An interventional study of Increlex in Growth Failure and Chronic Liver Disease, sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles. Withdrawn. Open to participants aged 4 Years to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-14.
Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
A major consequence of chronic liver disease in childhood is growth failure. This is because a chemical essential for growth called growth factor is created in the liver. Lack of response to growth hormone in people with chronic liver disease is characterized by high levels of growth hormone and low levels of growth factors. This growth hormone resistance is reflected in a variety of factors including insulin resistance and low nutritional intake. Unfortunately, growth hormone therapy has no effect for children with liver disease. In addition, failure of normal growth or malnutrition makes liver disease even worse in children, and growth hormone therapy is not likely to reverse this. A lack of proper nutrition is associated with hospitalizations and frequent complications. Poor growth is a predictor of poor outcomes after liver transplantation. Thus the management of children with liver disease remains a challenge. Children who have successful orthotopic liver transplants (OLT) show much improvement in some aspects of growth, including skin fold thickness, mid-arm circumference, and normalization of growth factor levels. However, some studies have recently reported that the growth of 15-20% of children remains poor even after a liver transplant. This can be explained by persistent abnormalities in growth factors after transplant.
Growth factor was found to be a good tool for prognosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Studies showed that patients with liver cirrhosis and growth factor levels below normal values showed lower long-term survival rates compared with patients who had above normal values. This suggests that growth factor can be a good predictor of survival and early marker of poor liver function. In this case, aggressive feeding may modestly improve growth factor levels leading to improved growth but it is unlikely that effects will be optimal. The investigators propose that growth factor administration may have a positive effect that leads to better growth which is a major predictor of good outcome. To date, no reports study the use of growth factor in children with chronic liver disease. This study proposes to examine the effect of growth factor therapy in childhood chronic liver disease.
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Pre liver transplant patients with:
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Investigational drug or device
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients will serve as their own control.
Drug: Increlex
Increlex therapy will begin at 40 micrograms/kg/day twice a day. The dose will be escalated by 20 mcg twice a day every other week up to 100mcg/kg/week.
Growth velocity is the primary outcome. Improved height SDS
Improved growth velocity with improved height standard deviation scores (SDS) is the primary expected result.
Time frame: One year of therapy
Improved BMI
An improved body mass index is a secondary expected result of this study.
Time frame: 12 months
Improved quality of life
An improved quality of life as assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory forms is another expected result.
Time frame: 12 months
No study locations are listed for this record.
The record gives a start of Jun 2011 and a primary completion of Oct 2011. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.
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This study is withdrawn, as verified in Jul 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Mecasermin
University of California, Los Angeles →