Intravenous Branched Chain Amino Acids for Hepatic Encephalopathy in ACLF

Summary

This study analyses the effect of intravenous branched chain amino acids (BCAA) on overt HE in patients with ACLF. The investigators plan to study the efficacy of combining intravenous BCAA with lactulose versus lactulose alone in the medical management of overt HE in patients with ACLF and its impact on overall survival and improvement in grade of HE.

Timeline

Start

2019-11-01

Primary completion

2021-12-30

Completion

2021-12-30

Publications

• Background Shawcross DL, Sharifi Y, Canavan JB, Yeoman AD, Abeles RD, Taylor NJ, Auzinger G, Bernal W, Wendon JA. Infection and systemic inflammation, not ammonia, are associated with Grade 3/4 hepatic encephalopathy, but not mortality in cirrhosis. J Hepatol. 2011 Apr;54(4):640-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2010.07.045. Epub 2010 Dec 1.
• Background Donovan JP, Schafer DF, Shaw BW Jr, Sorrell MF. Cerebral oedema and increased intracranial pressure in chronic liver disease. Lancet. 1998 Mar 7;351(9104):719-21. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)07373-X.
• Background Albrecht J, Norenberg MD. Glutamine: a Trojan horse in ammonia neurotoxicity. Hepatology. 2006 Oct;44(4):788-94. doi: 10.1002/hep.21357.
• Background Norenberg MD, Martinez-Hernandez A. Fine structural localization of glutamine synthetase in astrocytes of rat brain. Brain Res. 1979 Feb 2;161(2):303-10. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(79)90071-4.
• Background Albrecht J, Dolinska M, Hilgier W, Lipkowski AW, Nowacki J. Modulation of glutamine uptake and phosphate-activated glutaminase activity in rat brain mitochondria by amino acids and their synthetic analogues. Neurochem Int. 2000 Apr;36(4-5):341-7. doi: 10.1016/s0197-0186(99)00142-4.
• Background Laake JH, Takumi Y, Eidet J, Torgner IA, Roberg B, Kvamme E, Ottersen OP. Postembedding immunogold labelling reveals subcellular localization and pathway-specific enrichment of phosphate activated glutaminase in rat cerebellum. Neuroscience. 1999;88(4):1137-51. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4522(98)00298-x.
• Background Cordoba J, Ventura-Cots M, Simon-Talero M, Amoros A, Pavesi M, Vilstrup H, Angeli P, Domenicali M, Gines P, Bernardi M, Arroyo V; CANONIC Study Investigators of EASL-CLIF Consortium. Characteristics, risk factors, and mortality of cirrhotic patients hospitalized for hepatic encephalopathy with and without acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). J Hepatol. 2014 Feb;60(2):275-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2013.10.004. Epub 2013 Oct 12.
• Results Fischer JE, Rosen HM, Ebeid AM, James JH, Keane JM, Soeters PB. The effect of normalization of plasma amino acids on hepatic encephalopathy in man. Surgery. 1976 Jul;80(1):77-91.
• Results Dam G, Aamann L, Vistrup H, Gluud LL. The role of Branched Chain Amino Acids in the treatment of hepatic Encephalopathy. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2018 Dec;8(4):448-451. doi: 10.1016/j.jceh.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jun 27.
• Results Rossi-Fanelli F, Riggio O, Cangiano C, Cascino A, De Conciliis D, Merli M, Stortoni M, Giunchi G. Branched-chain amino acids vs lactulose in the treatment of hepatic coma: a controlled study. Dig Dis Sci. 1982 Oct;27(10):929-35. doi: 10.1007/BF01316578.
• Results Gluud LL, Dam G, Les I, Cordoba J, Marchesini G, Borre M, Aagaard NK, Vilstrup H. Branched-chain amino acids for people with hepatic encephalopathy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Feb 25;(2):CD001939. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001939.pub2.
• Mehtani R, Premkumar M, Garg S, Kajal K, Kulkarni AV, Duseja AK, Dhiman RK, De A, Verma N, Taneja S, Rathi S, Singh V, Chakma J, Soni SL, Kakkar A, Kapila AT, Ahuja CK, Divyaveer S, Praharaj D. Intravenous BCAA Infusion Does Not Lead to a Sustained Recovery From Overt HE in ACLF - An Open Label Randomized Clinical Trial. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2023 Nov-Dec;13(6):977-988. doi: 10.1016/j.jceh.2023.05.015. Epub 2023 Jun 1.

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