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CompletedNCT00160407Updated Nov 20, 2007

Orlistat (Xenical) in the Treatment of Overweight Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

A Phase 4 interventional study of Orlistat (Xenical) and 1400 kcal diet (30% fat) in Fatty Liver and Hepatitis, sponsored by St. Louis University. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2007-11-20.

Sponsored by St. Louis University · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if orlistat (Xenical) therapy in overweight patients with NASH leads to enhanced weight loss over time, with subsequent improvement in the underlying necroinflammatory and fibrotic changes that are typical of NASH.

Read the detailed description

Previous studies have suggested that steady weight loss over time will result in improvement in aminotransferases, and more importantly, underlying histopathology in patients with NASH. A total of 50 biopsy-proven NASH patients will be enrolled in a prospective, randomized fashion. Twenty-five patients have been enrolled at the primary study site at Saint Louis University. Recruitment of the next 25 patients is taking place at a study subsite at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

This will be an open-label study comparing an established weight loss program (1400-calorie diet with 30% fat) plus daily vitamin E (800 IU) and a daily multivitamin to the same weight loss program, daily vitamin E (800 IU) and multivitamin, plus orlistat (120 mg), three times daily for 36 weeks.

Data to be collected from prospective patients includes demographic information, such as age, sex, past medical history, medications, height and weight. Biochemical data to be collected from prospective patients includes liver enzymes, measures of insulin resistance to include, insulin levels, lipid panel, hemoglobin A1C, free fatty acids, complete blood count, coagulation studies, and vitamin E levels. Blood will also be collected and stored for markers of inflammation and fibrosis, such as C reactive protein and TNF-alpha. A liver biopsy will be obtained at the completion of the study for both histopathologic analysis and RNA analysis.

02

Conditions studied

  • Fatty Liver
  • Hepatitis

Keywords

  • nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
  • enzyme inhibitors
  • lipase
  • obesity
  • insulin resistance
03

In context

Fatty Liver

1,462 studies on the registry are indexed under Fatty Liver; 289 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 50 is below the median of 60 across 1,009 interventional studies indexed under Fatty Liver.

Browse Fatty Liver studies →

Lead sponsor

St. Louis University is the lead sponsor of 156 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.

Of its 19 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 15 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Liver biopsy obtained no more than 24 months before randomization with a pathology report confirming that the histological diagnosis is consistent with NASH
  • Compensated liver disease with the following laboratory parameters at the entry visit:

    • Hemoglobin values of greater than or equal to 12 gm/dl for females or 13 gm/dl for males
    • WBC count > 3,000/mm3
    • Neutrophil count > 1,500/mm3
    • Platelets > 70,000/mm3
    • Albumin >3.0 g/dl
  • Serum creatinine \<1.4mg/dl
  • Ability to give informed consent
  • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) greater than or equal to 40 U/L
  • BMI > or equal to 27 kg/m2
  • Patients who receive orlistat must agree to participate in Xenicare, a free dietary counseling program provided by Roche (sponsor)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any cause for chronic liver disease other than NASH
  • Evidence of decompensated liver disease such as a history of or presence of ascites, bleeding varices, or spontaneous encephalopathy
  • History of alcohol consumption of greater than 20 grams per day in the past 2 years
  • Prior surgical procedures to include gastroplasty, jejunoileal or jejunocolic bypass
  • TPN within the past 6 months
  • History of prior organ transplantation
  • Concurrent enrollment in other experimental treatment protocols
  • Use of ursodeoxycholic acid, rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, or metformin within the 6-month period before enrollment
  • Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
50 participants

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The primary endpoint is weight loss leading to improvement in the global necroinflammatory and fibrosis scores on liver biopsies. A change of one point in the necroinflammatory grade or fibrosis stage will be considered statistically significant.

Secondary outcomes

  1. BMI,ALT,Serum free fatty acids,HOMA-IR (fasting insulin x fasting glucose/22.4)

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Saint Louis University
    St Louis, Missouri 63110, United States
  • Brooke Army Medical Center
    San Antonio, Texas 78234, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Harrison SA, Fecht W, Brunt EM, Neuschwander-Tetri BA. Orlistat for overweight subjects with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: A randomized, prospective trial. Hepatology. 2009 Jan;49(1):80-6. doi: 10.1002/hep.22575. PubMed 19053049 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Oct 2003 and a completion of Dec 2006. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 8, 2005
First posted
Sep 12, 2005
Start
Oct 2003
CompletionActual
Dec 2006
Last update
Nov 20, 2007
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 20, 2007, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00160407
Collaborators
Hoffmann-La Roche
First posted
Sep 12, 2005
Start date
Oct 2003
Completion
Dec 2006
Last update
Nov 20, 2007

Study contacts

Brent A Tetri, MD
principal investigator · St. Louis University
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2007. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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