A recent conference examined issues relating to drug-induced liver injury (DILI), the primary cause of acute liver failure in the U.S. The proceedings of the conference are summarized in a paper appearing in the March 2006 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/hepatology.

Held in Atlanta, GA in September 2005, the conference focused on idiosyncratic DILI, the most problematic form, in which a combination of genetic and non-genetic factors unexpectedly make some patients susceptible to drug injury. There are currently no valid animal models for studying idiosyncratic DILI, and it is difficult to study it in humans since its incidence is relatively rare. The Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network was established in 2003 with the aim of creating a registry of DILI patients and advancing research and treatment methods that could benefit those suffering from DILI. "The Single Topic Conference provided an opportunity for basic, translational and clinical researchers to 'sit at the same table' in discussions about the promise and challenges of DILI research," the authors state.

Discovering the factors involved in idiosyncratic DILI will hopefully lead to the development of clinical tests that can identify those patients susceptible to it so that injury can be avoided. "The identity of these factors should also shed light on underlying mechanisms and thereby allow development of safer drugs," the authors note. Safety issues are a major reason for failure of drugs in clinical trials, and DILI is the most common factor for failure to approve drugs or restrict their use.

There are instances where liver damage caused by certain drugs has been documented. This is the case with acetamino
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Contact: David Greenberg
dgreenbe@wiley.com
201-748-6484
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1-Mar-2006

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