An international multidisciplinary consensus on pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent in children and adolescents, particularly those with obesity. NAFLD is considered a hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome due to its close associations with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Experts have proposed an alternative terminology, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), to better reflect its pathophysiology. This study aimed to develop consensus statements and recommendations for pediatric MAFLD through collaboration among international experts. Methods: A group of 65 experts from 35 countries and six continents, including pediatricians, hepatologists, and endocrinologists, participated in a consensus development process. The process encompassed various aspects of pediatric MAFLD, including epidemiology, mechanisms, screening, and management. Findings: In round 1, we received 65 surveys from 35 countries and analyzed these results, which informed us that 73.3% of respondents agreed with 20 draft statements while 23.8% agreed somewhat. The mean percentage of agreement or somewhat agreement increased to 80.85% and 15.75%, respectively, in round 2. The final statements covered a wide range of topics related to epidemiology, pathophysiology, and strategies for screening and managing pediatric MAFLD. Conclusions: The consensus statements and recommendations developed by an international expert panel serve to optimize clinical outcomes and improve the quality of life for children and adolescents with MAFLD. These findings emphasize the need for standardized approaches in diagnosing and treating pediatric MAFLD. Funding: This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82070588, 82370577), the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFA1800801), National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding (2022-PUMCH-C-014), the Wuxi Taihu Talent Plan (DJTD202106), and the Medical Key Discipline Program of Wuxi Health Commission (ZDXK2021007)

Event-free survival of maralixibat-treated patients with Alagille syndrome compared to a real-world cohort from GALA

Background and aims: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is characterized by chronic cholestasis with associated pruritus and extrahepatic anomalies. Maralixibat, an ileal bile acid transporter inhibitor, is an approved pharmacologic therapy for cholestatic pruritus in ALGS. Since long-term placebo-controlled studies are not feasible or ethical in children with rare diseases, a novel approach was taken comparing 6-year outcomes from maralixibat trials with an aligned and harmonized natural history cohort from the G lobal AL agille A lliance (GALA) study. Approach and results: Maralixibat trials comprise 84 patients with ALGS with up to 6 years of treatment. GALA contains retrospective data from 1438 participants. GALA was filtered to align with key maralixibat eligibility criteria, yielding 469 participants. Serum bile acids could not be included in the GALA filtering criteria as these are not routinely performed in clinical practice. Index time was determined through maximum likelihood estimation in an effort to align the disease severity between the two cohorts with the initiation of maralixibat. Event-free survival, defined as the time to first event of manifestations of portal hypertension (variceal bleeding, ascites requiring therapy), surgical biliary diversion, liver transplant, or death, was analyzed by Cox proportional hazards methods. Sensitivity analyses and adjustments for covariates were applied. Age, total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and alanine aminotransferase were balanced between groups with no statistical differences. Event-free survival in the maralixibat cohort was significantly better than the GALA cohort (HR, 0.305; 95% CI, 0.189-0.491; p <0.0001). Multiple sensitivity and subgroup analyses (including serum bile acid availability) showed similar findings. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a novel application of a robust statistical method to evaluate outcomes in long-term intervention studies where placebo comparisons are not feasible, providing wide application for rare diseases. This comparison with real-world natural history data suggests that maralixibat improves event-free survival in patients with ALGS

Natural History of Liver Disease in a Large International Cohort of Children with Alagille syndrome: Results from The <scp>GALA</scp> Study

Background: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a multisystem disorder, characterized by cholestasis. Existing outcome data are largely derived from tertiary centers and real-world data are lacking. This study aimed to elucidate the natural history of liver disease in a contemporary, international, cohort of children with ALGS. Methods: Multicenter retrospective study of children with a clinically and/or genetically confirmed ALGS diagnosis, born Jan-1997 - Aug-2019. Native liver survival (NLS) and event-free survival rates were assessed. Cox models were constructed to identify early biochemical predictors of clinically evident portal hypertension (CEPH) and NLS. Results: 1433 children (57% male) from 67 centers in 29 countries were included. 10 and 18-years NLS rates were 54.4% and 40.3%. By 10 and 18-years, 51.5% and 66.0% of ALGS children experienced ≥1 adverse liver-related event (CEPH, transplant or death). Children (>6 and ≤12 months) with median total bilirubin (TB) levels between ≥5.0 and 10.0 mg/dL were associated with a 4.8 (95% CI 2.4 - 9.7) and 15.6 (95% CI 8.7 - 28.2) increased risk of transplantation relative to <5.0 mg/dL. Median TB <5.0 mg/dL were associated with higher NLS rates relative to ≥5.0 mg/dL, with 79% reaching adulthood with native liver (p<0.001). Conclusions: In this large international cohort of ALGS, only 40.3% of children reach adulthood with their native liver. A TB <5.0 mg/dL between 6-and-12-months of age is associated with better hepatic outcomes. These thresholds provide clinicians with an objective tool to assist with clinical decision-making and in the evaluation of novel therapies

Event-free survival of maralixibat-treated patients with Alagille syndrome compared to a real-world cohort from GALA

Background and Aims: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is characterized by chronic cholestasis with associated pruritus and extrahepatic anomalies. Maralixibat, an ileal bile acid transporter inhibitor, is an approved pharmacologic therapy for cholestatic pruritus in ALGS. Since long-term placebo-controlled studies are not feasible or ethical in children with rare diseases, a novel approach was taken comparing 6-year outcomes from maralixibat trials with an aligned and harmonized natural history cohort from the Global ALagille Alliance (GALA) stud