Renowned experts in the field of hepatology will review the most recent treatment and research advances in chronic liver disease during the annual AASLD Hepatology Update: The Year in Review on Saturday, May 6, at DDW®.
The three-hour course requires a separate registration and fee. Visit www.ddw.org to register.
“This will be an informative session with a focus on practical patient management that will provide clinicians with a comprehensive update in liver disease,” said Paul Martin, MD, FAASLD, who will co-moderate the course with Hugo E. Vargas, MD, FAASLD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix.
The course will feature five 30-minute presentations on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), liver transplantation, cholestatic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatitis C.
“Hepatitis C is the area that has gotten the most attention over the last few years, but there are important advances that have occurred elsewhere in hepatology, including NAFLD and cholestatic liver disease,” said Dr. Martin, chief of hepatology and professor of medicine at University of Miami Health Systems in Florida.
Mary E. Rinella, MD, FAASLD, associate professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, will review promising clinical trials designed to determine the role of antifibrotic agents in the management of NAFLD.
Talia Baker, MD, associate professor of surgery and director of the living donor transplant program at the University of Chicago Medicine, will highlight changes in organ allocation that will impact the management of patients with advanced liver disease who are under the care of referring gastroenterologists.
Cynthia Levy, MD, FAASLD, associate professor of medicine at University of Miami Health Systems, will review novel agents to treat primary biliary cirrhosis.
“Although oxycholic acid has been very effective in slowing progression of primary biliary cholangitis in many patients, there’s a subset of patients who are nonresponders,” Dr. Martin said. “This new agent is an important addition to the treatment options for these patients.”
The course will conclude with a review of interventions to mitigate the major complications of cirrhosis by Jayant A. Talwalkar, MD, FAASLD, a transplant hepatologist at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and an update on new hepatitis C therapies by Marc G. Ghany, MD, FAASLD, an investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD.
“This will be a useful update for trainees in gastroenterology and hepatology, and any clinician engaged in management of liver disease,” Dr. Martin said.
