LGG Supplementation in Patients With AUD and ALD

NCT ID: NCT05178069

Last Updated: 2025-10-31

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-06-01

Study Completion Date

2027-02-28

Brief Summary

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To test the efficacy of 6-month LGG compared to placebo in treating Alcoholic Use Disorder (AUD) and liver injury in Alcoholic Hepatitis (AH). And to evaluate the effects of LGG treatment compared to placebo on therapeutic-mechanistic markers of the gut-brain axis and pro-inflammatory activity in patients with AUD and moderate AH

Detailed Description

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Aim. 1: To test the efficacy of 6-month LGG compared to placebo in treating AUD: (1a) by lowering heavy drinking (1b) by reducing relapse episodes to minimal/absent incident level; (1c) by showing a significant positive effect on one or more of the underlying neurobehavioral domain, and (1d) by lowering a biochemical marker of alcohol intake.

Aim. 2: To test if 6-month LGG treatment compared to placebo will improve the symptoms and liver injury in AH: (2a) by significantly improving liver related tests (AST, ALT, AST:ALT, albumin, bilirubin and INR; K18M65 and K18M30) and clinical severity/prognostic markers (MELD, Maddrey); (2b) by substantially improving the overall health as assessed by the patient reported outcomes (Quality of Life \[QOL\] scale, and drinker inventory of consequences \[DrInC\]); and (2c) by lowering frequency and intensity of treatment/disease based adverse effects (AE).

Aim. 3: To evaluate the effects of LGG treatment compared to placebo on therapeutic-mechanistic markers of gut-brain axis and pro-inflammatory activity in patients with AUD and moderate AH: (3a) by identifying the blood biomarkers of gut-barrier dysfunction and endotoxemia, and inflammation; (3b) by determining the therapeutic targets of LGG involved in the gut-brain axis of AUD using LC-MS metabolomic fecal assays (candidate markers of gut-dysfunction associated neurotransmitters); and (3c) by validating the efficacy of LGG treatment vs. placebo to lower inflammation using an ex-vivo design.

Conditions

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Alcohol Use Disorder Alcohol-associated Liver Disease

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Time by Treatment
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators

Study Groups

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Placebo Comparator: Placebo for Probiotic

Placebo capsule that matches the probiotic capsule in appearance will be given once daily for 180 days.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

: Placebo for Probiotic

Intervention Type DRUG

Capsule manufactured without active ingredients.

Active Comparator: Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG

Dietary supplement capsule (Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG) will be given once daily for 180 days.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Probiotic nutritional supplement; Lactobacillus Rhamnosus G

Interventions

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: Placebo for Probiotic

Capsule manufactured without active ingredients.

Intervention Type DRUG

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG

Probiotic nutritional supplement; Lactobacillus Rhamnosus G

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Other Intervention Names

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Dummy capsule Culturelle

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Breath alcohol concentration (BAC) equal to 0.00 when the participant signs the informed consent document.
2. Age between 21 and 65 years old (inclusive).
3. Willingness to receive trial treatment.
4. Ability to provide informed consent
5. Understanding that this is not an alcohol treatment study.
6. Heavy drinking. Men must consume ≥ 20 and women ≥ 14 standardized alcoholic beverages a week for the past 3 months.
7. Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder using DSM V criteria.
8. 50 \<AST\<400 U/L; AST \> ALT; and ALT \< 200 U/L; total bilirubin \> 1.2 mg/dL
9. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease: 8 ≤ (MELD) ≤19.
10. Good health as confirmed by medical history, physical examination, ECG, laboratory tests and vital signs except for liver injury and AUD related history.
11. Provide contact information for someone who may be able to contact the subject in case of a missed appointment.
12. . Females of child-bearing potential must not be pregnant and must be using birth control

