Active clinical trials for "Liver Cirrhosis"

Patients with advanced cirrhosis have enteric dysbiosis with small bowel bacterial overgrowth and translocation of bacteria and their products across the gut epithelial barrier. This culminates in systemic inflammation and endotoxemia which induces innate immune dysfunction predisposing to infection and development of complications such as bleeding, sepsis and hepatic encephalopathy. It also plays a key role in the natural history of cirrhosis by influencing the rate of progression to advanced liver disease and terminal liver failure. The investigators propose an intervention utilising Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) from a healthy donor to modify the gut microbiome alleviating gut dysbiosis and immune dysfunction. This may ultimately reduce the progression to chronic liver failure and the development of infection and organ dysfunction. The primary objective of this study will be to assess whether stabilising gut dysbiosis with FMT in patients with advanced cirrhosis is both feasible and safe.

This study aims to demonstrate that patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and B (CHB) experiencing regression of liver cirrhosis after effective antiviral therapy have decreased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Primary aim is to determine the incidence of HCC in patients with cirrhosis secondary to CHC and CHB, after treatment is provided, and to identify the magnitude of the decreased risk for HCC in patients experiencing regression of fibrosis. As a secondary aim, environmental risk factors for HCC development will be sought, in order to determine a subset of patients in whom it will be safe to stop surveillance.

Patients with liver cirrhosis are at risk for development of renal failure, usually after a precipitating event such as infection or bleeding. This form of renal failure has a high morbidity and mortality and may be partly caused by increased intra-abdominal pressure secondary to ascites. Recent studies have shown that paracentesis (and the resulting decreased IAP) can increase urinary output and decrease renal arterial resistive index in patients with hepatorenal syndrome (a very pronounced form of renal failure in cirrhosis patients). The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of Paracentesis on intra-abdominal pressure and kidney function in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites across a wider range of kidney function. Kidney function will be evaluated using several estimates of glomerular filtration rate and measures of kidney injury i.e. cystatin C, serum NGAL, creatinine clearance, urinary output and renal arterial resistive index.

Cirrhosis is an end stage in liver disease leading to replacement of normal liver tissue with regenerative nodules surrounded by fibrous bands in response to chronic liver injury. It is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and the thirteenth leading cause of death globally. Patients with cirrhosis have decreased spontaneous vascular resistance leading to hypotension. The mechanism of hypotension in cirrhosis is thought to be a complex result of the presence of increased level of circulating vasodilators such a nitric oxide coupled with reduced resistance to vasoconstrictors and increased sensitivity to vasodilators.

Ascites is the accumulation of fluid within the peritoneal cavity of the abdomen. It is a frequent complication of cirrhosis that is associated with significant morbidity and poor quality of life. Large-volume ascites has been associated with impaired pulmonary function. In a previous study, the presence and severity of ascites were determined to be significant determinants of fatigue. In this study, we will determine whether large-volume ascites contributes to fatigue by assessing the response to drainage of ascites by means of a procedure called large-volume paracentesis. We hypothesize that treatment of ascites with a single large-volume paracentesis leads to decreased fatigue and improved quality of life and that this improvement is associated with improved sleep pattern. 20 patients with cirrhosis with refractory ascites requiring regular drainage of ascites fluid by large-volume paracenteses will be recruited for the study. All patients will undergo a complete clinical and physical examination for liver function, including blood tests. Hepatic encephalopathy, a change in mental status associated with liver dysfunction, will be assessed by obtaining historical data and by means of simple bedside neuropsychological examinations. Study visits will take place on two consecutive days, with each visit lasting approximately 2-3 hours. Immediately prior to a large-volume paracentesis, patients will complete standardized questionnaires for fatigue severity, quality of life, quality of sleep, and a physical assessment of fatigue by means of a 6-minute walk test. Repeat evaluations will be performed 1 day after the procedure. Statistical analysis will then be performed to determine the effect of the paracentesis on the various clinical assessments.

Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among Asian men. If diagnosed early the disease is treatable with surgery. Current conventional imaging modalities have limitations to early detection. This study proposes to use 18F-FGal and 18F-FDG PET/CT scans to compare the clinical efficacy of diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer) using these PET/CT scans.

Malnutrition and muscle wasting are common consequences of life-threatening, chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Such diseases include liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis and short bowel syndrome. Malnutrition and muscle wasting increase the risk of complications, reduce the life expectancy and impair the quality of life. The development of malnutrition and muscle wasting is different, as is the diagnosis and nutritional treatment. There are also different mechanisms of origin for the underlying diseases. The aim of the study is to compare data related to nutrition and physical condition of patients with liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis and short bowel syndrome. Malnutrition and muscle wasting within the specific diseases will be characterized and possible correlations will be identified. For this, malnourished and non-malnourished patients of the different diseases are compared with controls patients with non-specific complaints of the gastrointestinal tract as well as with healthy study participants. Data on food intake, physical activity, body composition and body measurements as well as muscle strength and muscle function are recorded. Blood values as well as transport and barrier properties of the intestine will also be examined.

The purpose of this study is to recruit a random and representative sample of individuals within several Zambian communities for markers of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and to characterize chronic HBV infection and indications for treatment.

Esophageal variceal bleeding is one of the most lethal complications of liver cirrhosis. In the early stage of liver cirrhosis, the prediction of esophageal varices is very important for guiding the clinical decision making of primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding.

Use of Ribavirin could affect hematologic profile of the patients negatively. With advent of new antiviral therapy, the preexisting hematologic changes may alter or corrected after treatment. However, this point is still not properly studied.