Treatment of Alcohol-Related Hepatitis With Arginine

March 11, 2013 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Arginine Treatment for Alcoholic Hepatitis

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of the amino acid arginine in reducing liver injury in individuals with alcohol-related hepatitis.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Arginine is a naturally occurring amino acid that is also available in pill form. Arginine pills have been shown to aid in liver detoxification and fat breakdown in the liver. Numerous studies have examined the effects of arginine on the liver. However, few have determined the optimal concentration of arginine that would best prevent injury to the liver This study will provide participants with three concentration levels of arginine to determine which is most effective in reducing liver injury in alcoholic hepatitis patients.

This study will last 31 days. Participants will be admitted to the General Clinical Research Center for 27 days. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. Participants in Groups 1, 2, and 3 will have 1%, 2%, or 6% arginine added to their diet in the form of gel capsules. Participants in Group 4 will receive placebo capsules. Participants will be given 24 capsules of different dietary supplements, including the arginine supplements, every day during their hospital stay.

Participants who are not able to ingest at least 18 capsules per day over 3 days or who are not able to eat the majority of their solid or liquid diet while hospitalized will have a naso-gastric soft feeding tube inserted for food and supplements to be administered. A liver biopsy will be performed on Days 3 and 26. The biopsies will involve insertion of a catheter in a neck vein and a small sample of liver tissue will be removed. On Days 2 and 25, participants will undergo blood and urine collection. Participants will also be infused with nonradioactive leucine to determine the levels of albumin, a protein that is reduced in diseased livers. If participants develop fluid in the abdomen (a condition known as ascites), a small sample of fluid will be extracted from the abdomen twice a day on Days 2, 17, and 25. On Day 31, participants will return to the research center for additional blood and urine collection.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Torrance, California, United States, 90509
        • Harbor - University of California Los Angeles Medical Center

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

14 years to 66 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis
  • Maddrey's DF score less than 33

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hepatitis C or B virus infected
  • HIV infected
  • History of cancer
  • Hepatic encephalopathy (a condition in which liver failure affects the central nervous system)
  • Kidney failure
  • A Do Not Resuscitate order (a patient-directed order not to resuscitate in the event that resuscitation is necessary to prevent death)
  • Maddrey's DF score of 33 or greater after vitamin K administration during the study
  • Alcohol withdrawal at study entry
  • Active pneumonia at study entry
  • Allergy to iodine
  • Enrollment in any other clinical trials

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 2
Moderate Arginine
Drug: Arginine
Amino Acid Arginine
Sham Comparator: 3
Polycose control arm
Drug: Arginine
Amino Acid Arginine
Experimental: 1
High Arginine
Drug: Arginine
Amino Acid Arginine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Percent reduction in liver endotoxin production
Time Frame: After nutritional intervention
After nutritional intervention
change in Maddrey's discriminant function (DF) score
Time Frame: After nutritional intervention
After nutritional intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Collaborators

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: John A. Tayek, MD, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor - University of Los Angeles Medical Center

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

April 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 12, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 12, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 20, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 12, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2013

Last Verified

March 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21AT002394-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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