Active clinical trials for "Hepatopulmonary Syndrome"

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability and possible benefit of letrozole compared to placebo in patients with Hepatopulmonary Syndrome.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare condition that presents in about a quarter of patients with liver cirrhosis. In addition, a small subset of these HPS patients also have orthodeoxia, defined as a drop in oxygen levels when they are sitting up (upright), as opposed to lying flat (supine). At present, there is little known about this condition. Patients diagnosed with HPS and orthodeoxia experience reduced ability to exercise, especially when upright. While standard cardiopulmonary exercise is routinely performed in the sitting position, there are machines that enable candidates to exercise in the supine position. This is especially relevant in patients with severe HPS, with clinically significant orthodeoxia, where conventional upright exercise is difficult. Currently there is a gap in the literature regarding the efficacy of supine exercise compared to upright exercise in these patients. Due to their improvement in dyspnea when lying supine, it is predicted that these patients will be able to exercise for a greater length of time and have increased exercise capacity, which can be projected to improve outcomes pre- and post-transplant. Overall, HPS patients tend to experience hypoxemia and exercise limitation. Exercise limitation impacts quality of life, incidence and severity of comorbid conditions, and in those who are liver transplant candidates, low exercise tolerance deleteriously impacts transplant outcomes. Accordingly, a strategy that enables patients to exercise more often and/or for longer periods would offer direct benefits to patients with HPS, and if employed as part of an exercise program, could also improve exercise capacity, and thus, liver transplant outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of supine, compared to upright position on exercise in patients with HPS and orthodeoxia. We hypothesize that these patients will be able to exercise for longer in the supine compared to the upright position, given improved oxygen levels when supine.

The triad of liver disease, arterial hypoxia, and extensive pulmonary vascular dilatation is known as the hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). The prevalence of this syndrome ranges from 10% to 30% in people with chronic liver disease. The exact cause of HPS is unknown. Previous research has shown that eicosanoids function as vasoconstrictors and cause an increase in the number of intravascular macrophage-like cells. Cirrhosis has been linked to increased NO generation in the lungs, which has been linked to intrapulmonary venous dilation. Increased pulmonary NO production is attributed to increased expression of pulmonary vascular endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and inducible NO synthase. Increased hepatic synthesis and release of low levels of endothelin 1 (ET-1) has been established in recent investigations to function as a trigger for increasing eNO levels. TNF (tumor necrosis factor) and ET-1 have both been linked to the onset of experimental HPS. Increased CO generation and heme oxygenase expression have been linked to the progression of HPS in recent investigations. HPS increases mortality in cirrhotic patients and may affect the frequency and severity of portal hypertension consequences. To the best of our knowledge there have been only three pilot studies in humans which checked the effect of pentoxifylline in hepatopulmonary syndrome and they showed highly contrasting results. The outcome was also measured in a short interval. Investigator hypothesize that pentoxifylline would improve the oxygenation in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) has unknown pathogenesis, limited treatment and poor prognosis. The onset of HPS is insidious and easy to be ignored. Many liver diseases such as "cirrhosis and related complications" are the core characteristics of Beijing You 'an Hospital, but the clinical characteristics of HPS patients in the center are still unclear. The investigators plan to make the diagnosis of HPS among chronic liver disease patients in the hospital according to the diagnostic criteria of HPS proposed in the Practice Guidelines of the International Society of Liver Transplantation in 2016, collect clinical data of HPS participants, evaluate the severity, analyze and summarize clinical characteristics, and conduct management and follow-up. At the same time, The investigators collect blood samples for proteomics tests. In order to improve the diagnosis and treatment level of HPS.

The main purpose of this clinical trial is to determine the safety and effects of the study drug, sorafenib, in adults diagnosed with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). The study will evaluate how well the drug is tolerated and its effect on the level of oxygen in the blood and the function of the lung vessels.

The Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) results from intrapulmonary microvascular dilatation that impairs arterial oxygenation in the setting of cirrhosis or portal hypertension. As many as 10-20% of cirrhotics being evaluated for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have advanced HPS and mortality is greater in those with HPS than in those without HPS. Currently, OLT is the only effective treatment, although post-operative mortality in HPS is increased relative to cirrhotic patients without HPS, with a one-year survival of between 68-80 %. Therefore, an effective medical therapy for advanced HPS could improve both pre-operative and post-operative mortality. Recent work in experimental models of HPS has revealed that both nitric oxide synthase-derived nitric oxide and heme oxygenase-derived carbon monoxide cause intrapulmonary vasodilatation. These alterations appear to be driven in part by TNF-α modulation of pulmonary blood flow and intravascular monocyte accumulation. Pentoxifylline is a nonspecific phosphodiesterase inhibitor with inhibitory effects on TNF-α and has recently been shown to be beneficial in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis where TNF-α overproduction contributes to liver injury. In experimental HPS, pentoxifylline administration also decreases the severity of oxygenation abnormalities. However, pentoxifylline therapy has been associated with dose limiting side effects in patients with liver disease and the tolerability of pentoxifylline in cirrhotic patients with advanced HPS is unknown. Therefore, this open label single arm clinical trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of 8 weeks of pentoxifylline in cirrhotic patients with advanced HPS being considered for OLT.

The most common observed cause of gas exchange abnormalities and hypoxemia in cirrhosis is the hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) with a reported prevalence of 20-47% in patients with hepatic impairment and cirrhosis. HPS is by far the most frequent respiratory complication of cirrhosis. It is a progressive disease leading to significantly increased mortality. Up to date, the only therapeutic option is liver transplantation. The study hypothesis is that administration of bosentan in patients with liver cirrhosis suffering from hepatopulmonary syndrome improves gas exchange. 18 patients with liver cirrhosis fulfilling criteria of HPS according to the ERS task force criteria will be included in this block randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study (12 patients will be treated with bosentan, 6 with placebo). Patients will receive bosentan 62,5mg b.i.d. for 4 weeks and 125 mg b.i.d. for 8 weeks or placebo. The duration of the treatment phase of the study is 12 weeks. The primary endpoint is the alteration of gas exchange after 3 months of therapy. The expected duration of the study is 2 years.

The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS)and pre-HPS is a disease seen in patients with chronic liver disease, whereby patients develop dilations in the blood vessels of the lungs, resulting in low oxygen levels and shortness of breath. In this study, each HPS and pre-HPS subject will be treated with a commonly used antibiotic called "norfloxacin" (approved for use in the treatment of gonorrhea, prostatitis and urinary tract infections) for a 4-week period. In order to ensure that any observed improvement was indeed due to norfloxacin, each subject will also be treated with a separate 4-week course of an identical placebo. There will also be a 4 week wash-out period (no study medication/placebo) between the 2 courses of treatment. The primary aim of the study will be to measure improvements in oxygen levels while on norfloxacin, although a number of secondary parameters will also be followed.

This proof-of-concept clinical trial will determine the safety and tolerability of midodrine in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). Exploratory endpoints will assess the effect of midodrine on oxygenation, intrapulmonary shunting and symptoms.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a frequent pulmonary complication of end-stage liver disease that is characterized by decreased arterial oxygenation caused by intrapulmonary vascular dilatation. Due to the different diagnostic criteria used in different studies, its prevalence ranges from 4% to 47% in patients with cirrhosis. Main underlaying pathogensis for HPS being activation of macrophages which are responsible for iNOS, PDGF and VEGF release contributing to development of intrapulmonary vascular dilatation(IPVD) , and neoangiogenesis leading to anatomical shunt resulting decreased oxygenation. Sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) is an essential compound produced and secreted by endothelial cells, platelets and RBC's. S1P prevents adhesion, transmigration and release of inflammatory mediators from macrophages. S1P levels are decreased in cirrhotics. Simvastatin, a HMG CoA inhibitor has many pleotropic effects, Of which one is by agonizing the S1P response and improving oxygenation in HPS patients. Simvastatin at a optimal dose of 40mg/day for 6months. Pre and post simvastatin treatment related oxygenation changes and concurrently its effect on liver fibrosis will be evaluated.