Treatment of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease With n-3 Fatty Acids (WELCOME)

October 3, 2019 updated by: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

The Effects of Purified n-3 Fatty Acids on Serum Fibrosis Markers and Cardiovascular Risk Markers in a Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial in Patients With Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) imposes a high and increasing burden on the NHS, yet there is presently no licensed treatment or validated approach to management. NAFLD predisposes to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, increased risk of cardiovascular disease and may progress to chronic irreversible liver disease.

In NAFLD patients, the investigators will test the hypothesis that treatment with long chain n-3 fatty acid supplementation for 18 months favourably influences bio-markers for NAFLD and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

We will recruit people with NAFLD who have been diagnosed as part of their NHS care with having this condition. At present there is no treatment for this condition. Over time a proportion of people with NAFLD.

Purpose and design

We are asking the research question ' Does treatment with purified long chain n-3 fatty acids (purified fish oil) improve non alcoholic fatty liver disease and risk factors for heart disease and type 2 (adult) diabetes that are strongly linked to this liver condition?'

Presently there is no treatment for this liver condition. Research evidence suggests that purified long chain n-3 fatty acids might be beneficial for this condition.

To address this research question we want to undertake a randomised double blind placebo controlled trial recruiting people who have been diagnosed with a liver biopsy as having the liver condition.

A protocol change that were approved during in the course of the study in October 2011.

In the protocol, we have deleted information regarding liver biopsy that was to be offered at the end of the study.

Having collated volunteer opinion and local consultant opinion, whereas a high proportion of volunteers were happy to undergo a follow up liver biopsy, our local hepatologists now consider that in 2011, the small risk of morbidity and mortality of volunteers undergoing liver biopsy is unacceptable, within the context of a research study. Their opinions have changed since 2008 when the initial LREC approval was granted.

Liver biopsy was always an optional extra and would only have been undertaken in a subgroup of the volunteers. Therefore, removal of liver biopsy from the protocol does not affect the validity of the study to test effects of the n-3 fatty acid intervention on biomarkers and liver fat in people with non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Besides removal of liver biopsy from the protocol, we have clarified in the protocol, the end points of the study and numbers randomised to either n-3 fatty acid or placebo (n=100, as always intended). We have also made it clear in the amendment that measurement of liver fat is also a primary outcome of the study. (We already have permission to undertake this test but it was uncertain when the study was approved that we would have sufficient funding for this expensive test and it was originally not a primary outcome).

We have therefore added a power calculation (and cited the relevant literature) to show that with a sample size of n=100 people, based upon the known treatment effects of n-3 fatty acids on liver fat, we have acceptable power to detect the predicted decrease in this outcome with treatment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

103

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

  • United Kingdom
    • Hants
      • Southampton, Hants, United Kingdom, SO166YD
        • Southamption General Hospital

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 to 75 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  1. Steatohepatitis diagnosed on normal clinical grounds including in most cases liver biopsy and assessed by Kleiner scoring system to assess severity, with no known aetiological factors for underlying liver disease (e.g. exclusion of hepatitis A, B & C, primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, haemochromatosis).
  2. Steatosis diagnosed by ultrasound, CT or magnetic resonance imaging who also have either diabetes and/or features of the metabolic syndrome, without evidence of known aetiological factors for underlying liver disease (e.g. exclusion of hepatitis A, B & C, primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, haemochromatosis).

Liver biopsy or liver scan will be within 3 years of recruitment to the study. Age: men & women >18 years. Alcohol consumption <35 units / week for women <50 units / week for men).

Exclusion criteria:

  • Decompensated acute or chronic liver disease, or harmful drinking (> 35 u/week in women > 50 u /week in men).

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
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Omega 3 fatty acid (fish oil)
OMACOR (alternative name: Lovaza) 4 grammes daily, oral capsule
Drug: OMACOR
4 grammes daily, oral capsule
Other Names:
  • Lovaza
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: dummy pill
4 grammes daily, oral capsule (olive oil)
Drug: Placebo oral capsule
4 grammes daily, oral capsule (olive oil)
Other Names:
  • Dummy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of Liver Fat
Time Frame: Baseline and 18 months
Percentage of liver fat was measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy at baseline and end of study. High percentage values indicate a lot of liver fat (scale from 0 to 100%). Change in liver fat percentage represented the arithmetical difference between end of study liver fat percentage minus baseline measurement of liver fat percentage change in liver fat percentage was used to test whether the intervention decreased liver fat percentage. A negative change value in liver fat percentage indicates a response to therapy. A positive change value indicates no response to therapy.
Baseline and 18 months
Liver Fibrosis Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 18 months
The Liver Fibrosis Score is an algorithmically derived score of liver fibrosis comprising measurements of tissue matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), hyaluronic acid (HA) and the amino terminal end of procollagen III (PIIINP) (see Guha et al. in Reference section). The Score represents a number on a numerical scale from 0 to 20. High values of the score (measured in arbitrary units) indicate high probability of advanced liver fibrosis, low scores indicate low probability of advanced liver fibrosis. Change in Liver Fibrosis Score was used to test the intervention. Change in liver fibrosis score represented the change in measurement as calculated as the arithmetic difference between the end value minus the baseline value of the Liver Fibrosis Score. The change in Liver Fibrosis Score can therefore be negative (representing an improvement in liver fibrosis between baseline and end of study) or be positive, (representing a worsening a liver fibrosis between baseline and end of study.
Baseline and 18 months
NAFLD Fibrosis Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 18 months
The NAFLD fibrosis score represented a validated algorithmically-derived measure of liver fibrosis as reported in Angulo et al (see reference section). The Score is derived from anthropometric and biochemical measurements in subjects. The NAFLD fibrosis score represents an arbitrary number with no units from -5.0 to +5.0. High positive NAFLD fibrosis scores indicate a high probability of advanced liver fibrosis. Negative scores represent a low probability of advanced liver fibrosis. The change in NAFLD fibrosis score (measured in arbitrary units) was used to test the effect of the intervention and represented the arithmetic difference in the end minus baseline measurements of this score. Thus, a negative change in the Score in the Table represented an improvement in liver fibrosis score between baseline and the end of the study. A positive change in the Score in the Table represented a worsening in liver fibrosis score between baseline and end of the study.
Baseline and 18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Collaborators

National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christopher D Byrne, MBBCh PhD, University of Southampton, UK

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.

General Publications

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)

November 1, 2009

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

November 1, 2013

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

November 29, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 25, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 25, 2008

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

September 26, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

October 25, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 3, 2019

Last Verified

October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 25-12-59. (R&D: RHM MED 0836)
  • 08/H0502/165 (OTHER: Local Research Ethics Committee)

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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