Active clinical trials for "Liver Cirrhosis"

Open-label, prospective, single-arm, multicenter study to determine effects of Ertugliflozin on liver fat, liver fibrosis & glycemic control in subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)/Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) targeting HCV have revolutionized the treatment of HCV. The efficacy of DAA-based therapy can depend on patient-related factors such as treatment experience, cirrhosis, but also on viral genotype. The high prevalence of genotype 3, which is considered difficult to cure, remains a challenge because many oral DAAs are less effective for this genotype, particularly subtype 3b than for others. Current guidance generally recommends sofosbuvir (SOF)/velpatasvir (VEL) ± ribavirin (RBV), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir and SOF/VEL/voxilaprevir (VOX) as first-line therapy for genotype 3, and an interferon-based regimen - SOF plus pegylated interferon and ribavirin is still recommended as an alternative treatment option. These recommendations are based on clinical data generated in regions where genotype 3a predominates. Our recent study indicated that sofosbuvir plus ribavirin for 24 weeks in subjects with HCV genotype 3 infection resulted in high rates of SVR. However, the SVR12 rate among subjects with genotype 3b was lower than that observed in subjects with genotype 3a infection, particularly among treatment-experienced subjects with cirrhosis. Our study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks or SOF/VEL/VOX for 12 weeks in DAAs treatment naïve HCV subjects with GT3b, compensated cirrhosis in China.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common hereditary disease in Central Europe. The disease is caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). In the liver, fibrotic remodeling can lead to liver cirrhosis in the long term. Early detection of CF hepatopathy is essential to therapeutically slow down the progression of fibrotic remodeling mechanisms. Newborns suffering from CF have a significantly increased risk for the occurrence of meconium ileus and also with advancing age there are symptoms ranging from chronic constipation to Distal Intestinal Obstruction Syndrome (DIOS), due to a reduction of intestinal motility. In this study, the degree of liver fibrosis will now be investigated in adult patients with cystic fibrosis using Multispectral Optoacoustic Imaging (MSOT). In addition, gastrointestinal passage will be studied non-invasively to investigate another affection of the gastrointestinal system.

Children with decompensated cirrhosis are more prone to develop various complications. The pathogenesis of cirrhotic complications (ascites, hyponatremia, acute kidney injury) includes release of vasodilatory molecules like nitric oxide, damage associated molecular pathogens (DAMPs) and pattern associated molecular pathogens (PAMPs) secondary to bacterial translocation, which causes splanchnic bed vasodilation resulting in activation of renin-angiotensin and aldosterone axis (RAAS) causing sodium and water retention and renal vasoconstriction. The development of complications in these children may result in death or may preclude them from reaching upto liver transplantation. Midodrine is an α1 adrenergic receptor agonist, which increases vascular tone causing rise in the blood pressure, thereby improving renal perfusion and causes RAAS deactivation. The effects of midodrine is documented in reduction of refractory ascites, hepatorenal syndrome and hyponatremia. Albumin is a protien that works by both increasing the colloidal oncotic pressure and improving systemic circulation as well as by effecting the body with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. We have already demonstrated the safety and efficacy of midodrine as well as albumin in cirrhotic children. However, none of these drugs alone provided survival benefit to the patients. Hence, we have planned this study with the ojective to evaluate if combining these 2 drugs (midodrine and albumin) would further reduce the complications and improve the survival in decompensated cirrhotic children.

The goal of this pilot, randomized, single-blind clinical trial is to estimate the effect size of a high and low mean arterial pressure (MAP)-target algorithm among cirrhosis patients hospitalized with acute kidney injury. The main aims to answer are: • Does an algorithm that has low (<80 mmHg) and high (≥80) MAP-targets lead to significant differences in mean arterial pressure? • Are there any serious adverse events (e.g., ischemia) in a high blood pressure algorithm as compared to a low blood pressure algorithm? • Are there any differences in the incidence of AKI reversal in the high v. low MAP-target groups? Participants will be: 1) Randomized to a clinical algorithm that will either target a low (<80 mmHg) or high (≥80 mmHg) MAP. 2) Depending on their group, investigators will titrate commonly used medications to a specific MAP target. Researchers will compare the high and low MAP-target groups to see if these algorithms lead to significant changes in MAP, if they have any impact on AKI reversal, and if there are any adverse events in the high MAP-target group.

