PBC Awareness - PBC Awareness " emerges as a transformative organization dedicated to serving those affected by Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) in the United States.

PBC Awareness

1 day ago

THE 1-YEAR MARK: WHY YOUR PBC BLOODWORK MATTERS SO MUCH

When you're taking ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) — the standard first-line treatment for PBC — your doctor likely checks your bloodwork regularly. But a new study presented at AASLD 2026 shows just how important that 12-month check-in really is.

Here's the simple version:

Researchers looked at real-world data from nearly 3,000 PBC patients to see if responding well to UDCA at 1 year made a difference in long-term health. They found that it absolutely does.

What they found:
*Patients who responded well to UDCA at 12 months (defined as ALP ≤130 U/L and bilirubin ≤1.0 mg/dL) had a lower 5-year risk of serious liver complications (10.2% vs. 17.8% for non-responders).
*They also had a lower risk of death over 5 years (12.2% vs. 16.3%).
*Non-responders were much more likely to need second-line therapy.

Why this matters for you:

The lead researcher emphasized that response predicts outcomes in real-world care — and that "nonresponders carry a risk." The key takeaway? If you're not responding to UDCA by the 1-year mark, it may be time to talk to your doctor about escalating treatment without delay.

While UDCA works well for many, about 20% to 40% of patients don't respond biochemically at 12 months. That's why monitoring your ALP and bilirubin at that 1-year mark is so important.

👉🏾 Do you know your 12-month lab numbers? If not, add it to your list of questions for your next appointment.

#PBCAwareness #PrimaryBiliaryCholangitis #PBCResearch #LiverHealth #AASLD2026

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Response to Standard PBC Treatment at 1 Year Linked to Lower Long-Term Risks

www.medpagetoday.com

'Response predicts outcomes in real-world care, and nonresponders carry a risk,' researcher says

PBC Awareness

3 days ago

NEW RESEARCH: A STEP CLOSER TO NORMAL LIVER NUMBERS FOR MORE PBC PATIENTS

If you live with PBC, you probably know about ALP (alkaline phosphatase) — a key marker doctors look at to see how active the disease is. For many patients, getting ALP back into the normal range has been a challenge.

But new results from the phase 3 ELSPIRE trial are offering real hope.

Researchers looked at patients whose ALP was still elevated despite taking the standard first-line medication (UDCA). They tested adding elafibranor to their treatment.

The results were striking:
✅ 85.3% of patients taking elafibranor achieved normal ALP levels, compared to only 23.3% on placebo.
📉 ALP dropped by an average of 36.5% in the elafibranor group, with improvements seen as early as 4 weeks.
🛡️ Safety was generally consistent with earlier studies — no new safety concerns emerged. Weight gain of more than 5% was more common with elafibranor (22.6% vs. 6.7%).

Why does this matter?

For years, the goal was just to lower ALP to an "acceptable" level. But a growing body of evidence suggests that getting ALP back to normal may be linked to better long-term liver outcomes. As one of the study authors put it, these results support the idea that "earlier treatment with a second-line drug like elafibranor" may be worth discussing with your care team.

Important context: This study included mostly White participants, and more research is ongoing to confirm long-term outcomes. But for many patients, these numbers represent real hope. This is a reminder that it is necessary for patients of color to participate in these studies so scientists will understand the efficacy of drugs on every patient.

👉🏾 If you're on UDCA and your numbers are still elevated, what questions do you have for your doctor? Share below. (Doctors take note!)

#PBCAwareness #PrimaryBiliaryCholangitis #PBCResearch #LiverHealthMatters

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Elafibranor Added to UDCA Normalizes ALP in PBC

www.medscape.com

Adding elafibranor to UDCA normalizes alkaline phosphatase in 85% of patients with PBC, results of the phase 3 ELSPIRE trial show.