Evaluation of Phlebotomy as a Treatment for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Conditions
- Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Interventions
- Procedure: Phlebotomy
- Registration Number
- NCT00641524
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Western Ontario, Canada
- Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of phlebotomy (blood taking)as a treatment for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Detailed Description
In this study phlebotomy will be evaluated as a therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common and important cause of liver disease. Phlebotomy has been used for many years in the treatment of disorders of iron overload such as hemochromatosis, where it is well tolerated and improves symptoms and survival. There is some evidence that it is also effective in treating NAFLD. However, previous studies have not evaluated whether phlebotomy improves liver biopsy findings. We will measure the severity disease in NAFLD patients prior to phlebotomy therapy and again at the end of treatment. This will allow us to accurately determine the benefit of this therapy in these patients.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 45
- Patients 18y or older
- Diagnosis of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent
- Alcohol consumption of >10g/day for women and >20g/day for men
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- SINGLE_GROUP
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description treatment Phlebotomy Iron depletion via phlebotomy
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Severity of liver disease 6 months after final treatment
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Severity of metabolic disease 6 months after final treatment
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
London Health Sciences Centre
🇨🇦London, Ontario, Canada