JEDDAH — Due to high rates of diabetes and obesity in the Kingdom, Fatty Liver Disease, which is associated with metabolic syndromes, will become a major health issue in the Kingdom in coming decades, according to experts. On the sidelines of the Highlights from AASLD's Liver Meeting 2016, which was organized by the Saudi Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and Transplant (SASLT) in conjunction with the American Association of Liver Disease (AASLD), Saudi Gazette interviewed Dr. Faisal Aba Alkhail, vice president of SASLT, Section Head of Transplant Hepatology at King Faisal Specialized Hospital in Riyadh and head of the scientific committee of the event. Aba Alkhail said recent statistics showed that Fatty Liver Disease was gradually increasing in Saudi Arabia because of the high prevalence of diabetes and obesity. He however said Hepatitis B and C accounted for the majority of liver disease cases among patients in the Kingdom. During the meeting at Jeddah InterContinental Hotel, Aba Alkhail said people can reduce the risk of developing the diseases by eating healthy, playing sports and dieting. According to recent research, there are around 100,000 people in the Kingdom with Hepatitis C, but due to new medications and treatments, the incidence of Hepatitis C is decreasing. The chief executive officer of the American Association of Liver Disease (AASLD), Steven Echard, said, "There are several new direct-acting antivirals (DAA), probably six different combinations of DAA, that are available. The efficacy of those drugs depends on the type of Hepatitis C. All of those new therapies have been out for the last 3 or 4 years." He mentioned that one of the main problems with Hepatitis C in the United States — he is sure it also exists in the Kingdom — is that a person does not always have the disease symptoms right away, so they can have Hepatitis C for many years without realizing. When Aba Alkhail was asked about the liver transplants percentage in Saudi Arabia, he said the demand for liver transplants is decreasing in the Kingdom, yet the number is still high. He explained that 60 percent of patients receiving treatment for liver diseases at King Faisal Specialist Hospital would need transplant surgeries. This high percentage is because of the complications from Hepatitis C, which includes liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. However, the new medications that are used since 2013 would decrease the rate of Hepatitis C complications and will lead to a subsequent decrease in the need for liver transplants. He added that every year around 130 liver transplant surgeries take place at KFSH. Aba Alkhail said two factors are affecting the number of liver transplants in the Kingdom; the low rate of organ donation from brain-dead patients and live donors. According to Mohamed Alghamdi, President of The Saudi Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and Transplant (SASLT) and consultant in Hepatology and Gastroenterology, the meeting is a unique occasion where the AASLD officially endorsed such activity outside the United States for the first time. Alghamdi explained that the meeting focused on new treatments and other topics related to liver diseases, particularly, Hepatitis C in Saudi Arabia and globally. He added that aligning with the Saudi Vision 2030, the meeting was vital since it enabled the Saudi medical community to be updated in its approach toward the treatment of liver diseases in the Kingdom. One of the meeting outcomes would be scientific partnerships.
