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Pilot Study of Ezetimibe for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection

NCT02126137 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2015-11-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects more than 170 million people in the World and 80.000 in Chile. It causes more deaths than HIV infection in the US and is a leading cause for liver transplantation in Chile. Even though treatments are evolving with new direct antiviral agents (DAAs) that are increasing response rates, there are several issues with these new approaches, including increased toxicity, need for using interferon and ribavirin, complex algorithms of treatment, high cost, limited effectivity in certain groups (liver transplant patients) and drug interactions. Treatments targeted at host factors required for the viral cycle are becoming increasingly explored as an alternative or complement to DAAs. It has been recently described that Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1), the intestinal receptor of cholesterol, serves as an entry factor for HCV. NPC1L1 is, therefore, a key transporter in the enterohepatic cycle of cholesterol. NPC1L1 can be blocked with ezetimibe, which is an approved and generally safe drug used for the management of hypercholesterolemia. Our hypothesis posits that blocking HCV entry to the hepatocyte or intestinal HCV reabsorption with ezetimibe may have an antiviral effect. In the study, we will administer ezetimibe 20 mg/d to 20 patients with stable chronic hepatitis C for 12 weeks and assess changes in HCV RNA and core antigen in plasma, bile and feces.

Conditions

  • Chronic Hepatitis C

Interventions

DRUG

Ezetimibe

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Alejandro Soza, MD · Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-10-31
Primary Completion
2016-01-31
Completion
2016-03-31

Countries

  • Chile

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02126137 on ClinicalTrials.gov