One objective of DILIN is to develop standardized definitions and instruments to identify and fully characterize cases of drug-induced liver injury. With a systematic way of classifying drug-induced liver injury, researchers will be able to analyze the epidemiology and clinical issues of liver injury and collect biological samples that can be used to study the causes of liver toxicity using biochemical, serological, and genetic testing. The DILIN is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the institutes of the NIH.
Another objective of DILIN is to establish a registry of patients who have experienced severe drug induced liver injury. "Part of the difficulty in studying drug-induced liver disease is the absence of a sufficient cohort of well-characterized patients in whom to carry out clinical, genetic, immunological and biochemical investigation," says Jose Serrano, M.D., Ph.D, director, NIDDKs' Liver and Biliary Diseases Program and coordinator of the DILIN. "DILIN will help to eliminate this barrier and advance the understanding of drug-induced liver injury forward," he adds.
Drug-induced liver injury occurs in all age groups, but most cases occur within the elderly population because they take more medications than younger persons and also use multiple medications. Furthermore, drug-induced liver injury is the most common reason why drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or
'"/>
Contact: Leslie Curtis
leslie_curtis@nih.gov
301-496-3583
NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
19-Nov-2004