An MRI-derived non-invasive tissue biomarker—LiverMultiScan-cT1—was found to have improved autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) management by identifying patients in biochemical remission as well as patients in deep remission, with undetected, active sub-clinical disease at a high risk of disease relapse, according to a study published in eClinicalMedicine – The Lancet.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic, life-long condition, characterized by liver inflammation. Patients with AIH often experience recurring periods of subdued disease activity, experiencing few or no symptoms, followed by disease flares and worsening liver health – making disease management exceptionally challenging for clinicians. Clinical monitoring of AIH currently relies on blood biomarkers, which are non-specific and cannot detect small, but clinically relevant, changes in disease activity. Therefore, there is an urgent unmet need to adopt improved non-invasive techniques that can accurately stage and monitor disease, allowing for individualized patient management in AIH.
This new study by Kings College Hospital and Oxford University Hospitals demonstrated that cT1 measurements obtained with Perspectum’s LiverMultiScan performed better than blood biomarkers and FibroScan in identifying those patients likely to experience disease progression, despite being in biochemical remission.
“I’d like people to know that LiverMultiScan is a game-changer for clinicians and healthcare systems and a life changer for patients,” says Pamela Tollett, a patient living with AIH for over two decades. “Unfortunately, the current method of monitoring AIH, using blood markers, is not an accurate reflection of the extent of inflammation – blood work can be totally normal whilst the disease is bubbling away, causing damage. Regular LiverMultiScan monitoring will mean swifter and more accurate clinical responses, enabling medication to be used at optimal levels and duration.”
Furthermore, this additional information had a positive impact on the clinicians’ intended management plan. As the majority of patients with autoimmune hepatitis require life-long monitoring, LiverMultiScan can help clinicians identify those with active sub-clinical disease, despite having normal blood markers, to provide tailored clinical treatment.
“LiverMultiScan positively impacted physicians’ decision making with clinicians reporting high confidence in its utility in clinical management of patients with autoimmune hepatitis. This first-of-its-kind, real-world study by Kings College Hospital and Oxford University Hospitals, demonstrates that Perspectum’s quantitative MRI method identified active disease and predicted risk of disease relapse,” says Matt Kelly, chief innovation officer, Perspectum.
