Effect of Pioglitazone on Portal and Systemic Hemodynamics in Patients With Advanced Cirrhosis

November 24, 2008 updated by: Medical University of Vienna
The purpose of this study is to investigate the response to pioglitazone on the hepatic venous pressure gradient and peripheral vascular responsiveness to vasoconstrictors in patients with advanced (Child´s Grade B or C) cirrhosis.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cirrhotic liver disease is associated with portal hypertension including elevated portal pressure as well as hyperdynamic circulation and low peripheral vascular resistance. Endothelial nitric (NO) release is impaired in liver microvasculature, upregulation of eNOS activity in the cirrhotic liver may constitute a new strategy to correct the increased hepatic vascular tone in these patients. In contrary to this impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation (endothelial dysfunction) and NO deficiency in the cirrhotic liver, systemic and splanchnic circulation of cirrhotic patients is characterized by increased vascular tone and hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors. In addition to increasing insulin sensitivity, thiazolidinediones, like pioglitazone decrease oxidative stress and inflammation and improve endothelial function. In a randomized controlled, parallel group double-blind study 20 Patients with advanced (Child´s Grade B or C) liver cirrhosis will receive pioglitazone or placebo for nine days. Portal hemodynamics and forearm blood flow response will be measured at baseline and after pioglitazone/placebo to investigate the effect of pioglitazone in these group of patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

Phase

  • Phase 4

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

      • Vienna, Austria, 1090
        • Internal Medicine III, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Cirrhosis, grade B or C (Child-Pugh score)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of hypersensitivity to the trial drugs and contrast agent or to drugs with a similar chemical structure
  • Treatment with vasoactive or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or systemic antibiotics one week before the study
  • Exclusion criteria for hepatic hemodynamic investigation
  • Cardiac, renal or respiratory failure
  • Previous surgical or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
  • Insulin-dependent diabetes

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: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: 1
Patients receive 60mg of pioglitazone once a day orally for 9 days
Patients receive 60mg of pioglitazone once a day orally for 9 days
Placebo Comparator: 2
Patients receive Placebo orally once a day for 9 days
Patients receive placebo once a day orally for 9 days

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
portal and systemic hemodynamic parameters
Time Frame: 9 days
9 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde)
Time Frame: 9 days
9 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Arnulf Ferlitsch, MD, Medical University of Vienna

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

December 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 10, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 10, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

December 11, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 25, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 24, 2008

Last Verified

November 1, 2008

More Information

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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