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68 active trials for NAFLD

Low-Calorie Diet in People With Prediabetes/Metabolic Syndrome

Significant weight reduction, achieved by low-calorie diet (LCD), will mobilise ectopic fat (visceral and particularly liver fat), improving insulin sensitivity and other metabolic syndrome components, with secondary beneficial effects on cardiac structure and function. This CALIBRATE study (metabolic, multi-organ and effects of low-calorie diet in younger obese patients with pre-diabetes) will compare the effects of a safe and effective 12-month weight management intervention, initially using a low-calorie, liquid replacement diet for 12 weeks, anticipating at least 10% reduction in body weight. The investigators will examine how much the weight loss improves the metabolic abnormalities that precede type 2 diabetes (T2D), and in reversing the pre-clinical/subtle clinical abnormalities of the liver and heart that precede liver and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study will compare the effects of a safe and effective 12-month weight management intervention, initially using a low-calorie, liquid replacement diet for 12 weeks, followed by a weight maintenance phase. The investigators will examine how much the weight loss improves the metabolic and neuropathic abnormalities that precede and accompany type 2 diabetes (T2D), and in reversing the pre-clinical/subtle clinical abnormalities of the liver and heart that precede liver and cardiovascular disease. In an additional optional sub-study, the investigators will additionally assess how the weight loss impacts upon appetite regulation within the brain with functional MRI (fMRI).

Start: April 2021
Plant Stanols and Liver Inflammation in Overweight and Obese Children

Obesity is associated with a variety of co-morbidities. Children with obesity are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and CVD risk markers (e.g. hypertension, elevated serum cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes mellitus), but also with organ specific pathologies such as a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A recent meta-analysis has shown that the prevalence of NAFLD in obese pediatric populations is approximately 35%, compared to approximately 8% in general pediatric population, making it a very important health threat in these populations. Successful pharmacological interventions to treat or prevent NASH are not yet available and so far only weight loss has clear benefits. However, it is well known that sustained weight-loss is difficult to achieve on the longer-term. The investigators recently demonstrated in mice that plant sterol and stanol ester consumption inhibited the development of liver inflammation. Moreover, Javanmardi et al. recently demonstrated in a population of adult NAFLD patients, that plasma concentrations of Alanine Transaminase (ALT) were reduced after daily plant sterol consumption (1.6 g/d) for 6 weeks. In this study, the investigators propose to evaluate the effect of consuming soft chews enriched with plant stanol esters (3 grams/day) on ALT concentrations in children with overweight or (morbid) obesity who are at risk of developing NAFLD, in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blinded study with an intervention period and follow-up period of 6 months. 52 overweight and obese children with elevated ALT concentrations (>39 U/L for boys and >33 U/L for girls) will be included. All children will be randomly allocated to consume control or plant stanol ester enriched soft chews on a daily basis for a period of 6 months. After 12 months there will be an additional blood sample to evaluate whether the 6 months intervention is still effective.

Start: March 2021
Low Carbohydrate Diet: The Effects on Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese Teens With Metabolic Syndrome

Concurrent with the rising prevalence of childhood obesity, the co-morbid condition of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease among children. NAFLD is characterized by accrual of excess triglycerides (TG) in the liver that leads to inflammation, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. One-third of the pediatric population has NAFLD, a disease strongly associated with insulin-resistance and metabolic-syndrome (Met-S). NAFLD is predicted to become the leading cause of liver transplantation in adults by 2030. Current understanding of NAFLD indicates that presence of excess TG in liver is an absolute requirement for disease progression. First-line therapy for NAFLD is focused on decreasing adiposity and improving insulin sensitivity through diet and exercise. Recent adult data indicate that dietary carbohydrate-restriction is more effective at reducing hepatic TG-content than traditional calorie-restriction. Few studies have been conducted to establish resolution of hepatic steatosis by any intervention. Such studies in pediatrics are primarily limited by a need for liver biopsy. However, hepatic proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) is a new innovative tool used to quantitatively measure hepatic TG content in a non-invasive manner. The primary aim is to compare the impact of dietary weight loss via carbohydrate-restriction and calorie-restriction on hepatic TG-content quantified by H-MRS in obese children with biopsy-proven NAFLD and Met-S. This IRB approved protocol is a randomized control study. The investigators will recruit subjects from the Center for Obesity and its Consequences in Health and the pediatric gastroenterology clinics between the ages of 11-17 years who meet criteria for NAFLD and Met-S. A H-MRS will be obtained in each subject prior to the start of dietary intervention. Fifty-four subjects will be randomized to either a carbohydrate-restricted or calorie-restricted diet for 6 months with no change in baseline activity. A repeat H-MRS will be compared to baseline to determine the whether dietary carbohydrate-restriction is superior to calorie-restriction for reducing hepatic TG content. The investigators believe that subjects on the carbohydrate-restricted diet will have marked decrease in hepatic TG content compared to those in the calorie-restricted diet given the same degree of reduction in body mass index.

Start: July 2014
Comparison of Two sTRAtegies For the Non-Invasive Diagnosis of advanCed Liver Fibrosis in NAFLD

NAFLD, closely linked to overweight and insulin resistance, has reached 25% prevalence worldwide. Advanced liver fibrosis(ALF) must be accurately diagnosed in NAFLD because it defines a subgroup of patients with impaired prognosis, and these patients need a specific management to prevent the occurrence of liver-related complication. Relatively few NAFLD patients develop ALF and it is a challenge for physicians to identify them. Liver biopsy is the reference for liver fibrosis evaluation but this invasive procedure cannot be first-line used in NAFLD. Non-invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis is now available, especially liver stiffness measurement (LSM) with Fibroscan and blood fibrosis tests. However, Fibroscan is a costly device available only in few specialized centres with thus poor accessibility in face of the large NAFLD population. Blood fibrosis tests can be performed by every physician and are distinguished as "complex" or "simple". Because they include specialized biomarkers, complex blood fibrosis tests are accurate for the diagnosis of ALF but they are quite expensive and not reimbursed, with therefore limited use in clinical practice. Simple blood fibrosis tests have the advantage to include cheap and easy-to-obtain biomarkers with simple calculation thanks to free websites or smartphone applications. Simple blood fibrosis tests are globally less accurate than complex blood fibrosis tests or Fibroscan but, used with a high-sensitivity cut-off, they have the high interest of being able to accurately rule out advanced fibrosis in a significant proportion of NAFLD patients. Recently, two sequential diagnostic procedures have been developed for the diagnosis of ALF with the idea to combine the advantages of the different kind of fibrosis tests: the FIB4-Fibroscan (FIB4-FS) and the eLIFT-FibroMeterVCTE (eLIFT-FMVCTE) algorithms. These algorithms include as first-line procedure a simple blood fibrosis test (FIB4 or eLIFT) which identifies the patients who require a further second-line evaluation with a more accurate non-invasive test (Fibroscan or FibroMeterVCTE). Liver biopsy is finally used as third-line procedure in patients for whom the diagnosis remains undetermined. Such algorithms have the advantage to limit the use of complex fibrosis tests only to a subset of at risk-patients. The TRAFIC study compare two strategies for the diagnosis of ALF in NAFLD patients: the FIB4-Fibroscan algorithm and the eLIFT-FibroMeterVCTE algorithm

Start: March 2021