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RecruitingNCT07205874Updated Oct 3, 2025

Early Diagnosis of Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) in Patients With Positive Anti-Mitochondrial Antibodies (AMA) and Normal Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)

An observational study in Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), sponsored by Hospital Universitario La Paz. Recruiting at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-10-03.

Sponsored by Hospital Universitario La Paz · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Mar 2026, 8 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Sep 2025; still recruiting 1 year 1 month later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Case-only
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
80
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this observational study is to achieve early diagnosis of Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) in patients with positive Anti-Mitochondrial Antibodies (AMA) and Normal Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) in adults aged 18-80 years with positive AMA and normal ALP. The main question it aims to answer is:

  • Are there any predictive factors for histological PBC in patients with positive AMA and normal ALP? Participants will undergo a liver biopsy and specific blood tests if eligible based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.
02

Conditions studied

  • Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

Keywords

  • Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)
  • Anti-Mitochondrial Antibodies (AMA)
  • Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)
03

In context

Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary

214 studies on the registry are indexed under Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary; 48 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 80 is below the median of 380 across 54 observational studies indexed under Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary.

Browse Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary studies →

Lead sponsor

Hospital Universitario La Paz is the lead sponsor of 56 studies on the registry; 20 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
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Adults aged 18-80 years with positive AMA and normal ALP

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

  • Signed
  • Positive AMA (≥1:40 titer)
  • Persistently normal ALP

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previously diagnosed with PBC, hepatitis, or primary sclerosing cholangitis
  • Under treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid, fibrates, biologics or including oral
  • for liver
  • Concomitant debilitating disease or poor prognosis
  • Pregnancy
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(6)

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.

Informed consent

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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.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

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.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-only
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
80 participants (estimated)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Case patients

    Patientes aged 18-80 years, with positive AMA (≥1:40 titer) and persistently normal ALP

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Scheuer's criteria

    Liver biopsy samples

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) Score

    Utilizes biomarkers such as hyaluronic acid, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), and procollagen III amino-terminal peptide (PIIINP)

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

  2. Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF-19)

    Provides insights into bile acid regulation and metabolic liver function. Quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

  3. Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α)

    Measured via high-sensitivity ELISA to assess inflammatory status

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

  4. Cytokine Profiling (Interleukin-6, -12, -23)

    Serum cytokine levels will be determined using multiplex immunoassays

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

  5. Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β)

    Quantified via ELISA to evaluate its role in fibrosis and immune regulation

    Time frame: Just once, at enrollment

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 3, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07205874
Lead sponsor
Hospital Universitario La Paz
Responsible party
María Dolores Martín Arranz, PhD (Head of department, Hospital Universitario La Paz) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 3, 2025
Start date
Sep 15, 2025
Primary completion
Mar 2026 (estimated)
Completion
May 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 3, 2025

Oversight

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

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No contact was published for this record. The registry link below has the sponsor’s details.

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