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CompletedNCT03420144Updated May 3, 2023

Growth Hormone Therapy in Liver Cirrhosis

A Phase 2/3 interventional study of Standard Medical Therapy and Growth Hormone in Cirrhosis, Liver, sponsored by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. Completed at 1 site in India. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-03.

Sponsored by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh · Phase 2/3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2/3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
76
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Liver cirrhosis (LC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Life- threatening complications of liver cirrhosis are ascites, gastrointestinal bleeding, variceal bleed, hepatic encephalopathy and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which are associated with poor prognosis.The leading causes of liver cirrhosis include excess alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Malnutrition is common in end-stage liver disease (cirrhosis) and is often associated with a poor prognosis. It occurs in all forms of cirrhosis with different etiology and prevalence ranges from 65 to 100% depending upon the methods used for nutritional assessment and the severity of liver disease. Nutritional state influences survival in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Protein malnutrition manifested by reduced skeletal muscle mass and hypoalbuminemia, exist in patients with cirrhosis despite apparent adequate food consumption and these patients have a higher rate of complications and, overall, an increased mortality rate. Also, Malnutrition has significant implications for liver transplantation; patients with poor nutritional status before transplantation have increased complications and higher mortality rates postoperatively. Screening all patients with chronic liver disease for nutritional abnormalities can identify those at risk of developing preventable complications.

Malnutrition is commonly associated with protein catabolism and the protein catabolic state of cirrhosis is associated with severe growth hormone (GH) resistance, with low levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and its major binding protein (IGFBP)-3.

GH therapy in cirrhosis has been shown to improve nitrogen economy and to improve the GH resistance in a small pilot study by Donaghy et al. Also, GH therapy of short duration has shown to increase IGF1 levels, IGFBP-3 levels in patients of cirrhosis. GH therapy has also shown to improve liver regeneration and protein synthesis after hepatectomy in patients of HCC with cirrhosis.

However there is scarcity of data on clinical impact of long term administration of GH therapy in patients of cirrhosis. Hence, we undertook the present study to study the effect of growth hormone on nitrogen economy, malnutrition and liver regeneration in patients with cirrhosis.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cirrhosis, Liver

Keywords

  • Growth hormone
  • cirrhosis
03

In context

Liver Cirrhosis

1,298 studies on the registry are indexed under Liver Cirrhosis; 338 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 76 is close to the median of 78 across 739 interventional studies indexed under Liver Cirrhosis.

Browse Liver Cirrhosis studies →

Lead sponsor

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh is the lead sponsor of 298 studies on the registry; 45 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
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

  • Decompensated Cirrhosis of liver irrespective of etiology

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute on chronic liver failure (fulfilling either APASL or CANONIC criteria of ACLF)
  • Splenic diameter of more than 18 cm
  • Concomitant HCC or other active
  • Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the previous 7 days
  • Portal vein thrombosis
  • Severe renal dysfunction as defined by creatnine > 1.5mg/dl
  • Severe cardiac dysfunction
  • Uncontrolled diabetes ( A 1c ≥ 9) or diabetic retinopathy
  • Acute infection or disseminate intravascular coagulation
  • Active alcohol abuse in last 3 months
  • Known to GH
  • co-infection
  • Pregnancy
  • Refusal to give
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

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.

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.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2 / Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
76 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Standard Medical Therapy

    Standard medical therapy: diuretics, lactulose, rifaximin, diuretics, albumin infusion, nutritional support (as required)

    Drug: Standard Medical Therapy

  • Active comparator
    Growth hormone

    Growth Hormone: GH therapy is initiated at a low dose of 1U/day and titrated slowly upward to a maximum dose of 3U/day (based on IGF-1 levels) subcutaneously for 1 year.

    Drug: Standard Medical Therapy · Drug: Growth Hormone

Interventions

  • DrugStandard Medical Therapy

    Standard Medical Therapy will include nutritional support, rifaximin, lactulose, bowel wash, albumin, diuretics, multivitamins and antibiotics as required

  • GH therapy is initiated at a low dose of 1U/day and titrated slowly upward to a maximum dose of 3U/day (depending on IGF-1 levels) subcutaneously for 1 year.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Improvement in Nutritional status based on CT L3 SMI score.

    Nutritional status will be assesses by skeletal muscle index measurement using CT scan measurements at L3 level

    Time frame: One year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Improvement in BMI

    Time frame: One Year

  2. Improvement in Mid arm muscle circumference(MAMC)

    Time frame: One year

  3. Improvement in hand grip strength

    Hand grip strength will be measured with the hydraulic hand dyanamometer in Kg/force.

    Time frame: One year

  4. Clinical improvement in liver function

    Occurrence of decompensations namely ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and variceal bleed

    Time frame: One Year

  5. Biochemical improvement in liver function

    Improvment in MELD score

    Time frame: One year

  6. Improvement in Quality of life

    Quality of life will be assessed using SF-36V2 Health Survey questionnaire

    Time frame: One Year

  7. Improvement in liver regeneration

    By measuring hepatic parenchymal cell specific marker (CD 133) and cell proliferation marker (Ki-67) by immunohistochemistry.

    Time frame: One Year

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
    Chandigarh, 160012, India
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Jan 2018 to primary completion in Jun 2020, 29 months.

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

Registered
Jan 11, 2018
First posted
Feb 5, 2018
StartActual
Jan 15, 2018
Primary completionActual
Jun 30, 2020
CompletionActual
Jun 30, 2020
Last update
May 3, 2023
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
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 May 3, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03420144
Responsible party
Dr.Virendra Singh (Professor of Hepatology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 5, 2018
Start date
Jan 15, 2018
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2020
Completion
Jun 30, 2020
Last update
May 3, 2023

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Growth Hormone

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