ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT04088370Updated Sep 24, 2026

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Response In Healthy Controls, Heavy Drinkers, and Patients With Alcoholic Hepatitis

An observational study in Alcoholic Hepatitis, sponsored by The Cleveland Clinic. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 21 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-24.

Sponsored by The Cleveland Clinic · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Oct 2019; still recruiting 7 years 1 month later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
30
Ages
21 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Inflammatory responses in response to alcohol have been identified as contributing to the development of alcoholic hepatitis. The inflammatory response including that to LippoPolySaccharide is known to lead to progression of alcoholic liver disease. In addition to the inflammatory response mitochondrial perturbations exist and redox homeostasis is altered in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Though this is known there have been very few studies targeting mitochondrial function in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs). We plan to collect 50 milliliters of blood from healthy control patients so that we can compare the data to that of patients with alcoholic hepatitis and those who are heavy drinkers without liver disease. In addition to studying mitochondrial function we will investigate cytokine response, as well as fatty acid metabolism, glucose, and insulin measurements

02

Conditions studied

  • Alcoholic Hepatitis

Browse trials for

03

In context

Hepatitis, Alcoholic

113 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis, Alcoholic; 24 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 230 across 28 observational studies indexed under Hepatitis, Alcoholic.

Browse Hepatitis, Alcoholic studies →

Lead sponsor

The Cleveland Clinic is the lead sponsor of 831 studies on the registry; 119 are open to participants now.

Of its 90 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 73 (81%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
21 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

Patients with alcoholic hepatitis as diagnosed by liver biopsy, imaging, or biochemical values with noted encounter in Cleveland Clinic Electronic Medical Record,

Heavy Drinking Controls - patients who lack any evidence (biochemical, imaging, and/or biopsy) of alcoholic liver disease who consume >40 g/day or >280g/week on average for women and >60 g/day or >420 g/week on average for men for a minimum of 6 months

Healthy Controls - patients without any form of liver disease nd do not meet the criteria for "Heavy Drinking Controls"

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 of Subjects with Alcoholic Hepatitis (AH):

*diagnosis of AH either by imaging, biochemical values or liver as well as drinking history

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion Heavy Drinking Controls:

*heavy alcohol drinking will be defined as >40 g/day or >280g/week on average for women and >60 g/day or >420 g/week on average for men for a minimum of 6 months [6] and within the 4 weeks prior to study enrollment.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria for all groups

  • inability or unwillingness to sign
  • cancer
  • disease that in the opinion of the PI will confound study data

Control subjects (drinking and non drinking) must meet the following criteria:

  • \< 1.4
  • total levels must \<3
  • no prior history of known alcoholic liver disease
  • absence of hepatosplenomegaly (from physical examination or radiographic imaging) or stigmata of liver disease.
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.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

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.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Alcoholic Hepatitis

    No intervention-blood draw only

    Other: Blood Draw

  • Healthy Controls

    No intervention- blood draw only

    Other: Blood Draw

  • Healthy Heavy Drinkers

    No intervention- blood draw only

    Other: Blood Draw

Interventions

  • OtherBlood Draw

    Blood Draw Only

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Quantify mitochondrial respiration

    Mitochondrial Respiration will be quantified by using a standard substrate, uncoupler, inhibitor titration protocol using high resolution respirometry

    Time frame: 1 day

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Oct 2019 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2028, 110 months after the start.

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

Registered
Sep 11, 2019
First posted
Sep 12, 2019
StartActual
Oct 8, 2019
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2028
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2028
Last update
Sep 24, 2026
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 Sep 24, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04088370
Responsible party
Srinivasan Dasarathy (Staff Physician, The Cleveland Clinic) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 12, 2019
Start date
Oct 8, 2019
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 24, 2026

Study contacts

Annette Bellar
Contact
bellara@ccf.org
2164456268 ext. 2164456268

Oversight

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

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