On Friday 29 June 2018, Ditte Marie Kirkegaard-Klitbo will give a talk entitled "Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in HIV Infection: A substudy of the Copenhagen Co-Morbidity (COCOMO) in HIV Infection Liver Study."

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent with an estimated global prevalence of 25%. In people living with HIV (PLWHIV), NAFLD is even more frequent with an estimated prevalence of 35% and with a higher degree of inflammation and liver fibrosis compared to the background population. My research is part of the research consortium The Copenhagen Co-Morbidity (COCOMO) in HIV Infection Study, a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. The COCOMO Liver Study aims to determine i) the prevalence of NAFLD, ii) factors associated with NAFLD and iii) if HIV per se is independently associated with NAFLD severity in PLWHIV compared to the background population. We aim to thoroughly investigate a subgroup of individuals with signs of liver fibrosis or elevated liver enzymes to histologically characterize disease severity. Additionally, we aim to develop a clinical assessment tool to identify HIV positive individuals at risk of NAFLD.

Ditte Marie Kirkegaard-Klitbo is a Ph.D. Fellow at the Department of Infectious Disease at Hvidovre Hospital where she is investigating non-infectious liver diseases in HIV positive individuals.

The talk will be held in the MR Conference Room on Friday 29 June 2018 at 08:30 followed by the Global Excellence Lecture with Dr. Susan Francis.