Variceal hemorrhage (VH) from gastric varices (GVs) results in significant morbidity and mortality among patients with liver cirrhosis. In cases of acute bleeding, refractory bleeding, or high risk GVs, the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation and transvenous variceal obliteration procedures have used to treat GVs. While these techniques are effective, each is associated with limitations, including non-trivial rebleeding and hepatic encephalopathy rates for TIPS and aggravation of esophageal varices, development of new or worsening ascites, and formation of difficult to treat ectopic varices for transvenous obliteration. Increasingly, however, TIPS and transvenous obliteration are viewed as complimentary procedures that can be combined to reduce bleeding risk and ameliorate sequelae of portal hypertension. Yet, despite a strong mechanistic basis for their combination, there are few studies investigating the combined effectiveness of TIPS plus transvenous obliteration. Thus, the aim of this single center prospective pilot study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of combined TIPS creation plus transvenous obliteration for the treatment of GVs, with the overall goal of improving the clinical outcomes of patients with VH related to GVs. The work proposed could lead to important advances in the treatment of bleeding complications due to liver cirrhosis.

This observational study is aimed at assessing insulin secretion and sensitivity by the use of a mathematical modeling from oral glucose tolerance test in subjects with liver cirrhosis undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), before and at various time points after OLT.

This pilot phase I/II trial studies the best dose of erlotinib hydrochloride and to see how well it works in preventing liver cancer in patients with scarring (cirrhosis) of the liver. Erlotinib hydrochloride may help to inhibit the development of fibrous tissue and prevent liver cancer from forming in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.

Liver fibrosis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is easy to progress to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, with great harm and poor therapeutic effect. Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) are the most commonly anti-HBV drugs currently . Long-term use of NAs can inhibit HBV DNA and achieve the purpose of reducing poor prognosis. However, adverse prognosis, such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, cannot be completely eliminated even under the status of virologic inhibition under THE action of NAs. Current studies have shown that the lower the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) is, the better the long-term prognosis is. As another anti-HBV drug, pegylated-interferon-α (peg-IFN-α) has the immune regulation effect that NAs do not have, which can bring irreplaceable effects in HBsAg reduction and liver fibrosis reversal. Therefore, the combined therapy of NAs and peg-IFN-α is a hot issue in the field of liver diseases over the world, but the research and application of the combined therapy in patients with liver fibrosis are very few. The preliminary results of our previous research showed that the combined therapy of peg-IFN-α and NAs in patients with HBV related fibrosis were safe, and had a significant effect on HBsAg decline. On this basis, this study intends to carry out a multicentre, randomized controlled study, comparing the safety and efficacy between combined therapy (peg-IFN-α plus tenofovir) and tenofovir monotherapy in patients with liver fibrosis, especially focusing on HBsAg's decline and clearance, and the improvement of liver fibrosis degree, in order to find a better therapy, and to guide the clinical decision making.

Chronic liver disease is a major health problem worldwide. Liver fibrosis is a key feature in most chronic liver diseases. When identified early, liver fibrosis may be reversible. Currently, liver biopsy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis. Liver biopsy; however, is invasive. Non-invasive diagnostic tools are increasingly used in clinical practice. However, the existing noninvasive methods still have significant limitations to detect early-stage liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is characterized by excessive deposition of collagen-rich connective tissues in the liver. The macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) is an MRI parameter which characterizes the magnetization transfer (MT) effect in tissues. Quantitative MPF imaging is non-invasive and can be used to measure collagen deposition in the liver due to the strong MT effect of collagen. It has been reported MPF quantification can be used for diagnosis of early-stage liver fibrosis. However, the existing approaches require B1, B0, and T1 map in addition to the imaging data for MPF quantification, which makes it challenging to adopt them for routine clinical use. The investigators propose a fast and robust MPF quantification approach. In contrast to the existing methods which rely on saturation radiofrequency pulses for MPF quantification, our approach is based on spin-lock radiofrequency pulses which have minimum Rabi oscillations. The whole imaging data can be acquired within a breath-hold less than 8 seconds. Our approach only needs a B1 map in addition to the imaging data for MPF quantification. The preliminary clinical studies on 3.0T MRI show the measurement using our approach is specific to collagen content and can be used to detect early-stage liver fibrosis. To further confirm the clinical value of the proposed approach, the investigators will investigate the relationship of the collagen content measured using the proposed non-invasive imaging approach and those measured based on morphometry analysis of histology, and determine the diagnostic value of the proposed method for detection of early stage liver fibrosis in a large cohort. The investigators will also perform comparative studies of the proposed method and the state-of-the-art quantitative MPF imaging technique. This project will provide a diagnostic technology for early detection of liver fibrosis. The proposed MRI technology also has potential to be used for other clinical purposes.