Exclusion Criteria

1. Current (last 12 months) DSM V diagnosis of dependence on any psychoactive substance other than alcohol or nicotine,
2. Positive urine drug screen at baseline for any illegal substance other than marijuana,
3. History of hospitalization for alcohol intoxication delirium, alcohol withdrawal delirium or seizure,
4. Participation in any research study for alcoholism treatment within 3 months prior to signing the informed consent,
5. Pharmacological treatment with naltrexone, acamprosate, topiramate, or disulfiram within 1 month prior to randomization,
6. Lifetime diagnosis based on DSM-V criteria of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other psychosis, eating disorders; current or past year diagnosis of major depression
7. In the investigators' opinion, moderate to severe risk of suicide (e.g., active plan, or recent attempt in last 6 months),
8. Current use of psychotropic medications that cannot be discontinued,
9. Clinically significant medical abnormalities (apart from moderate ALD, MELD≤19),
10. Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol revised (CIWA-Ar) \>10, at screening for more than 3 days,
11. Serious medical diseases, such as cancer, liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, severe alcohol associated hepatitis, heart chronic failure, chronic kidney failure, chronic intestinal diseases (e.g., Crohn's disease), chronic neurological disorders (e.g., tardive dyskinesia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease)
12. History of clinically significant hypotension (e.g., history of lipotimia and/or syncopal episodes)
13. History of adverse reactions to needle puncture,
14. Obesity (BMI ≥ 33.0 kg/m2),
15. Pregnancy; incarceration; inability to provide consent
16. Signs of systemic infection: Fever \> 38o C, positive blood or ascites cultures, on appropriate antibiotic therapy for \> 3 days within 3 days of inclusion
17. Acute gastrointestinal bleeding requiring \> 2 units blood transfusion within the previous 2 weeks
18. Undue risk from immunosuppression: Positive HBsAg; positive skin PPD skin test or history of treatment for tuberculosis; known HIV infection
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Louisville

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Vatsalya Vatsalya

Faculty in Medicine

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Vatsalya Vatsalya, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Department of Medicine, University of Louisville

Craig J McClain, MD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Department of Medicine, University of Louisville

Harsh Tiwari, MD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

University of Louisville

Locations

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University of Louisville Hospital

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Amber Jackson, BS CCRP

Role: CONTACT

502-852-2905

Steve Mahanes

Role: CONTACT

502-852-1388

Facility Contacts

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Vatsalya Vatsalya, MD, PgD, MSc, MS, FRSM

Role: primary

502-952-8928

Steve Mahanes

Role: backup

5028521388

References

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McClain CJ, Vatsalya V, Mitchell MC. Keratin-18: Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Theragnostic for Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2021 Jan 1;116(1):77-79. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001042.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33306505 (View on PubMed)

Gala KS, Vatsalya V. Emerging Noninvasive Biomarkers, and Medical Management Strategies for Alcoholic Hepatitis: Present Understanding and Scope. Cells. 2020 Feb 25;9(3):524. doi: 10.3390/cells9030524.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32106390 (View on PubMed)

Vatsalya V, Cave MC, Kong M, Gobejishvili L, Falkner KC, Craycroft J, Mitchell M, Szabo G, McCullough A, Dasarathy S, Radaeva S, Barton B, McClain CJ. Keratin 18 Is a Diagnostic and Prognostic Factor for Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Aug;18(9):2046-2054. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2019.11.050. Epub 2019 Dec 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31811953 (View on PubMed)

Zhou Y, Vatsalya V, Gobejishvili L, Lamont RJ, McClain CJ, Feng W. Porphyromonas gingivalis as a Possible Risk Factor in the Development/Severity of Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis. Hepatol Commun. 2018 Dec 14;3(2):293-304. doi: 10.1002/hep4.1296. eCollection 2019 Feb.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30766965 (View on PubMed)

Gowin JL, Sloan ME, Stangl BL, Vatsalya V, Ramchandani VA. Vulnerability for Alcohol Use Disorder and Rate of Alcohol Consumption. Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Nov 1;174(11):1094-1101. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16101180. Epub 2017 Aug 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28774194 (View on PubMed)

Vatsalya V, Gowin JL, Schwandt ML, Momenan R, Coe MA, Cooke ME, Hommer DW, Bartlett S, Heilig M, Ramchandani VA. Effects of Varenicline on Neural Correlates of Alcohol Salience in Heavy Drinkers. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2015 Jul 25;18(12):pyv068. doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyv068.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26209857 (View on PubMed)

Vatsalya V, Gala KS, Hassan AZ, Frimodig J, Kong M, Sinha N, Schwandt ML. Characterization of Early-Stage Alcoholic Liver Disease with Hyperhomocysteinemia and Gut Dysfunction and Associated Immune Response in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients. Biomedicines. 2020 Dec 24;9(1):7. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9010007.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33374263 (View on PubMed)

Vatsalya V, Kong M, Marsano LM, Kurlawala Z, Chandras KV, Schwandt ML, Ramchandani VA, McClain CJ. Interaction of Heavy Drinking Patterns and Depression Severity Predicts Efficacy of Quetiapine Fumarate XR in Lowering Alcohol Intake in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients. Subst Abuse. 2020 Sep 9;14:1178221820955185. doi: 10.1177/1178221820955185. eCollection 2020.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32963470 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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Other Identifiers

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K23AA029198

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

21.1038

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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