Active clinical trials for "Liver Diseases"

It has been suggested that the actual obesity epidemy is related to chronic overconsumption of added or free sugars. The increasing popularity of artificial sweeteners attest the population willingness to reduce added sugars intake and to use alternatives to alleviate health impact of free sugar overconsumption. However, recent findings suggest that artificial sweeteners may rather contribute to obesity epidemy and its associated adverse health effects, potentially via a negative impact on gut microbiota. It has been shown in various studies that, for the same amount of sucrose, unrefined sugars (such as maple syrup) are associated with favorable metabolic effects. The polyphenols contained in maple syrup, especially lignans, could contribute to these positive effects. Indeed, the strong impact of those biomolecules on the modulation of gut microbiota and on gastro-intestinal and metabolic health has been demonstrated in several studies. It is therefore highly relevant to test the hypothesis that the substitution of refined sugar by an equivalent amount of maple syrup (5% of daily energy intake) result in a lesser metabolic deterioration, by the modulation of maple syrup on gut microbiota, than the one observed with refined sugar.

Since its inception, endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has proven a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool for evaluating a diverse number of pathologies. One such pathology is chronic liver disease (CLD), for which EUS-guided liver biopsy has become a well-accepted method for tissues acquisition. EUS-LB also been compared with percutaneous and transguluar routes showing at least comparable ability to obtain adequate tissue for CLD. Though enhancements to EUS-FNA, such as dry suction, stylet pull have not proven to demonstrate increased diagnostic accuracy for EUS-FNA, the use of wet suction technique (WEST) has demonstrated the ability to obtain more cellular tissue samples with less blood contamination. In an attempt to obtain further improvement in tissue adequacy, with less blood contamination for EUS-LB, the use of wet heparinized needles will be investigated as compared with conventional EUS-LB for patients with CLD. To do this subjects shall be selected to undergo EUS-LB. As it is the standard to perform 3 needle passes during EUS-LB, subjects will undergo one pass with the following designations: pass 1: conventional EUS-LB [no flush], pass 2: dry heparin heparin [5 milliliters (mL) of heparin flushed and then flushed with air], and pass 3: wet heparin [5 milliliters (mL) of heparin flushed and retained in the needle]. It is predicted that specimens collected with heparinized needle shall show improved adequacy compared with conventional EUS-LB. It is also predicted that the heparin wash will lead to less blood contamination compared with conventional methods. Subjects shall also be monitored for adverse events (AE).

A variety of liver insults lead to pathological changes in liver architecture that culminate in cirrhosis. While invasive liver biopsy was required to detect cirrhosis, the development of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has revolutionized our ability to detect liver fibrosis through non-invasive means that involve measurement of liver stiffness. However, a number of pathological findings occur in liver in response to various insults that precede cirrhosis and are clinically important to identify such as steatosis associated with NASH, inflammation associated with viral hepatitis, and congestion associated with cardiac hepatopathy. Detection of such entities provides essential diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment information but yet is not available non-invasively. Recent murine studies from this group of investigators has identified that MRE technology can be adapted to non-invasively detect these conditions. Implementing this into the practice will transform it by obviating the need for invasive liver biopsies in patients suspected of having such forms of suspected liver disease. This will differentiate Mayo from other institutions where such technology is not available. An additional aim of this study is to examine the impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), both common comorbidities of obesity. Recent evidence indicates a potential link between OSA and severity of NASH and fibrosis, but the mechanisms of OSA- associated hypoxia on liver disease progression in NAFLD is unclear. This study offers the unique opportunity to analyze this association, as the study population will undergo routine evaluation for OSA, as part as the preoperative work-up prior to bariatric surgery.

The aim of this diagnostic study is to evaluate the efficacy of ARFI imaging (a specific type of ultrasound) in assessing the pressure of the portal vein (the major vein passing through the liver) and the amount of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

Phytosterols are plant sterols . Phytosterols have anti-inflammation effect. Investigators have a hypothesis: phytosterols reduce oxidative stress , enhance Insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) and endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs). Therefore, phytosterols has novel role in cardiovascular protection.

