vs -0.3 [0.9]; P < .001; lobular inflammation -0.5 [0.8] vs -0.2 [0.9]; P < .001; ballooning -0.7 [1.1] vs -0.1 [0.9]; P < .001). Only baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were associated with fibrosis regression vs no change and progression vs no change on multivariable regression: baseline AST (regression: conditional odds ratio [cOR], 0.6 per 10 U/L AST; 95% CI, 0.4-0.7; P < .001; progression: cOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5; P = .002). Changes in the AST level, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, and NAS were also associated with fibrosis regression and progression (ΔAST level: regression, cOR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.6-1.2; P = .47; progression, cOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0-1.6; P = .02; ΔALT level: regression, cOR, 0.7 per 10 U/L AST; 95% CI, 0.5-0.9; P = .002; progression, cOR, 1.0 per 10 U/L AST; 95% CI, 0.9-1.2; P = .93; ΔNAS: regression, cOR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9; P = .001; progression, cOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5; P = .01). Conclusions and Relevance: Improvement or worsening of disease activity may be associated with fibrosis regression or progression, respectively, in NAFLD.
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    Health disparities in chronic liver disease
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2023) Kardashian, Ani; Serper, Marina; Terrault, Norah; Nephew, Lauren D.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    The syndemic of hazardous alcohol consumption, opioid use, and obesity has led to important changes in liver disease epidemiology that have exacerbated health disparities. Health disparities occur when plausibly avoidable health differences are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations. Highlighting health disparities, their sources, and consequences in chronic liver disease is fundamental to improving liver health outcomes. There have been large increases in alcohol use disorder in women, racial and ethnic minorities, and those experiencing poverty in the context of poor access to alcohol treatment, leading to increasing rates of alcohol-associated liver diseases. Rising rates of NAFLD and associated fibrosis have been observed in Hispanic persons, women aged > 50, and individuals experiencing food insecurity. Access to viral hepatitis screening and linkage to treatment are suboptimal for racial and ethnic minorities and individuals who are uninsured or underinsured, resulting in greater liver-related mortality and later-stage diagnoses of HCC. Data from more diverse cohorts on autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases are lacking, supporting the need to study the contemporary epidemiology of these disorders in greater detail. Herein, we review the existing literature on racial and ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in chronic liver diseases using a social determinants of health framework to better understand how social and structural factors cause health disparities and affect chronic liver disease outcomes. We also propose potential solutions to eliminate disparities, outlining health-policy, health-system, community, and individual solutions to promote equity and improve health outcomes.
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    Parental leave, childcare policies, and workplace bias for hepatology professionals: A national survey
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2023-08-28) Feld, Lauren D.; Sarkar, Monika; Au, Jennifer S.; Flemming, Jennifer A.; Gripshover, Janet; Kardashian, Ani; Muir, Andrew J.; Nephew, Lauren; Orloff, Susan L.; Terrault, Norah; Rabinowitz, Loren; Volerman, Anna; Arora, Vineet; Farnan, Jeanne; Villa, Erica; Monika; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: The presence of workplace bias around child-rearing and inadequate parental leave may negatively impact childbearing decisions and sex equity in hepatology. This study aimed to understand the influence of parental leave and child-rearing on career advancement in hepatology. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of physician members of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) was distributed through email listserv in January 2021. The 33-item survey included demographic questions, questions about bias, altering training, career plans, family planning, parental leave, and work accommodations. Results: Among 199 US physician respondents, 65.3% were women, and 83.4% (n = 166) were attendings. Sex and racial differences were reported in several domains, including paid leave, perceptions of bias, and child-rearing. Most women (79.3%) took fewer than the recommended 12 paid weeks of parental leave for their first child (average paid leave 7.5 wk for women and 1.7 for men). A majority (75.2%) of women reported workplace discrimination, including 83.3% of Black and 62.5% of Hispanic women. Twenty percent of women were asked about their/their partners' pregnancy intentions or child-rearing plans during interviews for training. Women were more likely to alter career plans due to child-rearing (30.0% vs. 15.9%, p = 0.030). Women were also more likely to delay having children than men (69.5% vs.35.9%). Conclusions: Women reported sex and maternity bias in the workplace and during training interviews, which was more frequently experienced by Black and Hispanic women. As two-thirds of women had children during training, it is a particularly influential time to reevaluate programmatic support to address long-term gender disparities in career advancement.
