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SAMe Trial for Patients With Alcoholic Cirrhosis

A Multi-center, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial of S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in Patients With Alcoholic Cirrhosis

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04250259
Enrollment
196
Registered
2020-01-31
Start date
2020-10-22
Completion date
2027-03-01
Last updated
2026-03-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Alcoholic Cirrhosis

Keywords

Child Class A or B

Brief summary

The proposed of this randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled study is to assess the effect of SAMe compared to placebo in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis Child Class A and B. The primary objective of the study is to test relationship between SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine) supplement on liver function. The hypothesis is that SAMe supplement will improve liver function in patients with alcoholic liver disease. The improvement in liver function will lead to the reduction in all-cause mortality in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis in those who receive SAMe supplement when compared to those receiving placebo.

Interventions

DRUGPlacebo

2 tablets of placebo in the morning before breakfast and one tablet of placebo in the evening before dinner for 24 months

DRUGSAMe 400 mg tablet

SAMe supplement (SAMe 400 mg tablet), 2 tablets in the morning before breakfast and one tablet in the evening before dinner (a total dose of 1,200 mg daily) for 24 months

Sponsors

Indiana University
Lead SponsorOTHER
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CollaboratorOTHER
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

for patients with alcoholic cirrhosis 1. Evidence of cirrhosis as per clinical signs and/or noninvasive transient elastography (Fibroscan®), computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging including MRI elastography compatible with cirrhosis and/or histopathology by biopsy and 2. subjects with clinical presentation either in Child Class A or B at the time of enrollment 3. individuals 18 to 70 years old and may or may not consume alcohol during study. Inclusion criteria for healthy control : ) individuals 18 to 70 years old (2) able to provide informed consent (3) subjects do not consume any alcohol or those who drink \< 50 grams per day on average in women and \< 80 grams per day on average in men (4) subjects are healthy without underlying acute or chronic medical conditions.

Exclusion criteria

for patients with alcoholic cirrhosis 1. Active infection as evidenced by positive urine culture, blood culture, or pneumonia, 2. Known co-existing infection with hepatitis C, hepatitis B, or HIV 3. Significant systemic or major illness including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and renal failure that in the opinion of the Investigator would preclude the patient from participating in and completing the study 4. Gastrointestinal bleeding within the prior 28 days3 5. Participation in another investigational drug, biologic, or medical device trial within 30 days prior to screening 6. Women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or nursing 7. Presence of any other disease or condition that is interfering with the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of SAMe such as those with gastric bypass surgery 8. Subjects with history of/diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma 9. Members from the same family of study participant. This is based on the recent paper on the non-random sampling in randomized controlled trials4. We acknowledge that if we assign family members to identical treatment, randomization would not be totally correct; but if properly randomized, there is a chance that the members of the family might mix the pills. To avoid this issue and maintain the integrity of randomized blinded fashion, we will not include members from the same family into the study 10. Subjects with psychiatric illnesses such as bipolar disorders as SAMe may interfere with the levels of anti-psychotic drugs and 11. Subjects who are immunocompromised

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
SAMe supplement's effect on all-cause mortalityBaseline to end of 24 monthsThe hypothesis is that SAMe supplement will improve liver function in patients with alcoholic liver disease. The improvement in liver function will lead to the reduction in all-cause mortality in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis in those who receive SAMe supplement when compared to those receiving placebo.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
SAMe supplement's effect on intestinal permeability function, as defined by serum lipopolysaccharides (LPS)baseline to end of 24 monthsThe function of intestinal permeability will be evaluated by testing serum lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide that are bacterial toxins.
SAMe supplement's effect on cellular oxidative stress and/or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as defined by mitochondrial DNAbaseline to 24 monthsCellular oxidative stress and/or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress will be evaluated by measuring the levels of mitochondrial DNA in the blood of patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo.
SAMe supplement's effect on liver deuteriationbaseline to 24 monthsdetermining Proportion of subjects undergoing liver transplantation in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo
SAMe supplement's effect on liver developing cancerbaseline to 24 monthsProportion of subjects developing new onset hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo
SAMe supplement's effect on infections of the liverbaseline to 24 monthsProportion of subjects with infection/sepsis (other than SBP) in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo
SAMe supplement's effect on other parts of the bodybaseline to 24 monthscapture safety-related endpoints by determining proportion of patients with nausea and emesis, proportion of subjects with unexplained diarrhea in patients receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo.
SAMe supplement's effects on intestinal permeability function, as defined by soluble(s) CD14baseline to 24 monthsThe function of intestinal permeability will be evaluated by testing soluble(s) CD14 in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo. sCD14 either appears after shedding of mCD14 (48 kDa) or is directly secreted from intracellular vesicles (56 kDa).
SAMe supplement's effects on intestinal permeability function, as defined by soluble(s) CD163baseline to 24 monthsThe function of intestinal permeability will be evaluated by testing soluble(s) CD163 in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo. CD163 is an endocytic receptor for haptoglobin-hemoglobin complexes and is expressed solely on macrophages and monocytes. As a result of ectodomain shedding, the extracellular portion of CD163 circulates in blood as a soluble protein (sCD163).
SAMe supplement's effects on cellular oxidative stress and/or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as defined by cytochrome P450 2E1 levelsbaseline to 24 monthsLevels of cellular oxidative stress and/or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress will be evaluated by measuring the levels of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) enriched microparticles in patients who receive SAMe compared to those who receive placebo.CYP2E1 is a member of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system, which is involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics in the body.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTMaggie Hesler, B.S
mshesler@iu.edu(317) 988-4545
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSuthat Liangpunsakul, MD

Indiana University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 1, 2026