AMICE Pilot Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Acute Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Cirrhosis and Encephalopathy Pilot Study
IRAS ID
213915
Contact name
George Harston
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
PID, 12132
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Hepatic encephalopathy occurs in people who have liver disease. It causes confusion, altered level of consciousness and sometimes coma. This happens when the liver is not functioning properly. It is thought to be caused by toxins in the blood that have not been filtered by the liver. These toxins upset the normal working on the brain. When the liver is not working properly people can develop confusion and drowsiness requiring hospitalisation. These people often return to their normal self with treatment.
This research will explore how feasible it is to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning to study chemical changes in the brains of people with hepatic encephalopathy. To do this we will recruit 10 patients admitted to hospital with hepatic encephalopathy. We will use MRI scanning when they first arrive in hospital, and again once they have recovered. We will compare the scans to those of another 10 people with liver disease who do not get admitted to hospital. These people will also be scanned twice, 2 weeks apart. The MRI brain scans will be anonymously analysed to assess the quality of the data and the size of any signals that are seen. The data from the MRI scans and the recruitment rate will be used to design a larger study in patients with encephalopathy.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0485
Date of REC Opinion
5 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion