Active clinical trials for "Liver Diseases"

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are frequently encountered in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS). Several data suggest that OSA per se could be a risk factor of liver injury. Most previous studies evaluating the association between OSA severity and the severity of NAFLD used indirect markers of NAFLD including liver imaging or liver injury blood markers or have been performed in morbidly obese patients undergoing intraoperative needle liver biopsy during bariatric surgery. The current study propose to investigate with a full night polysomnography consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous liver biopsy for suspected NAFLD.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is common during anti-CD20 containing chemotherapy, even in HBsAg-negative patients with only prior HBV exposure. The optimal timing of commencing antiviral therapy and the interval of clinical monitoring is uncertain. 25% of the Hong Kong population has prior HBV exposure. The investigators plan monitor this cohort of patients and determine (1) the optimal time point for starting antiviral therapy based on the progression of HBV reactivation, and (2) the optimal interval of clinical monitoring.

Rejection and infection are primary causes of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients. Current clinical practice relies on immunosuppressive drug levels measured in plasma to reflect the peripheral immune response in solid organ transplant recipients. Direct measurement of the number and functions of the immune cells themselves using multi-parameter flow cytometry may enable individualized immunosuppression management for organ transplant recipients. Multi-parameter flow cytometry will be used to compare levels and functional capabilities of multiple lymphocyte subsets between cohorts of patients receiving depletion induction and those receiving a non-depletion regimen. The activation state, cytotoxic potential and the functional capabilities of these cells will be examined within patients over the first six months post transplant.

The worldwide epidemic of obesity is paralleled with increased cases of non-alcoholic liver disease (liver fat accumulation) and diabetes. Fat belongs in the adipose tissue, and if excess fat accumulates in the liver or muscle, these tissues cannot use sugar efficiently. It has been discovered that when large quantities of fructose (a sugar present in soft drinks) are consumed, the conversion of carbohydrate (CHO) to fat in the liver increases. We hypothesize that: 1) subjects with fatty liver have a higher CHO uptake and conversion to fat in their liver when compared to matched control subjects with normal liver fat content; and that: 2) when subjects with fatty liver are fed a diet limiting fructose and simple sugars will decrease their liver CHO fat content. This reduction in liver fat will normalize the way the liver responds to sugar and insulin, reversing the pre-diabetic state. The measurement of these parameters will be done using state-of-the-art techniques such as safe non-radioactive isotope tracers and non-invasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy. For more information, please call 415-206-5532 for a phone screening

Definition: the overall objective is to examine childhood obesity with focus on NAFLD and its treatment. Further, we aimed to investigate the impact of genetic variation on obesity. The specific aims are to; describe the degree of NAFLD among overweight and obese, Danish children. (hypothesis; the degree for pediatric NAFLD among Danish Children was equal that found in other Caucasian paediatric study populations). investigate the effect of a multidisciplinary intervention treatment of 1 year on liver fat content. (hypothesis; the intervention could reduce the liver fat percentage and a reduction in BMI SDS would associate with a reduction in liver fat content) - Analyze changes in liver fat content in relation to changes in levels of fasting blood variables to see if any of them could be used as a clinical tool for monitoring hepatic steatosis in the clinic. (hypothesis; serum aminotransferases (separately and their ratio, respectively), serum insulin, and HOMA-IR could predict improvement in liver fat content - Investigate the association between genetic variants and obesity.

To determine the optimal dose of DMP 115 to image liver lesions and to assess whether contrast can improve the detection of focal liver lesions.

With improved anti-HIV drug therapy, HIV infected patients are now living longer. These patients are at risk for liver and kidney failure and may need organ transplants. However, little is know about the safety and effectiveness of organ transplants in patients with HIV. This study will evaluate organ transplantation in HIV infected patients undergoing liver and kidney transplants.

This study was a retrospective clinical observation cohort study. All patients with autoimmune liver disease treated with glycyrrhizic acid preparations in the Department of Liver Diseases, Department of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, were enrolled. Clinical follow-up data including demographics, hematuria, and liver and kidney were collected. Functional, electrolyte blood glucose, PTA, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum AFP and other clinical biochemical indicators and autoantibodies, special proteins and liver imaging (liver ultrasound) examination. The clinical effect of glycyrrhizic acid preparation for the treatment of autoimmune liver disease for 144 weeks and the safety during treatment were analyzed.

This study was to designed to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting multiple international centres, committing to consecutive patient registration per surgeon and undergo rigorous data validation. It is hoped that these data will provide a more appropriate guide to inform surgeons and patients to assess which level of complexity should be routinely offered for high tumour burden and anatomically difficult scenarios.

Background: Standardization and new therapeutic treatments of variceal bleeding has significantly reduced the mortality the last 25 years, but there is still a high 6-week mortality around 15-20% and 1-year mortality of about 40%. Cirrhotic patients without prophylactic treatment suffer a risk of 60% of re-bleeding within the first year after the first bleeding episode. Variceal ligation and NSBB are the standard therapy as secondary prophylaxis, while only non-selective beta-blocker (NSBB) is offered as first-line therapy in primary prophylaxis. If portal pressure is reduced to a value below 12 mmHg or by 20% (10% if assessed by intravenous administrations), the risk of bleeding is substantially reduced, but not all patients respond to the treatment with propranolol (40-50%). Hence, patients who are non-responders to NSBB should be offered alternative treatment with e.g. carvedilol, which is a combined alpha-beta-receptor blocker or endoscopic band ligation. Currently, the response to NSBB is assessed invasively during a liver vein catheterization (LVC). Unfortunately, only a few centres in the world can perform this procedure and there are no reliable non-invasive alternatives to assess the respond to NSBB, which is of extreme importance, since non-responders have three fold increased risk of a new variceal bleeding episode. Aim: In general the aim of the project is to develop faster and non-invasive methods to evaluate portal hypertension and individual pharmacological response of NSBB in patients with cirrhosis. Furthermore, we expect to detect changes in liver and spleen stiffness as measured by MR-Elastography (MRE) after NSBB and that these depend on the drug-related effects on portal pressure. Study design and patients: 39 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices that require NSBB (propranolol) treatment. Patients are assessed with LVC, MR-scans, echocardiography and biochemical tests. LVC is the gold standard method to test if patients respond to propranolol treatment. At visit 1. the response to NSBB is defined as a reduction of HVPG ≥10%, or to a HVPG< 12mmHg after intravenous NSBB administrations during LVC. MRI-scan with intraveneus NSBB administration is performed at visit 2. Minimum 5 days of NSBB wash out between visit 1 and 2.