The 8th Paris NASH Meeting takes place on September 8th & 9th, where key opinion leaders from both sides of the Atlantic come together to present pivotal learnings and host exciting discussions on fatty liver diseases. Surfers Roger Green, Louise Campbell, and Jörn Schattenberg are joined by Rachel Zayas to discuss this year’s program and provide preview commentary on talks and sessions of interest.
A Preview of Paris NASH and NAFLD Summit 2022
Roger opens the floor by asking everyone to highlight what specifically stands out to them on the program to look forward to. “Brave one go first.”
Rachel notes a presentation in Session 2: Clinical Aspects, titled Controversy: are HIV infected patients more at risk of NASH? Emerging data and insights will be discussed as to why the prevalence of NAFLD, NASH and subsequently fibrosis present higher in HIV-infected patients in comparison to the general population. Rachel hopes the prompt leads to speculation on how to improve patient stratification. She suggests the field is moving beyond ideas of personalized medicine to what is described as a more intentional approach. Jörn echoes Rachel’s interest in this topic. There is the need to address not only individuals, but also a group of overlooked patients that call for an intentional and stratified investigation into potentially shared biomarkers. Session 2 also features a discussion on type 2 diabetes sub-populations with varying outcome profiles, solidifying the Clinical Aspects leg as a ‘can’t miss’ for the whole group.
Next, Louise calls attention to the opening session and her interest in the integration of the liver under cardiometabolic health. “That’s where we’re going to find the breadth and depth of patients for future NASH studies.” She asserts that a larger recruitment to clinical trials will be required in the next 3 to 5 years to move the field forward.
Roger relates the relevance of last week’s episode on finding the right combinations for NASH therapy. Friday afternoon features a look into the current status and future directions in NIT-based drug development and clinical management of NASH.
The conversation shifts to comparative outcomes of the Barcelona meeting and its focus on pathways before transitioning into part 2 of this episode: a one on one interview with Prof. Jeff Lazarus. Much of Jeff’s summer was spent working in preparation for the impact COVID will have on the northern hemisphere this autumn. However, he also managed to attend the NAFLD Nomenclature Conference in Chicago. The conference is described as a midway point for a Delphi process that explores the prospect of assigning new name(s) in the description of fatty liver diseases. What was determined is that should a name change occur, it needs to be organized through global consensus and consistent with the following 6 principles:
- Affirmative
- Accurate
- Adaptable
- Adoptable
- Applicable
- Able
Roger believes that the meeting was successful at strengthening consensus on this topic. He then asks Jeff to describe his role in the NAFLD Summit and to discuss any other presentations of interest outside of his own. Jeff shares that he will be talking about evolving models of care and future implications. Specifically, he is also interested in attending discussions and panels around the impact of NITs in addition to personalized medicine. Likewise, Roger expresses an interest in emerging technologies before offering a final question – or, rather, a request for commitment. Will Jeff return to the podcast to disclose what occurred at the Wilton Park meeting this October? It seems he might, after a few weeks digestion. Stay tuned, stay safe and surf on.
