EM2008D "Acute Liver Failure (ALF) and the ALF Study Group: A Clinical Trial Network for a Rare Disease" (IM GR-081420)
Purpose & Overview: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare syndrome of profound liver cell loss leading to encephalopathy, coagulopathy and death frequently, absent transplantation. The Acute Liver Failure Study Group, based at UT Southwestern, is a clinical trials network funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1997 to better understand the natural history and possible diagnostic and treatment options for these critically ill patients. The aim of the talk is to review both our understanding of ALF as well as how the network has operated to enhance our knowledge of this unusual rare condition.
Target Audience
UT Southwestern faculty, fellows, residents and medical students, community physicians, nurse clinicians, physician assistants and nurses.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:
- List some of the causes of acute liver failure.
- Recognize the clinical features of acute liver failure.
- Provide the rationale for a clinical network for rare diseases.
- Understand the challenges of study enrollment in the ALF setting.
William M. Lee, M.D.
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Digestive & Liver Diseases
Robert J. Fontana, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
University of Michigan
R. Todd Stravitz, M.D.
Distinguished Career Professor of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University
Valerie Durkalski-Mauldin, Ph.D.
Professor of Biostatistics Medical
University of South Carolina
Available Credit
- 1.00 AMA
Price
Required Hardware/software
Activities should be run with recent versions of common browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome