NIH Study to Test Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease in Children

NIH-funded scientists have launched a new clinical trial called Cysteamine Bitartrate Delayed-Release for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children (CyNCh). The trial will enroll 150 boys and girls ages 8 to 17 with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, in an effort to find a safe and effective treatment that helps children with fatty liver disease. The participants will receive cysteamine or placebo by mouth twice a day for a year. There are no weight cutoffs or percentiles for the children participating in CyNCh. However, more than 90 percent of the children are expected to be overweight or obese. Children with poorly managed diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic liver diseases will be excluded.

Combination Antiviral Therapy is More Effective for Pediatric Chronic Hepatitis C

A clinical trial has shown that combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin is more effective than therapy with peginterferon and placebo in treating chronic hepatitis C in children and adolescents. This trial was conducted at 11 sites throughout the United States. Recent US census results show that 23,048 to 42,296 children are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus. Eradication of the virus in an infected child has the dual benefits of eliminating social stigma as well as the progression of liver disease.

Functioning Bioengineered Anal Sphincters Implanted in Mice

Building on research that may have implications for future treatment for fecal incontinence, scientists have successfully implanted a physiologically functional bioengineered internal anal sphincter (IAS) in mice. The IAS is a ring-like muscle located just inside the rectum; along with the external anal sphincter, these two muscles keep the anus closed and maintain fecal continence. Loss of IAS muscle tone is a primary cause for the uncontrolled release of stool that occurs in people with fecal incontinence, a condition that places devastating emotional, social, physical, and economic burdens on people who are affected by it.

New Publications

• Bleeding in the Digestive Tract (Spanish)
• What I need to know about Crohn's Disease (Spanish)
• What I need to know about Gas (Spanish)
• ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography) (Spanish)