Active clinical trials for "Fibrosis"

Abstract: Fatty liver most frequently corresponds to a fat overload of the liver. It is usually classified as alcoholic steatosis or non-alcoholic steatosis. In the case of non alcoholic fatty liver overload, the histological spectrum ranges from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH) which associates inflammation to steatosis, with a risk of progression to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Obese patients are at particular risk of NASH. Screening of these hepatic lesions is difficult especially as they may exist while the liver tests are normal. The diagnosis of NASH is currently done by liver biopsy, which exposes them in particular to the risk of hemorrhagic complications. Number of subjects required: According to the literature and data collected Louis Mourier in the recent years, the inclusion of 200 patients would examine 20-40 patients with severe histological steatosis and steatohepatitis. All patients will be included in Louis Mourier hospital. Follow-up: one month Search duration: 37 months Duration inclusions: 36 months The total duration of participation for a patient will be one month. Methodology: It is a monocentric, prospective study evaluating the value of noninvasive tests for the diagnosis of hepatic lesions in morbid obese patients. The "open " MRI system allows access to MRI for all obese patients (maximum weight 250 kg). Three of such systems are available in France and liver pathology can be explored only on the system of Louis Mourier. The reference method is liver histology; studied tests are abdominal MRI, Fibroscan / CAP, and serum tests. Examinations required specifically for research Examinations required specifically for the research is abdominal MRI, FibroScan/ CAP and serum tests. Primary endpoint : To validate the use of abdominal MRI, the FibroScan/ CAP and serum tests for finding severe steatosis and / or NASH, specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values of these tests are calculated. The gold standard is the result of histology on liver biopsy, with a morphometric study of these parameters. ROC curves are used to determine the best compromise between sensitivity and specificity. The secondary endpoints were: Histological lesions of liver fibrosis. Quantification of abdominal fat by MRI (in the form of three variables of interest: quantification of the surface of the visceral fat, of subcutaneous fat and of intrahepatic fat assessed by the percentage loss of signal

Background: Portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) featuring the latest integrated oxygen conserving devices (OCDs) provide greater patient accessibility and mobility during ambulation and travel. Recent POCs are compact, lightweight, battery-operated, and require no refill-time, thus meeting patients' clinical and lifestyle needs. There is, however, a lack of research on the clinical performance of the latest POCs that could help to determine their ability to maintain patients' oxygen saturations ≥ 90 % during exercise. Aim: The purpose of this study is to compare the ability of three POCs, with maximum oxygen production capabilities of 950 to 3000 ml per minute, to maintain oxygen saturations ≥ 90 % in patients with chronic lung disease during exercise. Method: Six minute walk tests (6-MWTs) will be administered in order to measure oxygen saturations by pulse oximetry (SpO2) in up to 20 patients with a diagnosis of either Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) with documented exertional oxygen desaturations of ≤ 85% on room air. All participants will participate in 4 different 6-minute walk tests: the first will be a control walk performed with the participants' current oxygen system set at their prescribed exertional flow rate. Then, the participants will perform a walk test with each of the three POCs set at the units' maximum pulse dose setting. The order in which the participants use the POCs will be randomly assigned using a sequence generator. Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that all three POCs will provide oxygen saturations ≥ 90 % during exercise in patients with chronic lung disease with moderate to severe exertional oxygen desaturation.

Anyone who practices clinical medicine will understand that socially disadvantaged children will have worse health outcomes, no matter what the underlying condition might be. There is limited prospective data on the effects of social deprivation on children in BC and there is none concerning the effects of social deprivation on children with chronic diseases. In order to generate relevant data for those who manage children with chronic diseases in BC, the investigators wish to perform an observational study of the relationship between questionnaire-derived social variables and measured outcomes in children with cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Our working hypothesis is that there is an association between social determinants of health (income, education, race) and health outcomes in children with cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes and chronic renal failure, that is independent of access to health care (assessed by distance to nearest specialty clinic and number of clinic visits in the last year).

This study is designed as a hospital-based cross-sectional and randomized placebo-controlled intervention trial. One hundred and fifty patients with either cirrhosis or cirrhosis combined with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who meet the inclusion criteria will be recruited from Taichung General Veterans Hospital. One hundred patients will be randomly assigned to either the 1) placebo group (n = 25); 2) vitamin B-6 group; (50 mg/d, n = 25); 3) glutathione (GSH) group (500 mg/d, n = 25); or 4) vitamin B-6 (50 mg/d) plus GSH (500 mg/d) group (n = 25) for 3 mo. Data on demography, anthropometry and medical history will be collected. Patients with cirrhosis or cirrhosis combined with HCC will have fasting blood drawn in the clinics. Additionally, patients who participated in the intervention study will have blood drawn at month 0, 1, 2 and 3 during intervention period. Hematological measurements, plasma vitamin B-6 status, GSH, inflammatory markers, homocysteine, cysteine, SAM, SAH, oxidative stress indicator, oxidized GSH and GSH related antioxidant enzyme activities will be analyzed.

The goal of this study is to identify chemical compounds in the blood and sputum (i.e., biomarkers) that are associated with objective measurements of health status in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). This study builds upon observations that blood levels of hepcidin-25, a protein that regulates how the body uses and stores iron, vary during CF pulmonary exacerbation (CFPE).

YKL-40 is proposed as a biomarker of various inflammatory disease diabetes and lung disease including cystic fibrosis. In those cross-sectional studies, a unique value of YKL-40 is used to correlate with clinical, physiological, or biological determinants of disease severity (like FEV1 for example in lung disease). There is only one longitudinal study that showed a correlation between circulating levels of YKL-40 and the decline of lung function in smokers sampled from the general population. In order to better understand the potential role of YKL-40 in CF pathophysiology, and to determine its potential role as a biomarker of disease evolution, it is essential to proceed with further clinical evaluation. The investigators propose to perform an observational prospective cohort study to determine if variation of YKL-40 concentration over 24 months correlates with the clinical evolution of the patients.

Cirrhotic patients are predisposed to intestinal dysmotility, bacterial overgrowth, and increased intestinal permeability all leading to an increase in bacterial translocation and increased endotoxemia. Rifaximin is an antibiotic that is virtually non-absorbed after oral administration and exhibits broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against both aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms within the gastrointestinal tract. It has been suggested that oral prophylactic antibiotics or bowel decontamination might improve long-term outcomes in patients with cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to explore the suitable dose of rifaximin to alleviate endotoxemia and prevent the complications of advanced cirrhosis.

The portal vein thrombosis (PVT) can complicate medical conditions like liver cirrhosis (LC), neoplasms, myeloproliferative diseases, thrombophilic genotypes, infections, inflammatory diseases, trauma and surgery. LC is an important predisposing disease and is responsible for about 20% of all cases. However, data regarding the PVT in cirrhosis are insufficient. Early studies have shown that, in absence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the PVT can occur in approximately 10% of cirrhotic patients. Most of studies are in support of a prevalence between 5 and 20% of patients with LC. A study in transplant recipients, has documented that in variable etiology cirrhosis, the PVT was present in 15.7% of patients, a higher percentage was found in patients with liver cancer (34.8%), while primary biliary cirrhosis (7.9%) and sclerosing cholangitis (3.6%) are less frequently complicated by PVT. The PVT development is due to stagnation in the portal circulation, but alterations in the sense of inherited or acquired pro-coagulant may favor its appearance. The causal association of PVT with bleeding and bowel infarction suggests that the PVT may reduce survival in cirrhosis, but data are lacking on this issue. It is also not known whether asymptomatic patients with PVT have a different survival compared to cirrhotic patients without PVT. Further studies should be conducted to clarify this issue. Likewise, prospective studies are needed to better identify risk factors predisposing to PVT in LC patients as well as to clarify the relationship between cirrhosis severity and PVT. The impact of PVT on the natural history of cirrhosis is an issue today still debated. The PVT not only favour life-threatening complications (gastrointestinal bleeding and mesenteric thrombosis) but could also contribute to a deterioration of liver function by reducing portal flow. Obtaining such information would be of crucial importance considering that the evidence of increased mortality related to PVT in liver cirrhosis may indicate the need for randomized controlled trials to clarify the potential effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy to improve the survival. To this purpose it's proposed to establish an Italian register of patients with cirrhosis. In the second phase of the project is planned a 2-years follow-up program in order to assess whether the PVT be an additional risk factor for mortality or deterioration of the natural history in patients with cirrhosis.

The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a well-established procedure for the treatment of portal hypertensive bleeding, refractory ascites and vascular diseases of the liver. The major drawbacks of this procedure are shunt dysfunction and portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE). The availability of self-expandable polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stentgrafts (PTFE-SGs) has dramatically improved the long-term patency of TIPS. However, the incidence of PSE remains a threatening complication in about 50% of patients. The Investigators hypothesized that under-dilated PTFE-SGs would not self-expand to nominal diameter and their under-dilation would be safe and could reduce the rate of post-TIPS encephalopathy, while maintaining clinical efficacy. Aim of this proof-of-concept exploratory study is to determine whether "under-dilated TIPS" is a feasible procedure that reduces the incidence of PSE while maintaining clinical efficacy.

Shortness of breath (dyspnea) during exercise is a major source of distress and is a commonly reported symptom in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). A recent treatment option known as Orkambi, which combines the drugs lumacaftor and ivacaftor, may be used in patients with CF to help improve lung health. However, the effects of this combination therapy on dyspnea and exercise performance, a known predictor of survival in CF, are not clear. The investigators aim to understand the effects of Orkambi on these symptoms and to gain new insight into the potential health improvements in CF from using this treatment option.