ALD - Alcoholic Liver Disease

The availability of biological samples from individuals with alcoholic liver disease (ALD), as well as samples from appropriate heavy drinking, yet healthy controls and non-drinking healthy controls, is an essential first step in the translation of basic research advances to the clinic. The purpose of the Clinical Core component of the P50 Northern Ohio Alcohol Center (NOAC) is to provide biological samples (plasma/serum, buffy coats, and urine) from patients with different stages of alcoholic liver disease, as well as healthy control subjects, to members of the NOAC. These samples can then be used to test specific hypotheses related to the presence of specific biomarkers in the serum, functional immune activity in PBMCs and/or genetic polymorphisms that may predict severity of disease, short- and long-term morbidity and mortality and/or responsivity to specific therapeutic interventions commonly used in clinical practice. This study is building on the established biorepositories and the diversity of outstanding clinical expertise at the Cleveland Clinic. This biorepository included clinical samples (plasma, serum, buffy coats, and urine) from patients with different stages of ALD and subjects who are heavy drinkers without ALD, recruited from the Cleveland Clinic alcohol use disorder treatment clinic. This study will be responsible for collecting more data to help build the CCF-ALD biorepository via subject recruitment and communication and specimen collection.

The goal of this observational study is to quantify the health literacy and self-efficacy in people with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis.

The rational to conduct the LOVE study builds on the lack of available data on outcomes in steatotic liver disease in well characterized patients over a time frame of several years. At current limited data on liver-specific and overall outcome in patients with MASLD, MetALD and ALD are available. Liver histology is the only accepted surrogate to reasonably likely predict outcomes in patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease and is currently used in regulatory trials. To overcome the limitations of liver biopsy and use validated non-invasive tests (NITs) to predict outcomes, the LOVE study will be conducted based on existing cohort studies in well pheno- and genotyped patients and will inform on the relevant outcomes based on baseline and ongoing biomarker assessment. The overarching goal is to qualify a NIT for patient identification and preventive measures in the regulatory context.