Gerard E Mullin
Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA
Title: Vitamin D status predicts outcome of chronic liver disease
Biography
Biography: Gerard E Mullin
Abstract
Vitamin D and its role in immunity, inflammation and chronic disease pathogenesis has been the subject of many scientific investigations. The progression of the chronic liver disease (CLD) to cirrhosis is the result of an imbalance between the production and dissolution of the extracellular matrix. Development of liver fibrosis in the setting of chronic hepatic inflammation and injury is orchestrated by many cell types, including hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). The significance of vitamin D deficiency in CLD and cirrhosis is emerging in the literature. We systematically evaluated the literature for the relationship of vitamin D to fibrogenic liver disease by utilizing PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, Cochrane Database, OVID and Lilacs as part of a search protocol. Low vitamin D status predicts progression of non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and then to cirrhosis and appears to predict survival. Low vitamin D status contributes to resistance to anti-viral therapy for viral hepatitis with improved response rates in those having vitamin D sufficiency. This session will review the literature, the putative mechanisms for vitamin D’s apparent effect on CLD outcome and the importance of monitoring of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels for prognostication and intervention.