Active clinical trials for "Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease"

A key element in the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the differentiation of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and the staging of the liver fibrosis, given that patients with NASH and advanced fibrosis are those at greatest risk of developing hepatic complications and cardiovascular disease. There are still no available non-invasive methods that allow for correct diagnosis and staging of NAFLD. The implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques based on artificial neural networks and deep learning systems (Deep Learning System) as a tool for medical diagnoses represents a bona fide technological revolution that introduces an innovative approach to improving health processes.

The Exalenz clinical investigation is a multicenter, non-randomized, blinded, study of the ¹³C-Octanaote breath test (OBT). The OBT is a non-invasive test for evaluation of disease severity in patients with suspected non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that the ¹³C-Octanaote Breath Test (OBT) can be used as an aid, in conjunction with other clinical information and medical history, for evaluating disease severity and detecting non alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) with a high probability. Retrospective analysis based on multivariable analysis will determined if and which demographic, clinical and biochemical or imaging techniques data can assist in addition to the data derived from OBT in differentiation of NASH, NAFL and possibly normals.

Epidemiological study of NAFLD, NASH patients. Descriptions of altered miRNA profiles in NAFLD patients especially with fibrosis. - Explore the role of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for the early diagnosis and evaluation of NAFLD patient with fibrosis.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a spectrum of liver disorders characterized by accumulation of hepatic fat in absence of significant alcohol consumption (<20 gm/day) and other causes of liver diseases. It is the most common cause of asymptomatic elevation of liver enzymes worldwide (Marchesini et al., 2003). Unfortunately, to date, existing non- or minimally invasive biomarkers are inadequate. While a number of non- or minimally invasive tests are able to rule out fibrosis or cirrhosis, no single test to identify steatosis, to early diagnose NASH, or to predict the disease progression is available. Moreover, specialized, combined tests are required to assess treatment response in clinical trials on emerging compounds (Piazzolla and Mangia, 2020). Among minimally invasive tools, plasma biomarkers and composite scores defined as "wet biomarkers" are commonly used. For example, fasting insulin level and its use in measurement of insulin resistance, Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP) score (Bedogni et al., 2010), the NAFLD Liver Fat Score (NLFS) (Kontronen et al., 2009), Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI) (Lee et al., 2010), controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) measurement by fibroscan (Piazzolla and Mangia, 2020). Recent studies have shown that CAP significantly correlates with the percentage of steatosis and steatosis grade and that median CAP is higher among patients with significant steatosis (Sasso et al., 2012 & Karlas et al., 2017). The prevalence of NAFLD is 80-90% in obese, 30-50% in patients with diabetes and up to 90% in patients with hyperlipidemia (Abenavoli et al., 2014) Central obesity or visceral fat (VF) (determined by waist circumference (WC)) is defined as the presence of excess fat in the abdomen, and this type of obesity is often associated with the development and progression of NAFLD or more advanced forms of liver disease (Abenavoli et al., 2016). Thus, measurement of body composition rather than BMI may be helpful in the prediction of NAFLD (Milić et al., 2014 and Abenavoli et al., 2016) There is a growing need to assess the steatosis in NAFLD patients using minimally invasive tools.

This study aims to prospectively assess the repeatability and reproducibility of iron-corrected T1 (cT1), T2*, and hepatic proton density fat fraction (PDFF) quantification with multiparametric MRI using the LiverMultiScan™ (LMS, Perspectum Diagnostics, Oxford, UK) protocol across different field strengths, scanner manufacturers and models.

Visceral fat or peri-omental fat is increasingly associated with metabolic syndrome, a condition carrying a high risk of coronary artery disease. The independent role of Visceral Fat in cardiovascular risk remains unclear. Patients with excess of visceral fat and NAFLD patients will have higher prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis plaques independently by metabolic syndrome diagnosis. Suggesting that the presence of visceral fat and/or fatty liver will be considered an important condition to optimize the cardiovascular risk stratification

Current methods based on traditional Cardiovascular risk factors are not clinically useful for identifying Type 2 Diabetes patients at risk of developing acute Cardiovascular ischemic events (ie.myocardial infarction or stroke). In addition, Cardiovascular ischemic events in Type 2 Diabetes population have worse prognosis than in general population. In fact, there is sufficient experimental evidence indicating that diabetes exaggerates the deleterious effects of ischemic events and worsens their outcome. A prolonged sub-clinical phase exists before a Cardiovascular event occurs in Type 2 Diabetes patients. Therefore, new strategies aimed at identifying those patients with this subclinical Cardiovascular Diabetes and, consequently, more prone to develop Cardiovascular events is a challenge to be met.

Vegetarian diets have been associated with a reduced risk of preventable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These effects may be mediated through direct or indirect pathways. Although the high intakes of nuts, legumes, dietary fibre, whole grains, and unsaturated plant oils have each individually been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so too has the displacement of red meats, processed meats, and saturated animal fats. One of the most important considerations in moving from animal-based diets to more plant-based diets is the replacement of animal proteins (e.g. meat, fish, dairy, eggs) with vegetable proteins (e.g. legumes, nuts, and seeds). It is unclear whether this particular replacement alone results in advantages for metabolic and cardiovascular health. To improve evidence-based guidance for dietary guidelines and health claims development, we propose to conduct a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effect of plant-based protein in exchange for animal protein on blood lipids, glycemic control, blood pressure, body weight, uric acid, markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and kidney function and injury. The systematic review process allows the combining of the results from many small studies in order to arrive at a pooled estimate, similar to a weighted average, of the true effect. The investigators will be able to explore whether the effects of replacing animal-based protein for plant-based protein hold true across different sexes, age groups, and background disease states and whether the effect depends on the protein source, dose, or background diet. The findings of this proposed knowledge synthesis will help improve the health of Canadians through informing recommendations for the general public, as well as those at risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Copeptin, a surrogate marker for vasopressin, has been found to be elevated in metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes, which are disorders both associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and therefore suggest a potential role for vasopressin in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The investigators intend to investigate if there is an association of vasopressin with the presence and severity of NAFLD.

Evaluate the relationship between the severity of fatty liver in NAFLD assessed by ultrasonography and CT and the visceral fat area measured by CT