The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most common cause of liver disease in the western world. It can progress from steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and then onto cirrhosis where there is a concomitant risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prevalence of hepatic steatosis is high, ranging from 16 to 31% in the general population, up to 80% in the obese populationand up to 96% in severely obese patients. Liver biopsy (LB) has traditionally been regarded as the gold standard for the assessment of patients with NAFLD, although it has several limitations. LB has a potential sampling error, is an invasive and often painful procedure. The natural history of patients with NAFLD is generally determined by the extent of liver fibrosis, hence non-invasive assessment of fibrosis with FibroScan® is often sufficient. For patients with proven NASH, changes in hepatic steatosis and serum ALT levels may provide information on the patient's course and/or response to treatment. Several clinical studies have shown the benefit of measuring hepatic stiffness with the FibroScan® machine using the M+ probe. The ability to identify significant fibrosis and cirrhosis has been demonstrated in normal and overweight patients affected with chronic hepatitis B and C, biliary diseases, alcohol related liver disease (ALD) and NAFLD. Recently, Echosens has also developed a novel ultrasonic controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) designed to quantify hepatic steatosis using a process based on vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE™). Studies comparing CAP with liver biopsies in multi-aetiology cases and patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) have shown that there is a good correlation between steatosis assessed histologically and using CAP. The main objective of this prospective study is to evaluate the diagnosis accuracy of the Controlled attenuation Parameter (CAP) measured by FibroScan® (either with M+ or XL+)in patients with NAFLD to assess liver steatosis using biopsy as a reference. The study involves adults' patients with suspected NAFLD scheduled to have a liver biopsy within 2 weeks of fibroscan examination and followed by the Hepatology service of four centers in United Kingdom. Approximately 450 patients (of which 350 will be evaluable) will be enrolled in this study: Around 100 patients will be measured with the M+ probe and around 250 with the XL+ probe. The inclusion period is from 18 to 24 months. Starting date: January 2014. End of recruitment: June 2017. The duration of the study for a patient is from 1 to 7 days, depending to the exams calendar.

The objective of the study is to determine the efficacy and safety of Everolimus conversion in liver transplantation. Most large US liver centers transplant patients with high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores. However, many of the sponsored liver transplant trials in the US do not include patients with high MELD scores making it difficult to extrapolate these trial data to the patients cared for at larger liver transplant centers. The greatest potential benefit of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors is the avoidance of the side-effects of calcineurin-inhibitors, namely, renal insufficiency, diabetes and hypertension. Therefore, this protocol is designed to study the efficacy and safety of everolimus and Myfortic in liver transplant patients with high MELD scores at two large centers with a vast experience in the administration of mTOR inhibitors.

A randomized double-blind placebo controlled intervention study with pregnant obese women (n=440) will be conducted. The intervention will involve consumption of fish oil and/or probiotic capsules from early pregnancy until 6 months after delivery. The aim of the study is firstly to investigate the effects of the supplements on the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus and obesity in the women and secondly to modify the risk markers of allergy and obesity in children of the women. Also the underlying metabolic mechanisms will be investigated. Follow up visits at child's age of 5 to 6 years will be conducted to evalute long-term effects on maternal and child health. The aim is to investigate the impact of dietary intervention, diet, maternal overweight/obesity and gestational diabetes status as well as gut microbiota and metabolism during pregnancy on maternal and child's health, allergy and child neuropsychological development.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a targeted preoperative Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on either endogenous or exogenous postoperative MRSA infections in a high risk population undergoing gastroenterological surgery. The primary endpoint was to investigate whether the potentially high incidence of MRSA infections in patients with MRSA nasal colonization before surgery can be prevented with a PCR-based strategy. The second endpoint was to investigate the impact of acquisition of MRSA colonization after surgery on the occurrence of MRSA infections. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative MRSA infection is prevented by a targeted screening strategy in preoperative MRSA carrier, and there is limited effect in patients with postoperative MRSA acquisition.

The gap between the number of candidates for orthotopic liver transplantation and the availability of suitable liver grafts has led to a rise in deaths on most waiting lists. Strategies applied in many centers to minimize this deficit include living donation or split of a cadaveric organ for two recipients, domino transplantation, and the use of so-called expanded criteria donors. Alternatively, conditioning of an organ would also allow protec-tion of the liver upon ischemia-reperfusion injury, possibly decreasing postoperative liver function and im-proving clinical outcome. The technique of conditioning with the volatile anesthetic sevoflurane is an easily applicable procedure which could be performed in any center worldwide. Data and experience with sevoflurane attenuating ischemic-reperfusion injury in liver resection lead to the hypothesis of a beneficial effect of volatile anesthetics in liver transplantation. In this randomized controlled trial, patients will be randomly assigned to liver transplantation with propofol anesthesia (propofol group) or sevoflurane conditioning with the volatile anesthetic (sevoflurane group). Primary endpoint is postoperative peak of the transaminase (AST), secondary endpoints are complications, primary liver graft function, ICU and hospital stay. We hypothesis that patients with conditioning have an attenuated increase of transaminases as well as a better outcome.