The NCEPOD report on Alcohol-Related Liver Disease will be launched at the Royal College of Physicians, London on Friday 14 June 2013.

To download a launch programme for the event please click here. To reserve a place at the launch please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it requesting booking details, or alternatively download a launch programme and return the booking form. This should be completed and returned to NCEPOD with payment to reserve your place.

Tom Smith, BSG Chief Executive

The British Society of Gastroenterology is continuing to lobby in the interests of our members, and patients, across gastroenterology and hepatology. As I am sure you are aware, the Government is currently consulting on their Alcohol Strategy which includes provision for a minimum unit price for alcohol of 45p. The BSG is working closely with partners in the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) to ensure that this minimum unit price is brought into action and that it is set at the more effective price of 50p. This is a significant moment in the push for measures to deal with the increasing problems that alcohol poses to the nation's health and we must seize on the opportunity to demonstrate the widespread support of health professionals for these measures. The BSG & AHA have submitted their responses. (The BSG response may be viewed via the link below).

• View BSG response  [ 650 kb ]

'Alcohol use disorders: harmful drinking and alcohol dependence Evidence Update January 2013'

NICE has released a summary of selected new evidence relevant to its clinical guideline 'Alcohol use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence' (2011)

Evidence Updates provide a summary of selected new evidence published since the literature search was last conducted for the accredited guidance they relate to. They reduce the need for individuals, managers and commissioners to search for new evidence. Evidence Updates highlight key points from the new evidence and provide a commentary describing its strengths and weaknesses. They also indicate whether the new evidence may have a potential impact on current guidance. For contextual information, this Evidence Update should be read in conjunction with the relevant clinical guideline, available from the NHS Evidence topic page for alcohol.

• Download evidence update [ 394 kb ]

The BSG, together with the Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) are funding a multicentre audit of management of Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH), a condition managed by most Hepatologists and many Gastroenterologists in the UK.

There have been few randomised trials in AIH and a recent nationwide online survey (Dhaliwal et al Gut 2012; 61:A197) has suggested striking variation in management strategies. The aim of the audit is to assess the outcome of patients AIH across a large part of the UK and its association with different management strategies.

The project will be coordinated by Drs Vikki Gordon and Dermot Gleeson at the Liver Unit, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. Over 20 centres from the North of England and from South Wales have agreed to participate and it is hoped that the audit will also form a basis for future studies of epidemiology and genetics of AIH and for prospective clinical trials. For further information, please contact Dr Gleeson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Picture shows members of the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Liver Unit. Left to right: Dr Dermot Gleeson, Dr Vikki Gordon, Sister Elaine McFarlane, Research Nurse Jayne Jones, Dr Harpreet Dhaliwal, Dr Mohammed Karajeh and Dr Amer Al-Joudeh

Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), the UK’s leading charity fighting childhood liver disease, is to fund a PhD student fellowship at the University of Surrey which will look at the role of vitamin D in the progression of paediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now recognised as the most common cause of childhood liver disease in the UK.

The £74,500 award will fund a three year study, to be led by Dr Bernadette Moore, a lecturer in molecular nutrition at the University, who will be working in collaboration with Kings College Hospital Paediatric Liver Clinic.

"We are thrilled that CLDF have agreed to fund this project which will enable us to find out more about a disease which is affecting increasing numbers of UK children," commented Dr Moore. "The incidence of paediatric NAFLD has risen sharply in past three decades, affecting an estimated 3–9% of all children and up to 70% of obese children."

"Whilst we know that people in the UK have low level vitamin D status during the winter due to the lack of sunlight, children with fatty liver disease have been shown to have particularly low levels and this deficiency is associated with more severe liver disease. This project will examine the diet and specific genes that can affect vitamin D levels in UK children with liver disease."