Active clinical trials for "Cholestasis"

To assess safety and effectiveness in the long term of percutaneous insertion of Biodegradable (BD) Biliary Stents for the treatment of benign biliary strictures, in a single center experience.

This is an exploratory non-therapeutic study to study the microbiome patterns during pregnancy in women with ICP in order to identify specific bacterial strains for further product development.

The purpose of this study is to study the evaluation of the use of metal stents as part of the treatment of benign biliary strictures.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential metal required for normal growth and development. However, exposure to high Mn levels can be toxic to the brain. The objectives of this project are to identify neonatal and young pediatric populations that are at increased risk of excessive brain Mn deposition and altered cognitive and motor development based on their dietary parenteral Mn exposure, and to make sound and evidence-based recommendations for appropriate Mn supplementation and monitoring of infants and young children receiving parenteral nutrition (PN). Our studies are designed to test the hypotheses that, compared with unexposed age-matched controls, infants and young children receiving prolonged Mn-supplemented PN will have increased deposition of Mn in their brains and lower scores on neurodevelopmental, cognitive and psychophysiological assessments.

We wish to develop a protocol for PET/CT examination of humans using the bile acid tracer 11C-cholylsarcosine. This is done by a series of PET/CT examinations of healthy humans and patients with cholestatic disorders.

ICP is known to cause abnormal bile acid homeostasis and to be associated with an increased risk of diseases of the biliary system in later life. There have been small studies (Dann et al. 2006; Wójcicka-Jagodzińska et al. 1989) suggesting that it causes dyslipidaemia (raised lipids) and impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. However the underlying mechanisms of these abnormalities is not known. Similarly the influence of cholestasis on fetal metabolism is not known, and nor is the role of the placenta. It is also not known whether women with ICP have a predisposition to abnormal lipid and glucose homeostasis when they are not pregnant. GDM is characterized by raised plasma glucose levels in pregnant women (in the absence of pre-pregnancy diabetes mellitus). This condition is associated with large-for-gestational age babies and obstructed labour. Women with GDM have increased risk of subsequent type 2 diabetes mellitus, and if they have this condition in a subsequent pregnancy there is an increased risk of stillbirth. This work is important to understand the causes of the metabolic abnormalities associated with ICP and GDM. If we demonstrate abnormal lipid and glucose profiles, these may be of relevance to the fetal complications of both disorders. It will also be of relevance to the future health of affected women and their children.

Our study aims to develop a screening test for biliary atresia (BA) using dry blood spot to improve patient survival by early diagnosis. Newborn screening dry blood spot will be examined for the direct bilirubin (DB), γ-GT or matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) levels. These findings will promote early diagnosis for BA and hence improve the survival.

The purpose of this study it to conduct a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial of carbon dioxide (CO2) versus air insufflation during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

The expression of transporters involved in bile acid homeostasis is differentially regulated during obstructive cholestasis. Bile acids are also substrates of the drug efflux transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) that is highly expressed in the human intestine. Therefore we intend to analyze whether intestinal BCRP expression could be altered during cholestasis.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the inclusion of 1g of intravenous taurine as part of the nitrogen source of parenteral nutrition reduces parenteral nutrition associated cholestatic liver disease, a common side effect of parenteral nutrition.