Clinical Research Directory

Identification of Liver Fibrosis Biomarkers

Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a major cause of global mortality and morbidity . CLD patients are at an increased risk of developing liver fibrosis (formation of scar tissue), cirrhosis and liver failure and are at significant risk to develop primary liver cancer. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a major risk for CLD and it is becoming the most common chronic liver condition with an estimated 25% global prevalence. Progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs in approx. 1 of 5 NAFLD patients and due to the rapidly rising etiology of end-stage liver disease, is currently the second most common etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) requiring liver transplantation. Liver biopsy, currently the gold-standard for grading disease activity and staging fibrosis, is invasive, costly and at risk for sampling error. Due to the number of patients diagnosed with fibrosis and since fibrosis stage is prognostic of mortality and drives patient management, it is important to develop noninvasive yet accurate diagnostic tools that can identify fibrosis stage. The purpose of this study is to obtain a panel of clinically well characterized blood specimens to identify novel biomarkers to be used as an aid in diagnosis to assess the stage of clinically significant hepatic fibrosis in patients with signs or symptoms of NAFLD (NAFL/NASH). In addition, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) based approaches combined with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms will be explored for assessing the stage of fibrosis.

Free Walking Exercise in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver

Research evaluating the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) \& walking exercise on fatigue severity, liver enzymes and sleeping quality in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who also have obstructive sleep apnea. Forty patients are divided into two groups: twenty patients CPAP and other twenty patients for CPAP and walking program .

Genetic Pathways Leading to Fatty Liver and Atherogenic Dyslipidemia

The aims of the study are: 1. To investigate if carriers of apolipoprotein (apo) CIII loss-of-function (LOF) mutations produce less apo-CIII that results in reduction of large very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particle secretion as compared to non-carriers of these variants and compare the results with carriers of apo-CIII gain-of-function (GOF) to elucidate the role of apo-CIII in hepatic lipid metabolism. 2. To study if carriers of the TM6SF2 E167K and PNLPLA3 I148M mutations produce less large VLDL particles to transport fat out of the liver as compared to non-carriers. 3. To test whether the specific mutations in the apo-CIII, TM6SF2 and PNLPLA3 genes are reflected in changes of liver de novo lipogenesis (DNL), liver fat, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), plasma lipid and apolipoprotein kinetics and fasting concentrations in carriers of the TM6SF2 E167K and PNLPLA3 I148M mutations as compared to non-carriers. 4. To study the effects of APOE, angiopoietin (ANGPTL3 and ANGPTL8) or endothelial lipase (LIPG) genotypes on liver fat metabolism, lipid and apolipoprotein metabolism and lipid phenotypes.

European Paediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Registry (EU-PNAFLD)

The EU-PNAFLD (The European Paediatric NALFD Registry) will be a network composed of European centres involved in the care of children with NAFLD, and will include Hepatologists, Endocrinologists, and Scientists, supported by relevant international specialists. This collaboration will build on existing infrastructure (local databases and bio-repositories) and will align with the adult European NAFLD Registry ("EPoS", Elucidating Pathways of Steatohepatitis study) to allow long-term follow-up supported by translational studies. Through an international, well-characterised large-scale cohort, we hope to: facilitate multi-centre clinical trials; extend our understanding of the key disease mechanisms of NAFLD; and establish the natural history of paediatric NAFLD.