New Drug Trial

[JimmyJackson]

Some while ago there was an article about a new drug being tested to reverse liver cirrhosis Is there any more news on this ?

[Laura009]

The guy to speak to about this is liver-lifestyle-guru

[JimmyJackson in reply to Laura009]

Who’s he?

[AyrshireK in reply to JimmyJackson]

Richard is his real name ( healthunlocked.com/user/Liv... ). He likes to research all the trials and other details regarding liver treatment etc. so he as Laura suggests might be your man in the know.

I did a wee bit of looking earlier and all trials still seem to be in pre-clinical stages i.e. still in the lab.

Katie

[JimmyJackson in reply to AyrshireK]

Many thanks

[Laura009 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thanks Katie

[Laura009 in reply to JimmyJackson]

Hes on the forum you can send him a private message. He knows loads about the liver and about trials into curing liver disease

[JimmyJackson in reply to Laura009]

Many thanks

[Hidden]

Hi Jimmy,

We would advise that you discuss this with your liver specialist who will be able to look at the National Institute for Health and Research and the latest trials.

[JimmyJackson in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks but trying to get an app with my local specialist in Cornwall is understandably not easy at present

[Hidden in reply to JimmyJackson]

Of course, its really hard to access them at the moment. Maybe an email?

[Richard-Allen]

Hello Jimmy, I hope I can throw some light onto your question.

There have been several different avenues that medical scientists are still working on. But to my knowledge, there is nothing available as yet that can reverse scar tissues on the liver.

I have a hepatologist friend down in London who likes to explain liver cirrhosis a bit like this.

If you were to say prick your hand and it bled, it would heal and get better. If you were to prick the back of your hand 100 times it would still heal, but it would begin to leave scar tissue. If you then pricked your hand 10,000 times, then it’s just not going to make it. The liver is a bit like that too.

I know over in the far east a lot of work has been going on with stem cell treatments, But this involves taken certain cells from the body, genetically engineering them into specialist liver cells, and inject them back into the liver. This science is still ongoing: youtu.be/w10xssynuHw(Not working as expected?)

I have also come across other ongoing research, and you might find this video interesting: youtu.be/a0d1yvGcfzQ(Not working as expected?)

Sadly it takes time for trials to be completed and the treatment to become approved. It would then have to undergo further trails on this country before it would be accepted. Sadly there aren't any such products currently available that can reverse scar tissue damage, nor is there likely to be in the near future.

Just a word of warning. There are several companies popping up on Amazon and eBay saying that their supplements can reverse cirrhosis and even offer stem cells treatments from a bottle. There are no scientific bases to support these claims, and all they do is to give false hopes for financial gain.

So, just be careful. The answer is, there is no magical cure as yet for liver cirrhosis.

Good Luck

Richard.

[JimmyJackson in reply to Richard-Allen]

Very many thanks Richard your detail are very much as I expected

I am 83 & keep very fit never been a drinker so how I got this is a mystery

Worst thing is my declining energy levels & bad sleep pattern but many are worse at my age best wishes

[AMDA26 in reply to Richard-Allen]

If you don’t mind me asking, how does the process of trialling new treatments go? I know that it obviously is thoroughly tested before going to human trials but what is the process like and time scale for all of these? I was part of the clinical trials for banding procedure In children I believe when I was around 12 or 13 which was suggested to us by my doctor at the time. This was back in 2012/13 and I’m not sure how long this had been in the process before actually receiving it and whether it was less of a process because I think the procedure was already being performed on adults but I could be wrong.

[TT-2018 in reply to AMDA26]

A generalisation would consist of a drugs development has reached the stage where it feels safe enough to carry out on humans. The researchers set up a randomised clinical trial. It starts with a very small group of healthy people in strictly controlled settings. If there are no adverse effects, it moves onto a larger group with a wider demographic. Generally, half are given a placebo and half are given the actual treatment. It is blinded, so nobody knows who receives the actual drug. The group is monitored over a period of time and checked. All possible reactions are checked out and investigated to see what group they are in. It then moves onto an even larger group and the process is repeated.

The people who are asked to participate can either be from the general public, as in the case of a vaccine or part of a patient group who are suffering from a particular condition.

As I stated, this is only a generalisation and my understanding of the process.

[AMDA26 in reply to TT-2018]

That’s interesting Thankyou, why is it that they give a placebo?

[AyrshireK in reply to AMDA26]

thedoctorweighsin.com/the-e...

[AMDA26 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thank you!

[TT-2018 in reply to AMDA26]

If for example, the trial group is 1000 people, of which half get the actual drug and half the placebo. Neither the people taking it or administering it, know who is who. You then monitor each group over a period of time and monitor vital statistics and possibly blood. After the set period of time, you can then compare the records of both sets. It is entirely possible for someone who has taken the placebo to fall ill. It can then be ruled out as a reaction to the drug and obviously vice versa.

[AMDA26 in reply to TT-2018]

That makes sense never really thought of it that way to be honest!

[Richard-Allen]

Well done Jimmy in reaching 83. That's a good innings with hopefully many more years to go. Keeping fit and healthy eating is always good for your liver health. I would have a look at other medication you might be taking as this could be causing your liver to struggle. It's just a thought. Stay safe and keep smiling.