Liver biopsies reveal Fat-Busting secrets in alcohol detox
NCT ID NCT07191561
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026 · Updated 60 times
Summary
This study looks at how the liver processes fat in people with alcohol use disorder who are quitting drinking. Researchers will take two small liver samples—one early in detox and one after four weeks—to compare gene activity. The goal is to understand how the liver clears fat when alcohol is removed, which could help develop future treatments for alcohol-related liver disease.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could reveal how the liver recovers from alcohol-related fat buildup, pointing toward new ways to treat or prevent liver damage.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage observational study with only 25 participants. It does not test a treatment, so results may not lead to direct medical advances.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 25 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Participants diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, currently under inpatient treatment at the NIH.
- Ages
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18 to 100 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: * Any individual \>=18 years of age who is enrolled in 14-AA-0181 and is seeking inpatient treatment. * Vibration Controlled Elastography parameters with initial CAP of \>295dB/m. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: * Pregnancy * Existing diagnosis of hyperlipidemia or essential hypertension * Hemoglobin A1c \>= 6.5% * Waist to hip ratio: \>=0.90 in males, \>=0.85 in females * Existing use of cholesterol lowering medications including statins, fibrates, or other similar medications used for the purposes of treating hyperlipidemia. * Those with evidence of severe alcoholic hepatitis with a Maddrey s Discriminant Function \> 32 * Those with other chronic liver diseases including chronic hepatitis B (positive hepatitis B surface Ag on admission), hepatitis C (positive hepatitis C RNA), or autoimmune hepatitis (clinical diagnosis based on high titer of positive ANA and or anti smooth muscle Ab and a history of autoimmune disease) * HIV infection * Contraindication or inability to perform a liver biopsy. * Participants with coagulopathy (PT/PTT values that are prolonged (Bullet) 3 seconds from the upper limit of the normal, including treatment with oral and parenteral anticoagulants), thrombocytopenia (\< 70,000), abnormal bleeding time or platelet dysfunction. Antiplatelet agents taken for cardiovascular prevention will not exclude participants, unless they cannot be stopped safely for the performance of a liver biopsy. * Hemoglobin level \< 11 g/dL * Inability to provide informed consent.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
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