Active clinical trials for "Liver Diseases"

With the present study the investigators will evaluate the benefit of end-ischemic HOPE on ECD grafts (livers and kidneys) as compared to SCS. Organs will be perfused through a recently developed machine perfusion (MP) device, from the beginning of back-table procedures till implantation, without increasing CIT. The aim of the study will be demonstrating the ability of HOPE to improve graft function and post-operative outcomes of ECD kidney and liver recipients.

This clinical study will involve performing a series of medical imaging procedures of the abdomen using both ultrasound and MRI modalities in subjects at risk for or already diagnosed with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). The primary objective of this clinical study is to evaluate the clinical feasibility of an investigational ultrasound technique for quantifying liver fat by comparing specific ultrasound-derived biomarkers with the liver fat percentage obtained from MRI Proton Density Fat Fraction (MRI-PDFF) measurements. All subjects enrolled in this study will undergo one investigational abdominal ultrasound examination using the Philips EPIQ Ultrasound System and one MRI PDFF examination according to the clinical standard of care.

Early screening and monitoring of chronic liver diseases in hepatology practice has become crucial. To achieve this goal, hepatology clinics need simple and available tools at the point-of-care to perform disease severity assessment. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of a new non-invasive ultrasound-based system for the assessment of liver fibrosis and steatosis severity, via ultrasound biomarkers such as tissue stiffness (correlated to fibrosis severity) and ultrasound tissue attenuation (correlated to steatosis extent).

This is a cross sectional study that evaluates the relationship between LSM (liver stiffness measurement) by Liver Incytes in patients with cACLD (compensated advanced chronic liver disease) and manifestations of portal hypertension.

This study will evaluate the association of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes mellitus. Patients presenting in our clinic with Diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2 will receive the following examination: Transient Elastography and Controlled Attenuation Parameter using the FibroScan blood examination including biochemical markers The statistically calculated sample size needed is 340 patients.

HepQuant tests are new liver tests that are being developed to accurately measure liver function with sensitivity and specificity while being safe and non-invasive. The primary goal of this study is to define the intra-individual reproducibility of the HepQuant tests, that is, to see if a person is given the tests several times that the test results are essentially the same each time. Subjects for this study will include healthy controls and patients with chronic liver diseases. The chronic liver diseases will include hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and a serious form of fatty liver disease, known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The HCV and NASH patients will include men and women, and those with early stage and late stage liver disease as defined by the amount of fibrosis observed in their liver biopsies. Once a subject has been enrolled in the study they will be given the HepQuant tests on three separate days within the span of one month. The hypothesis of this study is that HepQuant tests will reproducibly report liver function in healthy controls and patients with all stages of chronic HCV and NASH liver disease and that liver function will decrease as the amount of liver fibrosis increases in the chronic liver disease patients.

The relative-dose-response test (RDR) is considered to be the most accurate method for evaluating vitamin A nutritional status (VANS) in patients suffering from liver disease, as it infers the reserves of the vitamin in the liver. However, for the RDR test to reflect VANS in patients suffering from chronic liver disease, factors inherent to the disease need to be considered, such as possible malabsorption, advanced age, a drop in synthesis and/or the release of retinol binding protein (RBP), which would result in an inadequate response to the RDR test. Thus, the objective of present study is to assess the adequacy of two different protocol for using the RDR test in patients with cirrhosis and cirrhosis-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: The sample group was comprised of 178 patients at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro University Hospital (111 men) with several etiologies of liver cirrhosis at different stages in the progression of the disease. They were sorted into two groups, according to the retinyl palmitate dosage (1500 IU or 2500 IU) received at T0 (blood sample taken following a 12-hour fast). Following supplementation, the investigators took further blood samples five and seven hours later (T5 and T7). The investigators assessed VANS via concentrations of serum retinol and RBP, as well as by way of the RDR test. The cutoff points the investigators used for denoting inadequacy in the indicators retinol and RDR were, respectively, < 1.05 µmol/L and ≥ 20%. To classify the degrees of severity of the disease the investigators used the criteria established by Child & Pugh (1973).

Alcoholic liver disease is the most frequent complication of excessive alcohol consumption. Early diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease is essential to avoid its complications that could be fatal. To date, the reference diagnostic tool is an invasive procedure: the liver biopsy. The transient elastography is a useful tool for early diagnosis of liver fibrosis. This tool is validated in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis due to C chronic hepatitis. Because it is non-invasive, fast, given immediate results; transient elastography could be repeated in alcoholic patients for liver fibrosis follow-up. In the present study, the investigators propose to realize liver biopsy and transient elastography in 300 alcoholic patients in weaning to evaluate the transient elastography accuracy in the exclusion of sever liver fibrosis (Metavir 3 and 4). The reference liver fibrosis diagnosis tool will be the liver biopsy.

Positive data originating from two polycystic liver patients treated with somatostatin analogues, showed a volume reduction of 38.3% and 14.9%. These two patients had complicated polycystic livers and no other therapeutic options were available. Patients who participated in LOCKCYST trial are able to benefit from active treatment. Participants will be actively treated for 24 weeks.

Lovaza is the only fish oil supplement approved by the FDA. It is available by prescription for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia (> 500 mg/dl). The primary mechanism appears to be a reduction in hepatic production of triglycerides. Also decreases the hepatic production of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). There also may be antioxidant properties as well. The thought behind using Lovaza as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is two fold. It would help in the decrease production of triglycerides by the liver and have antioxidant properties decreasing the production of free radicals in the liver. In doing so, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and perhaps cirrhosis and liver cancer would be prevented.