Dr. Chao Wu: Current State and Prospects of Clinical Cure for Hepatitis B

Dr. Chao Wu: Current State and Prospects of Clinical Cure for Hepatitis B

2024.01.22
Clinical cure of hepatitis B has been a hot topic in the field of viral hepatitis, and the 58th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL 2023) and the 2023 EASL Congress unveiled numerous advancements in new drug research. Dr. Chao Wu and his team from the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University have been engaged in both clinical and basic research on viral hepatitis. In the 2023 EASL Congress, their team contributed 14 research findings, with three of them receiving the Young Investigator Awards. Hepatology Digest invited Dr. Chao Wu to discuss the current state of clinical cure for hepatitis B and analyze future prospects, as well as his thoughts on the overall development of liver diseases.
Dr. Yong-an Ye’s Team: Predicting Virological Recurrence in Chronic Hepatitis B with Machine Learning After Entecavir Discontinuation

Dr. Yong-an Ye’s Team: Predicting Virological Recurrence in Chronic Hepatitis B with Machine Learning After Entecavir Discontinuation

2024.01.22
Currently, most chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients cannot achieve a cure. While guidelines suggest that some CHB patients can discontinue nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) after consolidation therapy, virological recurrence remains common. Early virological recurrence typically predicts disease flare-up; however, there are limited biomarkers for assessing the risk of virological recurrence after treatment cessation. Dr. Yong-an Ye 's team at the Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (Chinese Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Liver Diseases) conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) and constructed a new predictive model based on serological markers to identify the risk of early virological recurrence in Chinese CHB patients after discontinuing entecavir (ETV). The findings were presented in poster format during the 58th European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) International Liver Congress 2023
Dr. Minghua Zheng’s Team: AI-Based Digital Pathology Provides New Insights into NASH Fibrosis Reversal Induced by Lifestyle Intervention

Dr. Minghua Zheng’s Team: AI-Based Digital Pathology Provides New Insights into NASH Fibrosis Reversal Induced by Lifestyle Intervention

2024.01.22
Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common cause of chronic liver disease, and the degree of liver fibrosis is an important factor determining its clinical prognosis. Lifestyle intervention is the cornerstone of NASH treatment and can improve liver fibrosis. However, the specific effects of lifestyle intervention on micro-level liver fibrosis reversal are not clear. Dr. Minghua Zheng's team at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University used quantitative digital pathology technology qFibrosis to assess liver fibrosis characteristics in depth and explore the impact of the intensity of lifestyle intervention on NASH fibrosis. The relevant results were selected for poster presentation at the 58th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL2023) and the 2023 EASL Congress.
The Mysteries of Hepatitis D: Key Molecular Determinants in Virus Replication and Assembly

The Mysteries of Hepatitis D: Key Molecular Determinants in Virus Replication and Assembly

2024.01.19
Dr. Wenshi Wang is the Principal Investigator of the hepatitis virus research group, Xuzhou Medical University, China. He obtained his Ph.D. from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and completed post-doc research training at Heidelberg University, Germany in the field of hepatitis viruses. He has contributed more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, with 20 first or corresponding authorships in peer-reviewed academic journals such as Journal of Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Trends in Microbiology, Science Signaling, and JHEP Reports. He received the Kiem Award from the Royal Netherlands Society for Microbiology (2017), the EASL Sheila Sherlock Fellowship (2018) from the European Association for the Study of Liver, and the 1st Prize NVGE Gastro-intestinal Research Award from the Netherlands Society of Gastroenterology (2019). Currently, his group is committed to basic and translational research on hepatitis viruses with the following research focus:(1) Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that orchestrate the hepatitis virus replication cycles; (2) Studying the host-virus interaction by employing molecular and cellular biology techniques; (3) Developing antiviral candidates and understanding their mode of action; (4) Studying the host metabolic changes and the possible consequences on virus infection.