Liver dialysis device safe and effective for treating severe liver failure

The first successful in-patient trial of1 liver dialysis* has been completed by researchers from 2UCL, the Royal Free Hospital, UCL spin-out Yaqrit and their collaborators.

3The DIALIVE device, invented by researchers at UCL’s Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, was found to be safe and was associated with substantial improvement in the severity of symptoms and organ function in a greater proportion of 4patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), when compared with patients receiving standard of care.

This study is the first-in-human randomised, controlled clinical trial of a liver dialysis device. It was performed with the aim of assessing the safety of DIALIVE to treat ACLF patients and to observe its clinical effects. A total of 32 patients were treated with DIALIVE or standard of care for up to five days and the outcomes were recorded at days 10 and 28.

The results showed that DIALIVE treatment was associated with significantly faster reversal of ACLF compared with standard of care, with ACLF resolving in about twice the number of patients. This clinical improvement was associated with significant impact on the mechanisms underlying the development of ACLF.

5 DIALIVE treatment led to a significant reduction in endotoxins, which are released when bacteria die, and improved albumin function. Biomarkers of systemic inflammation, such as cytokines, endothelial function and markers of cell death, all improved. Despite receiving as little as three days’ treatment, patients whose ACLF resolved remained in remission for 28 days afterwards.

Reference:

Banwari Agarwal, Rafael Bañares Cañizares and Faouzi Saliba et al. ‘Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial of the DIALIVE Liver Dialysis Device versus Standard of Care in patients with Acute on Chronic Liver Failure’ is published in The Journal of Hepatology and is strictly embargoed until 31 May 2023 at 23:01 BST / 18:01 EDT.,DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2023.03.013