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    Persistence of Virologic Response after Liver Transplant in Hepatitis C Patients Treated with Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir Plus Ribavirin Pretransplant
    (2017) Yoshida, Eric M.; Kwo, Paul; Agarwal, Kosh; Duvoux, Christophe; Durand, François; Peck-Radosavljevic, Markus; Lilly, Leslie; Willems, Bernard; Vargas, Hugo; Kumar, Princy; Brown, Robert S.; Horsmans, Yves; De-Oertel, Shampa; Arterburn, Sarah; Dvory-Sobol, Hadas; Brainard, Diana M.; McHutchison, John G.; Terrault, Norah; Rizzetto, Mario; Müllhaupt, Beat; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Introduction. Recurrence of HCV infection in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) at the time of liver transplantation is nearly universal and reduces the likelihood of graft and patient survival. Materials and methods. We evaluated outcomes of 17 patients (16 with HCV genotype 1 and 1 with genotype 4) who received up to 12 or 24 weeks of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir plus ribavirin prior to or up to the time of liver transplant in the SOLAR-1 and SOLAR-2 trials. In all patients, HCV RNA was < 15 IU/mL prior to transplant. At screening, 6 patients were Child-Pugh-Turcotte (CPT) class B and 11 were CPT class C. Seven patients underwent transplant prior to completing assigned treatment, with 4 treated for < 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was posttransplant virologic response 12 weeks after transplant (pTVR12) in patients with HCV RNA < 15 IU/mL at their last measurement prior to transplant. Results. Overall, 94% (16/17) achieved pTVR12. All who achieved pTVR12 received at least 11 weeks of treatment. The single patient who did not achieve pTVR12 discontinued study drug on day 21 and underwent liver transplant the following day. The patient had HCV RNA < 15 IU/mL at post-transplant week 2 but died 15 days post-transplant because of multi-organ failure and septic shock. Conclusion. Among a small population of HCV patients with decompensated cirrhosis, virologic response to ledipasvir / sofosbuvir plus ribavirin prior to liver transplantation was maintained after transplantation, even if treatment was stopped early. Administration of ledipasvir / sofosbuvir plus ribavirin before liver transplant can prevent post-transplant HCV recurrence.
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    Relationship Between Three Commonly Used Non-invasive Fibrosis Biomarkers and Improvement in Fibrosis Stage in Patients With NASH
    (Wiley, 2019-02-21) Chalasani, Naga; Abdelmalek, Manal F.; Loomba, Rohit; Kowdley, Kris V.; McCullough, Arthur J.; Dasarathy, Srinivasan; Neuschwander-Tetri, Brent A.; Terrault, Norah; Ferguson, Beatrice; Shringarpure, Reshma; Shapiro, David; Sanyal, Arun J.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Non-invasive biomarkers are needed for monitoring changes in liver histology in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Obeticholic acid (OCA) was shown to improve fibrosis in patients with NASH in the FLINT trial; a post hoc analysis of these data was performed to determine the relationship between 3 non-invasive fibrosis markers and liver fibrosis improvement. Methods In the Phase 2b FLINT trial, patients were randomised (1:1) to receive 25 mg OCA or placebo once daily for 72 weeks. Aspartate aminotransferase:platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score (NFS) were evaluated in serum at baseline and weeks 24, 48, 72, and 96. Liver biopsies were obtained at baseline and 72 weeks. Results In patients with fibrosis improvement at week 24, scores were reduced by a median of 34% for APRI, 10% for FIB-4, and 4% for NFS. Reductions in APRI (p=0.015) and FIB-4 (p=0.036), but not NFS (p=0.201) at week 24, significantly correlated with ≥1-stage improvement in histologic fibrosis at week 72. Reductions in APRI at week 72 were significantly correlated with fibrosis improvement at week 72 (p=0.012). Patients receiving OCA had significant reductions in all markers compared with patients receiving placebo at week 72 [APRI and FIB-4 (p<0.0001); NFS (p<0.05)]. Conclusions Readily available non-invasive markers may predict improvement in liver fibrosis in patients with NASH. Upon external confirmation and further refinement in larger populations, these markers may serve as surrogate end points in NASH clinical trials.
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    Research methodologies to address clinical unmet needs and challenges in alcohol-associated liver disease
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2022) Singal, Ashwani K.; Kwo, Paul; Kwong, Allison; Liangpunsakul, Suthat; Louvet, Alexandre; Mandrekar, Pranoti; McClain, Craig; Mellinger, Jessica; Szabo, Gyongyi; Terrault, Norah; Thursz, Mark; Winder, Gerald S.; Kim, W. Ray; Shah, Vijay H.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is emerging worldwide as the leading cause of liver-related morbidity, mortality, and indication for liver transplantation. The ALD Special Interest Group and the Clinical Research Committee at the digital American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting in November 2020 held the scientific sessions to identify clinical unmet needs in ALD, and addressing these needs using clinical research methodologies. Of several research methodologies, the sessions were focused on (a) studying disease burden of ALD using large administrative databases, (b) developing biomarkers for noninvasive diagnosis of alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) and estimation of disease prognosis, (c) identifying therapeutic targets for ALD and AH, (d) deriving accurate models to predict prognosis or posttransplant alcohol relapse as a basis for developing treatment algorithm and a uniform protocol on patient-selection criteria for liver transplantation, and (e) examining qualitative research methodologies in studying the barriers to implementation of multidisciplinary integrated care model by hepatology and addiction teams for the management of dual pathology of liver disease and of alcohol use disorder. Prospective multicenter studies are required to address many of these clinical unmet needs. Further, multidisciplinary care models are needed to improve long-term outcomes in patients with ALD.