The Liver Health Study for Patients with NAFLD

December 16, 2024 updated by: Elizabeth Jane Parks, University of Missouri-Columbia

Nutrient Overload, Insulin Resistance, and Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction

The study will investigate whether the level of fat stored in the liver is related to the liver's ability to burn fat.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study has two phases. In Phase I, liver samples from patients undergoing bariatric surgery or a diagnostic liver biopsy will be tested for the ability to burn fatty acids. In Phase II, patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease will participate in either a nine-month lifestyle treatment program or undergo standard care. The goal is to determine how weight loss and exercise improve liver health.

Inpatient comprehensive metabolic tests are performed before and after the nine-months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

336

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Missouri
      • Columbia, Missouri, United States, 65212
        • University of Missouri

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

22 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

For Phase I: Any patient scheduled to undergo bariatric surgery or a liver biopsy to diagnose nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

For Phase II: Only subjects who have had a diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and completed Phase I (and no subjects who have undergone bariatric surgery)

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Men and women (pre and post-menopausal)
  2. Overweight/obese with BMI ≥ 25.9 or < 50.0 kg/m2
  3. Characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes (fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL or 2h glucose 140-200 mg/dL) or diabetes type 2, or undergoing bariatric surgery
  4. 22-65 years of age
  5. Sedentary, < 60 minutes per week of structured physical activity
  6. Alcohol intake< 20 g/d

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Having undergone bariatric surgery.
  2. Acute disease or advanced cardiac or renal disease, anticoagulation therapy, or any severe co-morbid condition limiting life expectancy < 1 years
  3. Other causes of hepatitis including hepatitis B & C, autoimmune hepatitis, hemochromatosis, celiac disease, Wilson's disease, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, medication-induced hepatitis, any clinical or biochemical evidence of decompensated liver disease
  4. Use of steroids or other drugs that cause NAFLD
  5. Pregnant or trying to become pregnant
  6. Inability to exercise on a bike or treadmill

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Phase I: Observational studies
Patients are eligible who are undergoing either bariatric surgery or a liver biopsy for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
The liver samples from patients undergoing bariatric surgery or a diagnostic liver biopsy will undergo in vitro assays to determine the capacity of the tissue to burn fat
Experimental: Phase II: Lifestyle treatment
Subjects will undergo lifestyle modification to cause weight loss and improved fitness
Subjects will undergo energy restriction and exercise training over a 9 month period.
Placebo Comparator: Phase II: Control treatment
Subjects will be given dietary advice and a stretching program.
Subjects will receive dietary advice and receive information on a stretching program.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Liver mitochondrial gene expression
Time Frame: 1 day
Liver tissue will be tested in vitro to determine the abundance of transcript indicative of fat oxidation.
1 day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Liver mitochondrial fat oxidation
Time Frame: 1 day
Liver tissue will be tested in vitro to determine its capacity to burn fat
1 day
Histology to determine the amount of fibrosis in the liver
Time Frame: 1 day
Liver samples will be tested to determine the severity of liver disease and whether diet and exercise reduce liver fibrosis.
1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Parks, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Principal Investigator: Jamal Ibdah, MD, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Principal Investigator: Scott Rector, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 9, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 3, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

April 29, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 10, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

May 12, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2024

Last Verified

July 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2008258

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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