Urinary Transglutaminase 2 as a Biomarker for Kidney Allograft Fibrosis
Kidney Allograft FibrosisKidney Transplant Failure and RejectionThe aim of this study is to verify the ability of transglutaminase type 2 to predict rejection or chronic allograft nephropathy of renal allograft. On the basis of biomolecular mechanisms aggravating chronic allograft nephropathy, we eventually expect to develop the remedy to prevent chronic allograft nephropathy after kidney transplantation.
Cystic Fibrosis Reproductive and Sexual Health Collaborative: Building Online Research Partnerships...
Cystic FibrosisPatient EngagementThis is a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute engagement effort aimed at training researchers/providers and patients to work in research teams together online throughout the research process (including: development, design, and dissemination) to address critical gaps in their care. This is a change from the typical research done with people with CF as they are frequently isolated from other members of the CF community because of infection control guidelines that restrict in-person contact to avoid the spread of bacteria between patients. This project has four aims: build capacity for PCOR knowledge and skills applicable for longitudinal online engagement, create and disseminate a best practices PCOR user guide for populations that solely engage online, to create an interactive web-based version of our User Guide through a survey and three modified Delphi rounds, and to create a comprehensive training manual for conducting PCOR online (step-by-step instructions), which will incorporate the aforementioned user guide.
Antimicrobial Resistance in Cirrhotic Patients
CirrhosisCirrhotic patients are more vulnerable to bacterial infection, and infection is one of the most common causes of acute liver disease decompensation.
Iron Metabolism in Cystic Fibrosis
Iron MetabolismCystic FibrosisIron is a biologically essential micronutrient. Iron deficiency alters erythropoiesis and is considered as a major cause of disability worldwide. Interestingly, iron overload is never observed in cystic fibrosis contrarily to others chronic respiratory diseases. Moreover, iron deficiency reported prevalence in CF is very high (up to 60% in retrospective series) and is correlated to an alteration of respiratory function. Cystic fibrosis patients should be tested annually for iron deficiency. Serum ferritin is the best diagnosis tool for iron deficiency (specificity 87% for a threshold < 30 µg/L). Previously published studies used less performant markers such as serum iron (< 12 µmol/L) or transferrin saturation (< 12%), which are markedly influenced by the systemic inflammation. CF patients experiences frequent pulmonary exacerbations leading to systemic inflammation: iron stores should therefore be assessed at optimal time with no inflammation. The I-MUCO study aims to determine the exact prevalence of iron deficiency in CF patients. We aimed to identify risk factors for iron deficiency onset.
An Observational Cohort Study Evaluating Fatty Liver Disease and Liver Fibrosis in Moderate to Severe...
Psoriasis ChronicLiver Fibrosis2 more• Main objectives and outcome measures. Establish prevalence of and factors contributing to fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis in patients with psoriasis. Fatty liver disease diagnosed via ultrasound. Liver fibrosis diagnosed by liver biopsy or non-invasive tests of fibrosis including transient elastography, ultrasound, serum markers of fibrosis including procollagen-3-N-terminal peptide (P3NP). Evaluate non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis in the psoriasis population. Namely transient elastography, standard liver function tests and P3NP. Evaluate the impact of psoriasis disease severity and comorbidities including metabolic syndrome on response to treatment in patients with psoriasis. Data on co-morbid disease collected through questionnaires and review of medical records. Response to treatment assessed using psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) physician global assessment (PGA) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI). Study population: 380 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis will be prospectively recruited to the study. Chief investigator: Professor Jonathan Barker. Co-investigator: Professor Catherine Smith Sponsor/funding organization: Pfizer and Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guys and St Thomas Hospitals Trust
Usefulness of Multi-parametric, Quantitative MR Imaging for Staging of Hepatic Fibrosis in the Patients...
Liver FibrosisLiver fibrosis has been considered as irreversible change. However, recent study showed that early stage liver fibrosis could be reversible and a lot of new drugs are now developing or developed including anti-viral treatment. Liver biopsy is considered as golden standard for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. But biopsy specimen through biopsy only consists of 1/50000 of the whole liver and heterogeneity of liver fibrosis, accurate diagnosis of liver fibrosis is still challenging. Furthermore, its invasive nature, repeated biopsy is practically almost impossible. Hence, non-invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis is important. In this study we hypothesized that multi-parametric MR imaging including MR elastography, conventional DWI, and IVIM can predict changes of liver stiffness after anti-viral therapy in patients with chronic liver disease. We will enroll 60 biopsy-proven patients and perform multi-parametric MR imaging at the enrollment and one year later to evaluate changes in quantitative values in MR.
Evaluating Ultrasound, Elastometry, Minilaparoscopy and Histology for the Diagnosis of Compensated...
CirrhosisProspective study to evaluate the dignostic value of b-mode ultrasound, elastometry and mini-laparoscopic guided liver biopsy for the diagnosis of compensated liver cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis-Diabetes
Glucose Metabolism DisordersGlucose metabolism disorders (GMD) can be present in an overt and a subclinical way. They have negative impact in survival of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Their prevalence has not been determined in compensated cirrhotic patients.
Non-Invasive Evaluation of Fibrosis and Steatosis in Chronic Hepatopathy
Chronic Liver DiseaseSteatohepatitis1 moreThe purpose of this study is to evaluate non-invasive parameters for staging and grading of chronic hepatopathy in comparison to liver biopsy.
Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI)Technology in Prediction of Liver Fibrosis
Liver FibrosisBackground: In patients with chronic liver diseases, liver fibrosis staging is crucial for hazard evaluation of future disease complication development and thus for the optimal decision making on treatment selections.In the era of antiviral and antifibrotic treatments, clinical and research demands are also increasing for non-invasive surveillance of liver fibrosis to evaluate the progression or regression. However, local baseline data on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using ARFI technique is still lacking in Taiwan, where viral hepatitides are highly endemic. Aim: Using the ARFI elastosonography, we are dedicated to the aims to recruit patients based on strict but appropriate criteria, to complete the correlation and validity studies between ARFI quantification and the referenced METAVIR fibrosis scoring and to conduct subsequent innovative studies on liver diseases. Materials and Methods: We plan to perform the ARFI quantification for each HBV or HCV-infected patient immediately followed by priorly scheduled conventional liver biopsy for METAVIR scoring during the same session of examination. Statistics: The first year's study using ARFI will focus on the correlation testings and validity studies using receiver operating characteristics.