COLIPSO - Co prevalence of liver disease in psoriatic disease

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A longitudinal observational study evaluating liver disease prevalence in psoriatic disease (skin and/or joint) before and after disease-modifying treatment.

• IRAS ID

  274846

• Contact name

  Laura Coates

• Contact email

  lauraccoates@gmail.com

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Oxford, Clinical Trials and Research Governance

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Research Summary
  Patients with psoriatic disease have a much higher risk of developing non-alcoholic liver disease. This causes significant impact on their life and is a difficult clinical problem as some therapies for psoriasis and arthritis may worsen the liver disease. Previously the only tests available have been blood tests (which are often normal until the liver is quite damaged) or a liver biopsy (an invasive and risky procedure which only takes a very small sample of the liver). Our colleagues have developed and tested a new type of MRI scan which can measure inflammation and scarring in the liver allowing us to study liver disease in detail.

  We want to use this new technology to study the proportion of people with psoriasis who may also have associated liver disease and measure how severe this is. We will use blood, urine and stool samples to study why and how the liver disease develops in many people with psoriatic disease. We will repeat the scans and research samples after 6 months on a new treatment to see how common psoriasis treatments affect both inflammation and scarring in liver disease.

  Summary of results
  This study looked at whether people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis are more likely to have liver problems linked to body fat and other health risks. Researchers used a special MRI scan to check liver fat and signs of inflammation in 50 people with psoriatic disease. They compared the results with people of a similar age and health, but without psoriatic disease.
  The scan found fatty liver disease in 44% of people with psoriatic disease, compared with 25% of the matched comparison group. Signs of more serious liver inflammation were found in 22%, compared with 3%. More than half of the people with liver disease had normal results on routine liver blood tests.
  The study found no clear link between liver problems and taking methotrexate, a medicine used to treat psoriatic disease. Liver problems were also seen in people who had never taken it.
  These findings suggest that liver disease may be common in people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis and can be missed by routine blood tests. The study was small, so larger studies are needed to confirm the results

• REC name

  London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  20/LO/0616

• Date of REC Opinion

  14 Jul 2020

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion