Einstein Center for Liver Disease Seeks Patients for Clinical Study

Philadelphia, PA, February 6, 2006– Einstein Center for Liver Disease is seeking patients to participate in a clinical research study to evaluate the use of a medication called terlipressin to treat Type 1 hepatorenal syndrome (HRS).  HRS is a life-threatening complication of liver cirrhosis characterized by rapidly progressive kidney failure.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of terlipressin, as measured by improvement in kidney function and patient survival in treating Type 1 HRS compared to placebo. It is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center phase 3 study. “Currently, there is no pharmacologic treatment for this devastating disease, so it would be a tremendous step forward if this medication is approved to treat HRS, ” says Victor Araya, MD, a hepatologist at Einstein Center for Liver Disease and lead investigator for the Einstein study.

Cirrhosis is a chronic disease of the liver that is often caused by the hepatitis virus and chronic alcoholism.   Over 27,000 people die from cirrhosis and liver disease each year.  Liver transplant, which restores normal liver and kidney function, is the only therapeutic option that may help in long–term survival for HRS patients. However, liver transplant waiting lists are long, and some patients may not be eligible organ recipients.

As for HRS, the exact cause is unknown.  HRS is characterized by a progressive deterioration of kidney function in the absence of other causes of kidney failure.  Once HRS type 1 develops, the mortality without a liver transplant is 100 percent.  This mortality can be reduced if the HRS can be reversed with medicines, such as terlipressin.  

For more information about the terlipressin study at Einstein Center for Liver Disease, call 1-800-EINSTEIN.  Or, to learn more about this phase 3 study, visit the National Institutes of Health web site at www.clinicaltrials.gov and search for Study OT-0401. 

Einstein Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation has a multi-disciplinary team of specialists dedicated exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of liver disorders.  It is one of the largest liver transplant programs in the Philadelphia region, with patient outcomes above the national average.

CONTACT: Judy Horwitz
  Communications Specialist
  Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
  215-456-6730   horwitzj@einstein.edu

Publish date: February 6, 2006