sarcopenia, malnutrition & outcomes in Liver transplant patients v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
To investigate the links between Sarcopenia/Frailty and malnutrition in Liver transplant outcomes in patients with a range of BMIs.
IRAS ID
214689
Contact name
Dianne Wild
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
The first stage of this study will look back, at data over the last year, of changes in handgrip (as a measure of nutrition). This will help us understand the changes in handgrip that may be seen over the study period.
In the second part, a prospective study (collecting data going forward) aims to look at 3 areas;
• Sarcopenia which is a measure of muscle wastage, taken by looking at psoas muscle, around the spine, on MRI scan that is taken as part of usual care.
• Frailty, which is a measure of how well the body may cope with stresses put upon it by illness and the surgery
• Nutrition. This can be measured in many ways by looking at weight and weight changes, handgrip and is assessed by a dietitian as part of normal care.
We will be investigating how these influence Liver transplant outcomes and survival. Also, to see if there are any links between Sarcopenia (which is more difficult to measure) and other nutritional & frailty markers that are less invasive to measure (such as skinfold measurements, handgrip strength).
The study will last for 4 years in total and will collect data from tests and investigations that are part of the normal treatment process pre transplant. In addition, study participants will have an extra vial of blood taken on two occasions when they are having a standard blood sample taken; one pre transplant and another post-transplant, to assess for inflammatory markers (cytokines). These have been shown to be markers of sarcopenia in other studies and we want to investigate if they would be useful in people with Liver disease also.
The study seeks to collect data from patients listed as suitable for a liver transplant at the regional transplant centre at St James' Hospital in Leeds UK.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/YH/0119
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion