Patients & Public

Easy Results Videos

Antimicrobial resistance – The silent pandemic

Marko Korenjak, President of the European Liver Patient Association (ELPA), interviews Dr. Lindsey Edwards from King’s College London (KCL) about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and its impact on liver patients. Dr. Edwards explains why liver patients are particularly vulnerable to infections and antibiotic resistance, why it is important to complete antibiotic courses, and what the future of the so-called “silent plague” might look like. She also talks about her work in the EU-funded MICROB-PREDICT project and the R-Biome consortium, both aimed at modifying the microbiome to improve health outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Edwards shares her belief in co-creating science with patients and society.

Lipid mediators of immunosuppression in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF)

Researchers Bryan Contreras Herrera and Cristina López Vicario from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (FCRB) discuss their latest research on lipid mediators in patients with advanced cirrhosis and ACLF. By analysing 100 lipids in blood samples, their team identified elevated levels of the pro-inflammatory lipid leukotoxin, which may contribute to bacterial infections and organ failure in these patients.

The role of secretory IgA, an important immunoglobulin, in gut barrier dysfunction

Dávid Tornai from the University of Debrecen, Hungary, presents his research on the role of immunoglobulins – in particular secretory IgA – as indicators of gut barrier dysfunction in cirrhosis patients with acute decompensation. By measuring immunoglobulin concentrations in serum samples and correlating them with disease severity and mortality, his team found that secretory IgA shows a strong association with mortality in ACLF patients. The goal is to better stratify high-risk patients so they can receive the best available care in time, and to open roads to improved treatments.

The role of the gut virome in decompensated liver cirrhosis

PhD researcher Lore Van Espen from KU Leuven (KUL) in Belgium presents her research on the gut virome – the component of the gut microbiome concerning viruses – in chronic liver disease patients. By comparing ACLF patients to patients with decompensated cirrhosis, she found alterations in gut viruses, including higher viral diversity and specific phages associated with ACLF development, bacterial infection, and increased mortality. The ultimate goal is to improve understanding of these alterations and develop clinical applications to prevent disease progression and reduce mortality.

Alexandra Phillips on rodent models of cirrhosis and ACLF

PhD student Alexandra Phillips from University College London (UCL) explains her research on albumin infusions in rodent models of cirrhosis and ACLF. Albumin, the most abundant protein in the human body, is produced by the liver and has been found to reduce multi-organ injury in cirrhosis patients when administered as an infusion. The next step is to investigate the deeper mechanisms behind albumin’s beneficial effects.

Prognosing the success of albumin treatment in liver cirrhosis and ACLF patients

Medical doctor and PhD student Nikolaj Torp from Odense University Hospital in Denmark presents a clinical validation trial investigating a biomarker to predict which cirrhosis patients will respond to human albumin infusion therapy. The goal is to enable precision medicine – treating only those patients who will actually benefit. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial runs for 180 days per patient with weekly infusions.

Biomarkers for early identification of pre-ACLF patients

Dr. Camila Alvarez-Silva from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, explains her research on the early detection of ACLF. Patients with liver disease have very different outlooks depending on their condition: While stable patients can have a life expectancy of around 12 years, those who develop acute decompensation may only have two years. Camila’s work focuses on analysing different biological samples – including stool, urine, plasma and mucosa – to identify metabolite markers that can predict which patients will develop ACLF before they do, allowing clinicians to intervene earlier. Next steps include validating these markers in external cohorts and further studying the biological mechanisms behind disease development.

Blood plasma proteomics uncovering progression markers of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF)

Mass-spectrometrist and metaproteomicist Peter Treit from the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich presents his research on bacterial protein-based biomarkers found in the stool of late-stage liver disease patients. By comparing different patient groups – stable cirrhotic, unstable, and ACLF patients – at different time points, his work aims to give doctors the opportunity to better stratify patients, for example, for transplant listing, and to uncover the mechanisms behind disease progression.

Multi‑compartment metabolomics for stratifying cirrhosis patients with acute decompensation (liver failure)

Dr. Christophe Junot, group leader at CEA (France), presents his research on small metabolite-based biomarkers in liver disease patients. By analysing blood, urine and stool samples, his team has identified molecules that differ between stable and decompensated cirrhosis patients, with the goal of predicting disease progression and treatment response. The next challenge is transferring this knowledge from academic research laboratories to clinical settings and point-of-care (POC) tests, ultimately enabling personalised medicine for liver patients.