Clinical Research Directory

Interventional AI-Human Collaboration for Steatotic Liver Disease Screening

Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide, affecting nearly 30% of the global population and projected to exceed 55% by 2040. Timely identification and management of intermediate- and high-risk SLD patients are essential, yet early detection remains challenging because current diagnostic modalities, such as biopsy, ultrasonography, and serum indices, are invasive, insensitive, operator-dependent, or difficult to scale. In contrast, non-contrast CT is widely available in routine care and offers substantial potential for opportunistic SLD screening, although this value has not been fully utilized. Our previously developed MAOSS model accurately identifies intermediate- and high-risk individuals, with MAOSS score≥1.6 combined with Fibro Score ≥1.7, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity in our large-scale retrospective study. However, despite these promising retrospective findings, the model has not undergone prospective interventional validation, and it remains unclear whether an AI-guided workflow can truly enhance clinical risk stratification, diagnostic yield, and downstream management in real-world SLD populations. Therefore, a prospective intervention study is needed to determine whether MAOSS-guided identification and recall of at-risk individuals can meaningfully improve fibrosis detection and optimize clinical care pathways for SLD.

German SLD-Registry (Deutsches SLD-Register)

Characterization of patients with steatotic liver disease (SLD) The German SLD-Registry (Deutsches SLD-Register) a project of the German Liver Foundation (Deutsche Leberstiftung), managed by Leberstiftungs-GmbH Deutschland. The German NAFLD-Registry is financially supported by: Advanz Pharma Specialty Medicine Deutschland GmbH und Gilead Sciences GmbH (Grant to German Livber Foundation) sowie Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH (directly via Leberstiftungs-GmbH).

Risk Factors and Prediction Model for Liver-Related Outcomes in Elderly Patients With Steatotic Liver Disease

This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study based on data from the Nanjing Elderly Steatotic Liver Disease Cohort. The study aims to investigate risk factors for liver-related adverse outcomes (including significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related death) and extrahepatic outcomes (new-onset type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease) in elderly patients (aged ≥60 years) with steatotic liver disease. A total of approximately 10,000 participants will be included. Baseline and annual follow-up data on demographics, lifestyle, anthropometric measurements, laboratory tests, abdominal ultrasound, and medication use will be collected. Risk prediction models will be developed using machine learning algorithms. The study is observational and does not involve any intervention.

Screening for MASLD-related Advanced Fibrosis in Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects approximately 25% of the global adult population, 25-30% of whom suffer from metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), increasing the risk of progression to advanced fibrosis (AF) (fibrosis stage F3 or cirrhosis F4). Screening for AF is justified because it is associated with an increased risk of overall, hepatic, and cardiovascular mortality and therefore constitutes a public health issue. Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are identified as a priority target for screening because they are at high risk of AF related to MASLD. The recommendations of the French Association for the Study of the Liver 2020 (afef.asso.fr), the European Association for the Study of the Liver (2024), the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (2022), and the American Association of Diabetes (2025) all recommend a two-step screening process involving the FIB-4 biological score, followed by transient elastography (TE) if the FIB-4 score is \> or = 1.30. Finally, if the TE is ≥8 kPa, the patient is considered to be at intermediate/high risk of AF requiring specialized care to confirm the diagnosis and implement appropriate management, including semi-annual screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in cases of cirrhosis Despite these recommendations, their application in clinical practice remains difficult and requires multidisciplinary collaboration between diabetologists and hepatologists, and between community and hospital sectors, particularly to access TE measures. Since 2018, the Lyon Sud diabetes department (Hospices Civils de Lyon) has implemented an in-hospital AF screening program using TE for T2D patients. However, this screening by private diabetologists has not yet been implemented, mainly due to the lack of a standardized care pathway and difficulty in accessing TE measurements. HYPOTHESIS The implementation of systematic and standardized AF screening in private diabetes practices, in two stages and using ET in diabetes care in accordance with recommendations, would significantly increase the identification of patients with AF and thus improve their access to specialized services and appropriate care.

RTX001 Autologous Engineered Macrophages for Liver Cirrhosis

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of RTX001 in patients with end-stage liver disease. This study is the first time RTX001, a macrophage cell therapy engineered to have an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effect, will be given to humans.

Long-term Follow-up to Determine Outcome in Liver Disease (LOVE Study)

The rational to conduct the LOVE study builds on the lack of available data on outcomes in steatotic liver disease in well characterized patients over a time frame of several years. At current limited data on liver-specific and overall outcome in patients with MASLD, MetALD and ALD are available. Liver histology is the only accepted surrogate to reasonably likely predict outcomes in patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and is currently used in regulatory trials. To overcome the limitations of liver biopsy and use validated non-invasive tests (NITs) to predict outcomes, the LOVE study will be conducted based on existing cohort studies in well pheno- and genotyped patients and will inform on the relevant outcomes based on baseline and ongoing biomarker assessment. The overarching goal is to qualify a NIT for patient identification and preventive measures in the regulatory context.