title: Autoimmune liver diseases in the Asia-Pacific region: Proceedings of APASL symposium on AIH and PBC 2016.
abstract: During the 25th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL 2016) in Tokyo, we organized and moderated an inaugural satellite symposium on the autoimmune liver diseases, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Following the keynote lecture by John M. Vierling (USA), speakers from the Asia-Pacific region provided an up-to-date perspective on the epidemiology, clinical practice and research in AIH and PBC in the Asia-Pacific region. Although epidemiology and clinical features of AIH seem to be similar in East Asia compared to those in western countries, the majority of patients with AIH are detected at an advanced stage and have higher mortality rates in South Asia, indicating an unmet need for earlier diagnosis and the initiation of appropriate immunosuppressive treatment. PBC is more commonly seen in Australia and East Asia. As of 2016, clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for PBC have been published in Japan and China. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is recommended as a first-line therapy by both CPG. Nevertheless, one of the unmet therapeutic needs in PBC is the treatment of patients refractory to or intolerant of UDCA. It is of interest that the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in PBC patients was low in Taiwan and mainland China where the prevalence of CHB is very high. In this review, we overview this exciting and epoch-making symposium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. a-tanaka@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yokosuka
authors.affiliation: Department Head Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weltman
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Bombay Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Deepak N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Amarapurkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Ziauddin University Hospital Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Zaigham
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Diana A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Payawal
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kuei Shan, Taoyuan, Taiwan.|Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Batman State Hospital, Batman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cumali
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Efe
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ersan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozaslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Head of Education and Development, PBC Foundation, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mitchell-Thain
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Sanno Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeniya
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang Hyub
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vierling
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takikawa
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid
keywords: Autoimmune hepatitis; Autoimmune liver diseases; Epidemiology; Primary biliary cholangitis