A-LiNK: Improving Outcomes in Autoimmune Liver Disease

The A-LiNK study is creating a clinical registry for patients with autoimmune liver diseases — specifically autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis (ASC). These are uncommon conditions where the immune system attacks the liver or bile ducts, causing progressive inflammation and scarring. By tracking large numbers of patients over time, researchers hope to better understand how these diseases behave, identify predictors of disease progression, and improve treatment decision-making. To participate, you must have a confirmed clinical diagnosis of one of these three autoimmune liver conditions (AIH, PSC, or ASC). There are no age restrictions mentioned, making this broadly inclusive. People who have previously had a liver transplant are excluded from participation. Participants will contribute clinical and outcomes data to the registry over time. This kind of real-world observational registry is invaluable in rare diseases like autoimmune liver conditions, where individual centers see too few patients to draw reliable conclusions on their own. Pooling data across multiple centers enables researchers to identify patterns, develop better prognostic tools, and design more targeted clinical trials for patients with these challenging conditions.