Meeting Report: Aging Research and Drug Discovery

Aging is the single largest risk factor for most chronic diseases, and thus possesses large socioeconomic interest to continuously aging societies. Consequently, the field of aging research is expanding alongside a growing focus from the industry and investors in aging research. This year's 8th Annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery ARDD) meeting was organized as a hybrid meeting from August 30th to September 3rd 2021 with more than 130 attendees participating on-site at the Ceremonial Hall at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and 1800 engaging online. The conference comprised of presentations from 75 speakers focusing on new research in topics including mechanisms of aging and how these can be modulated as well as the use of AI and new standards of practices within aging research. This year, a longevity workshop was included to build stronger connections with the clinical community

Low hepatitis C prevalence in Belgium : implications for treatment reimbursement and scale up

BACKGROUND: Prevalence data of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are needed to estimate the budgetary impact of reimbursement of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). In Belgium, the restricted reimbursement criteria are mainly guided by regional seroprevalence estimates of 0.87% from 1993 to 1994. In this first Belgian nationwide HCV prevalence study, we set out to update the seroprevalence and prevalence of chronic HCV infection estimates in the Belgian general population in order to guide decisions on DAA reimbursement. METHODS: Residual sera were collected through clinical laboratories. We collected data on age, sex and district. HCV antibody status was determined with ELISA and confirmed with a line-immunoassay (LIA). In specimens with undetermined or positive LIA result, HCV viral load was measured. Specimens were classified seronegative, seropositive with resolved infection, indicative of chronic infection and with undetermined HCV status according to the test outcomes. Results were standardized for age, sex and population per district, and adjusted for clustered sampling. RESULTS: In total 3209 specimens, collected by 28 laboratories, were tested. HCV seropositivity in the Belgian general population was estimated to be 0.22% (95% CI: 0.09-0.54%), and prevalence of chronic HCV infection 0.12% (95% CI: 0.03-0.41). In individuals of 20 years and older, these estimates were 0.26% (95% CI: 0.10-0.64%) and 0.13% (95% CI: 0.04-0.43), respectively. Of the total estimated number of HCV seropositive individuals in Belgium, 66% were between 50 and 69 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of HCV seropositivity and chronic infection in the Belgian general population were low and comparable to many surrounding countries. These adjusted prevalences can help estimate the cost of reimbursement of DAAs and invite Belgian policy makers to accelerate the scaling up of reimbursement, giving all chronically infected HCV patients a more timely access to treatment

Stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium between 2006 and 2014

Recent European studies suggest an emergence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. We evaluated trends in birth cohort-specific HEV seroprevalence and regional differences in Belgium. HEV IgG seroprevalence was analysed on national serum banks (1579 and 2087 samples for 2006 and 2014, respectively. Hepatitis E virus antigen was tested on positive samples. Observed data were modelled using a generalized additive model with a complementary log-log link. No significant differences between birth cohorts or sexes were found. Modelling identified the individual&#8217;s age and province as relevant factors. The probability of HEV seropositivity increases significantly with age. An estimated total of 434&nbsp;819 (yearly rate of 54,352) (sero-)infections were found between 2006 and 2014. Overall, HEV IgG seroprevalences were 4.1% (64/1579, 95% CI 3.1-5.1) and 5.8% (12&frac12;087, CI 4.8-6.9) in 2006 and 2014, respectively. Observed HEV antigen seroprevalence was 0.027% (&#8531;666) for the entire cohort. These results show stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in&nbsp;Belgium.</p

Meeting Report: Aging Research and Drug Discovery

Aging is the single largest risk factor for most chronic diseases, and thus possesses large socioeconomic interest to continuously aging societies. Consequently, the field of aging research is expanding alongside a growing focus from the industry and investors in aging research. This year’s 8th Annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting was organized as a hybrid meeting from August 30th to September 3rd 2021 with more than 130 attendees participating on-site at the Ceremonial Hall at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and 1800 engaging online. The conference comprised of presentations from 75 speakers focusing on new research in topics including mechanisms of aging and how these can be modulated as well as the use of AI and new standards of practices within aging research. This year, a longevity workshop was included to build stronger connections with the clinical community

Meeting Report: Aging Research and Drug Discovery

Aging is the single largest risk factor for most chronic diseases, and thus possesses large socioeconomic interest to continuously aging societies. Consequently, the field of aging research is expanding alongside a growing focus from the industry and investors in aging research. This year’s 8th Annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting was organized as a hybrid meeting from August 30th to September 3rd 2021 with more than 130 attendees participating on-site at the Ceremonial Hall at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and 1800 engaging online. The conference comprised of presentations from 75 speakers focusing on new research in topics including mechanisms of aging and how these can be modulated as well as the use of AI and new standards of practices within aging research. This year, a longevity workshop was included to build stronger connections with the clinical community