65 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This clinical trial tests the how well an ultrasound with subharmonic imaging and the subharmonic aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) technique works in identifying portal hypertension (PH). An ultrasound takes pictures of the inside of the body by bouncing sound waves off organs. PH is high blood pressure in the vein that carries blood to the liver from the stomach, small and large intestines, spleen, pancreas, and gallbladder. The complications associated with PH are clear only after severe liver dysfunction or liver cirrhosis develops and are accompanied by relatively high mortality rates (20-70% mortality within 2 years). Thus, identifying PH earlier is beneficial. The hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) obtained using an invasive catheterization procedure remains the standard for assessing PH. However, using this invasive procedure to assess PH prevents frequent pressure monitoring. Thus, a noninvasive technique to estimate PH is beneficial not only for diagnosis but also for monitoring treatment and disease progression. The SHAPE technique is a noninvasive ultrasound-based imaging technique that can estimate pressure with an ultrasound contrast agent. A noninvasive technique using an ultrasound with subharmonic imaging and the SHAPE technique may work in identifying PH.
This is an open-label, non-randomized trial that will be conducted at three clinical sites, Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and University of Bern (UB). Enrollment will be allocated into one of 4 different cohorts depending on the inclusion criteria for each cohort. Cohort 1: Patients scheduled for hepatic vein pressure gradient (HVPG) measurements will subsequently undergo two consecutive SHAPE (subharmonic aided pressure estimation) procedures using different ultrasound contrast agents (Definity \[Lantheus Medical Imaging, N Bilerica, MA, USA\] and Sonazoid \[GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway\] in randomized order) to estimate portal pressures with a Logiq E10 scanner (GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI, USA) and determine the reproducibility of the SHAPE algorithm. Cohort 2: Patients identified as having clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) will be monitored by SHAPE with Sonazoid for the duration of this project (18-24 months on average). These subjects will have follow-up ultrasound scans every 6 ± 2 months to check for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (using the Barcelona-Liver Cancer staging system) as well as ascites and at those times a repeat SHAPE examination will be performed. Liver stiffness values will be measured with elastography as well. This cohort will examine if serial SHAPE can accurately predict development of ascites and other liver related events in patients with compensated cirrhosis undergoing routine HCC surveillance in a multi-center setting. Cohort 3: Subjects newly diagnosed with portal hypertension and starting treatment with non-selective β-blockers will be monitored with SHAPE and results compared to elastography measurements of liver stiffness with standard assessments (e.g., serum liver function tests and measurement of spleen size as well as platelet count). This cohort will establish if SHAPE can be used to monitor treatment response in patients identified with portal hypertension. Cohort 4: Patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease scheduled for an endoscopy examination for screening of varices relative to the Baveno VI and the expanded-Baveno VI criteria as well as the AST to Platelet Ratio Index will undergo a SHAPE examination. This cohort will compare the predictive ability of SHAPE for allocating patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease to screening of varices compared to the current standard of care.
Early diagnosis of portal hypertension is difficult as symptoms rarely manifest until the later stages of liver disease. Both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension can result in life-threatening complications, the most frequent of which is bleeding from esophageal varices. In children, variceal bleeds are associated with mortality rates of 1-3 %, while life-threatening complications have been reported in up to 20 % of children with cirrhosis. Despite the high incidence of portal hypertension in children with liver disease, a noninvasive modality to monitor disease progression and risk of complications is currently lacking. Hence, this trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of subharmonic aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) as a noninvasive ultrasound technique for diagnosing portal hypertension in children.
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.
Hypothesis: The severity of portal hypertension in compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) can be assessed using vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) via the FibroScan® 502 Touch by measuring SS (splenic stiffness) Specific Aims: SS by VCTE will be measured in this single center clinical study comprising of 200 patients with cACLD (defined by LSM ≥10 kilopascals (kPa) according to the Baveno VI recommendations) who have not had a liver transplant and 100 subjects who are post-liver transplant. The association between baseline SS values will be examined in relation to the manifestations of portal hypertension such as esophageal or gastric varices. Specific Aim: To examine the relationship between SS and the presence of esophageal and gastric varices in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD). Proposed Study Design: This is a cross sectional study that evaluates the relationship between SS by VCTE in patients with cACLD and manifestations of portal hypertension.
