Active clinical trials for "Liver Cirrhosis"

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the efficacy of low-dose oral pulse methotrexate (MTX) and ursodiol versus colchicine and ursodiol in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). II. Determine the optimum dose and duration of MTX treatment. III. Investigate the role of fibrogenic cytokines (FC) in PBC pathogenesis and the effect of treatment on FC production.

OBJECTIVES: I. Assess the effect of lactulose on the circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin in patients with subclinical hepatic encephalopathy. II. Assess the intrasubject variability of circadian melatonin levels and neuropsychological tests. III. Assess which elements of the neuropsychological test battery show the response to lactulose.

Intervention to achieve alcohol abstinence represents the most effective treatment for alcoholic patients with liver cirrhosis. However no trials have evaluated the efficacy of anti-craving drugs in these patients because of the concern that these medications might worsen liver disease. Baclofen is effective to reduce alcohol craving improving abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients. It is mainly eliminated by kidney. No hepatic side-effects have been reported in treated patients. The present study investigates the efficacy and safety of baclofen in achieving and maintaining abstinence in alcoholic cirrhotic patients.

This is a proof of principal study to determine whether combination anti-viral therapy with Combivir impacts on hepatic biochemistry in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

Besides liver transplantation, the curative treatment of primary hepatic cancer with cirrhosis remains the surgical resection. Radiofrequency or cryotherapy currently allow local ablation of small cancer, with very good results. However, all these treatments are followed by high rates of recurrence (50 - 70% at 5 years). Then, it seems essential to associate to the surgical resection or to the local ablation as "adjuvant" treatment, in order to prevent or to decrease the rate of recurrence. However, no evidence supports this attitude. Therefore, following curative treatment of primary hepatic cancer with cirrhosis, we propose to compare treated to untreated patients. Postoperative treatment means either intra-arterial chemotherapy or systemic chemotherapy. The main criterion of the study is time of survival without recurrence. The main secondary objective is the safety.

The aim of this study is to determine whether a simplified device of albumin dialysis also has beneficial effects.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is frequently associated with hypercholesterolemia and possibly with an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Statins lower serum cholesterol levels and may thus improve the cardiovascular risk in PBC patients. The aim of our study therefore was to prospectively examine the efficacy of low-dose atorvastatin on indicators of cardiovascular risk such as dyslipidemia and vascular function as well as safety in patients with PBC.

There is evidence on the beneficial effects of the administration of angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptors antagonists on liver fibrosis in hepatic stellate cells, experimental models of liver fibrosis in rodents and limited information in chronic hepatitis C with mild fibrosis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of long-term administration of oral Losartan, an AT1 receptor antagonist, on liver fibrogenesis in patients with chronic hepatitis C and fibrosis F2-F3 (METAVIR score).

Patients with chronic hepatitis C who did not respond to previous antiviral treatment develop liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis. Maintenance low dose pegylated interferon therapy of fibrosis is currently under investigation in large multicenter trials. The aim of our study is to assess if peginterferon alpha2b plus ribavirin is more efficient than peginterferon alpha2b alone. 454 patients will be randomized between the 2 arms and the efficacy will be assessed, after 3 years of treatment, on Metavir liver fibrosis score improvement.

This 36-month open-label study of adefovir dipivoxil investigates the clinical benefits of the therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis confirmed with biopsy. Primary endpoint is histological improvement defined as a decrease of Ishak Fibrosis Score by one point or more from baseline at Month 36 of adefovir dipivoxil treatment. Approximately 150 patients will be recruited in study centres in the Asia Pacific area. The patients are offered 36 months of open label adefovir dipivoxil treatment, with assessments every three months, after which there is a 6-month post study treatment follow-up prior to study completion. After the 36 months of study treatment, it is likely that the patient will benefit from continued treatment with adefovir dipivoxil. If this is the case in the investigators clinical judgement, the investigator should ensure that a routine prescription is available in a timely manner, and that no unnecessary interruption in treatment occurs.