The Acute Liver Failure Lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center has been devoted to clinical research in viral liver disesase for the past two decades.
Acute Liver Injury (ALI)
Since 2007, a new group of patients has also been enrolled in a separate category, those with acute liver injury (ALI), defined as having severe hepatocyte injury as indicated by an INR of 2.0 and AST of 10x ULN but with no evidence of encephalopathy. The rationale here was to identify and study patients with slightly less severe disease to determine factors leading to recovery or progression of disease.
Various Causes
A unique feature of ALF is the similarity of the clinical picture across many different etiologies (causes). The graph below indicates that the most common cause is liver injury due to excessive amounts of acetaminophen (abbreviated APAP), the common pain reliever found in innumerable over the counter medications (Tylenol®, Nyquil®, TylenolPM®) and prescription opioid combination medications (Vicodin®, Percocet®).
Data on more than 800 acetaminophen overdose patients has been collected. Patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) due to prescription drugs or complementary and alternative medications (CAMs) constitute the second largest group. Viral hepatitis due to hepatitis B or hepatitis A are also observed although both appear to be less common than in past decades, secondary to vaccination for both now being available.
Find a Clinical Trial
The new FaCT website aids research participants and investigators with finding trials. Once a clinical trial has been found, the website contains all contact information for the Research Participant Advocate, the IRB, and the research coordinator for the project.
Researchers will find the new FaCT website very helpful with their recruiting process since it requires no action on their part. All fields automatically populate from the Velos and eIRB applications. Once the IRB has approved the study for enrollment, it automatically appears in FaCT.