The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of partial splenic artery embolization in the treatment of symptomatic portal vein hypertension. A secondary aim is to evaluate the relative efficacy of two separate splenic artery embolization techniques, coiling versus particle embolization of the spleen. These two methods will be compared to standard medical management which consist of pain management and fluid draining.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether new multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods (including diffusion-weighted MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, MR elastography and phase-contrast imaging) can be useful in assessing liver damage and degree of portal hypertension (a complication of advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis) secondary to chronic liver disease, compared to ultrasound measurement of liver stiffness \[acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound\] and routine blood tests. MRI uses magnetic fields to look at soft tissues in the body. This study will ultimately help to determine whether these methods will be useful in identifying liver disease and their complications that cannot be well-understood using current liver MRI techniques.
This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving subjects with NASH cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension (defined as HVPG ≥12 mmHg as determined by the central reader assigned to this study). Upon successful screening, subjects will be randomized to receive either emricasan 50 mg BID, 25 mg BID, or 5 mg BID or matching placebo BID.
This placebo-controlled study will assess the safety and efficacy of a 90-day course of treatment with ifetroban for portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients
This is an open-label, non-randomized trial that will be conducted at two clinical sites, Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Enrolled patients undergoing trans-jugular liver biopsy with hepatic vein pressure gradient (HVPG) measurements will receive a continuous infusion of Sonazoid® (GE Healthcare, Oslo, Norway) co-infused with 0.9% NaCl solution over a 5-10 minute time period. Ultrasound imaging will be performed using a Logiq 9 scanner with a 4C transducer (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) and the novel SHAPE (subharmonic aided pressure estimation) algorithm will be used to measure pressure values in the hepatic and portal veins. Data will be stored on a PC and compared to pressure-catheter measurements, Subjects identified in the initial examination as having portal hypertension (by HVPG results) will be monitored by SHAPE for up to 18 months. These subjects typically have surveillance Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans every 6 months to screen for liver cancer, and at those times a repeat SHAPE examination will be performed (ideally within 1 month of their clinically indicated imaging follow up appointment). In patients who undergo more frequent screening (generally 3 month intervals), SHAPE exams will be performed at 6 month intervals. Any repeat trans-jugular liver biopsies performed in this population will also trigger a repeat SHAPE study. Results of blood test evaluations (performed every 3 months in this population), medication, concomitant imaging study or procedure (including endoscopies) will be noted (all blood tests and imaging are clinically indicated only and are not required by this protocol). The end point for this part of the study will be any one new complication (e.g., liver cancer) or a marked worsening in any complication, liver transplantation, death, or the end of this clinical trial (after 3 years). The investigators expect these patients will be monitored three times during the course of this clinical trial. The time to reach the end point will be noted if a new complication or a marked worsening in any complication occurs.
Study GT 026 is a Phase 2, multicenter, parallel group, North American, randomized, placebo controlled, double blind study. This study will enroll subjects with portal hypertension (HVPG greater than or equal to 6 mm Hg) who also have a liver biopsy with cirrhosis (Ishak stage 5 or 6), presumably due to NASH, excluding subjects with medium and large varices and those with decompensated cirrhosis. Subjects with portal hypertension and cirrhosis will be randomly assigned (1:1:1 ratio) to receive 1 of 3 treatment assignments including placebo, GR MD 02 in a dose of 2 mg/kg lean body mass, or GR MD 02 in a dose of 8 mg/kg lean body mass administered every other week over a 52 week period for a total of 26 intravenous infusions. The primary endpoint analysis is the baseline adjusted change in HVPG at 1 year (53 55 weeks) in subjects treated with placebo as compared to subjects treated with GR MD 02 (2 mg/kg/week or 8 mg/kg/week). An esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with evaluation for varices, HVPG, and liver biopsy will be performed before the first infusion and after the final 26th dose of the investigational medicinal product (IMP). Additionally, subjects will undergo a FibroScan (if available) prior to the first infusion, at Infusion Visit 13, and 14 to 28 days following final 26th infusion, an methacetin breath test (MBT), will be performed if available at screening, at Infusion Visit 13, and 14 to 28 days after the final infusion, and blood will be collected for assessment of biomarkers. All subjects are to attend 2 postdose visits: the first will occur 14 to 28 days after the final dose administration and a second will occur 14 days following the first postdose visit. Subjects will be offered enrollment into a subsequent separate study, an open label extension study, if there is adequate tolerability and no safety issues or signs of clinical progression that would recommend discontinuation. Subjects who do not enroll in the open label extension study will be contacted via telephone every 6 months for 2 years and annually thereafter for a total of 4 years.
Background: - Noncirrhotic Portal Hypertension (NCPH) is caused by liver diseases that increase pressure in the blood vessels of the liver. It seems to start slowly and not have many warning signs. Many people may not even know that they have a liver disease. There are no specific treatments for NCPH. Objectives: - To learn more about how NCPH develops over time. Eligibility: - People age 12 and older who have NCPH or are at risk for getting it. In the past year, they cannot have had other types of liver disease that typically result in cirrhosis, liver cancer, or active substance abuse. Design: * Participants will have 2 screening visits. * Visit 1: to see if they have or may develop NCPH. * Medical history * Physical exam * Urine and stool studies * Abdominal ultrasound * Fibroscan. Sound waves measure liver stiffness. \<TAB\>- Visit 2: * Blood tests * Abdominal MRI * Echocardiogram * Questionnaire * Liver blood vessel pressure (hepatic venous portal gradient (HVPG)) measurement. This is done with a small tube inserted in a neck vein. * They may have a liver biopsy. * All participants will visit the clinic every 6 months for a history, physical exam, and blood tests. They will also repeat some of the screening tests yearly. * Participants with NCPH will also have: * Upper endoscopy test. A tube inserted in the mouth goes through the esophagus and stomach. * At least every 2 years: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy. * At least every 4 years: testing including HVPG measurements and liver biopsy. * Participants without NCPH will also have: * Liver biopsy and HVPG measurements to see if they have NCPH. * Every 2 years: abdominal MRI and stool studies. * The study will last indefinitely.
This is an open-label pilot study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of IDN-6556 in treating portal hypertension in subjects with liver cirrhosis.
This study will be used to train an algorithm using Methacetin breath test (MBT) measures and to select a cut-off to determine presence or absence of Clinically Significant Portal Hypertension (CSPH) as defined by Hepatic Venous Gradient Pressure (HVPG) ≥ 10mmHg,
This study will evaluate the antiviral efficacy of combination therapy with sofosbuvir (SOF) plus ribavirin (RBV) for 48 weeks in adults with compensated and decompensated chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Approximately 50 adults will be randomized (1:1) to receive study drug for 48 weeks or take part in an untreated observational arm for the first 24 weeks followed by study drug for another 48 weeks.
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.
The primary purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of cobiprostone (at two dose levels) as compared to placebo for lowering portal hypertension.
The primary purpose of this study is to determine if peginterferon alpha-2a maintenance therapy (90 mcg/week) will lower portal pressure in patients with hepatitis C virus infections and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Creation of the parenchymal tract between the portal vein and the hepatic vein is the most difficult and time consuming step in a TIPS procedure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate portal vein access sets during the TIPS procedure.
Creation of the parenchymal tract between the portal vein and the hepatic vein is the most difficult and time consuming step in a TIPS procedure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate portal vein access sets during the TIPS procedure.
A novel radiofrequency (RF) wire created by Baylis Medical (Montreal, CAN) is an FDA cleared device commonly used for percutaneous recanalization procedures. This wire has an active tip that delivers focused RF energy and has been applied for many procedures such as percutaneous transseptal left heart access, recanalization of central vein occlusion, recanalization of arterial occlusion, and recanalization of bile duct occlusion. There has been no study investigating the use of the RF wire for TIPS creation in clinical practice with humans. Having promising results of an experimental feasibility investigation in swine, the investigators are seeking to assess the feasibility and safety of the RF wire to cut through tissue in the liver while creating TIPS in the clinical setting.
The primary purpose of this project is to determine if acute monitoring of shunt patency via ultrasound elastography measurements of splenic stiffness before and after TIPS placement results in reduced morbidity and mortality from shunt failure.
Pilot study examining changes in liver stiffness measured by ultrasound before and after TIPS creation
This is a prospective longitudinal study that will evaluate if changes (pre and post therapy) in indocyanine green (ICG) retention test and liver stiff ness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) as measured by acoustic radiofrequency impulse (ARFI) correlate with changes in portal pressure as determined by the hepatic vein pressure gradient (HVPG) in patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis undergoing antiviral therapy.
Subjects will be those individuals greater than 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cirrhosis undergoing screening for esophageal varices. Eligible subjects will have a diagnosis of cirrhosis and esophageal varices (graded as medium or large) with no prior history of variceal bleeding. The diagnosis of cirrhosis will be based on clinical, radiologic, and/or laboratory data. Patients will be randomly assigned using electronic medical records to one of three treatment arms after screening esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) has been performed and large varices are identified. Primary outcome of the study will be the incidence of variceal bleeding in patients receiving one of the following therapies for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding: carvedilol, variceal band ligation (VBL), or both carvedilol and VBL.
The goal of this study is to evaluate an alternate approach, which involves using a 3D puncture path overlay, to access the portal vein during a Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) procedure. The study should determine if the alternate approach provides these benefits: improved safety of procedure, and reduced intervention time (including reduction of radiation exposure), which benefits both interventional radiologist and the patient. During a TIPS procedure, a shunt or stent (mesh tube) is passed down the jugular vein (the vein above the collarbone in the neck) using fluoroscopy (x-ray) guidance. The shunt then is inserted between the portal vein (vein that carries blood from the digestive organs into the liver) to a hepatic vein (vein that carries blood away from the liver back to the heart). In the standard approach, the interventional radiologist uses two-dimensional guidance (2D - having the dimensions of height and width only) to locate the path between the portal vein and hepatic vein. However, since these two veins do not connect, this method does not provide information on the three-dimensional (3D) relationship between the two veins. In the alternate approach, the physician will have the option of using 3D guidance to locate the path. An on-table limited (small field of view) CT scan, used in combination with FDA approved imaging software, will provide a 3D image demonstrating the relationship between the portal vein and the hepatic vein. The 3D image is overlaid on the standard live x-ray images to assist in needle guidance during the TIPS procedure. The CT scan performed will be in place of the angiograms that are typically performed. However, if the portal vein is not adequately seen in the CT images, the angiograms will be done and there will be no overlay. The procedure will proceed using the standard approach.
To determine if ultrasound measurements can accurately measure the blood pressure of flow across a stent that has been placed in a portal vein to reduce portal vein pressure known as Transjugular Intrahepatic Porto-Systemic shunts or TIPS.
Sorafenib is approved by the US FDA for the treatment of unresectable (can not operate) liver cancer and for renal cell carcinoma. Sorafenib is a drug that inhibits the growth of cancer cells and prevents the formation of new blood vessels that would otherwise help the cancer spread. Studies in experimental animals have shown that sorafenib may also lower portal vein pressure (the pressure of the blood passing from the intestine through the liver.) This study seeks to determine if sorafenib lowers the blood pressure in liver blood vessels (portal vein pressure) in patients with cirrhosis who have high portal vein pressure. The study will also obtain information whether sorafenib is safe in this patient population. Half of the patients will be given sorafenib and half will be given a placebo (a pill without any medicine in it.) This allows a comparison of the reactions of people who take sorafenib to those who do not.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the pre-operative symptoms and medical history of patients with portal hypertension who have undergone placement of H-graft portacaval shunts and correlate this with patient outcomes.
A total of fifty-five (55) patients with liver cirrhosis will be enrolled in this study to produce and validate dedicated Ga-PSMA-PET/MRI acquisition protocols. The specific hypotheses include: * Ga-PSMA PET/MRI may allow robust and reproducible noninvasive in vivo quantitation of hepatic macro and microhemodynamics in cirrhotic patients * Dedicated simultaneously acquired DWI sequences might quantitate liver fibrosis and improve hemodynamic quantitation. * Ga-PSMA PET/MRI may allow noninvasive and reproducible quantitation of portal venous hypertension and predict its evolution, as well as response to treatments * Ga-PSMA PET/MRI may improve noninvasive and reproducible qualitative and quantitative assessment of liver function, structure, nodules and predict evolution of cirrhosis