Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Arbor Research Collaborative for Health

Code:

NCT04181138

Conditions

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Liver Diseases

Cholangitis, Sclerosing

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Study Details

Brief summary:

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare liver disease that damages the liver's bile ducts. Bile ducts are tiny tubes that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine. Bile is a liquid produced by the liver that helps us absorb and use the nutrients in the food we eat. In people with PSC, the bile backs up into the liver and will damage it, causing scarring of the liver.

The purposes of this study are to:

  • Collect medical and other data to learn more about PSC, how it progresses, and identify factors that may cause the disease to progress more quickly.
  • Ask questions about how PSC symptoms affect your child's life to learn more about its impact on your child's daily functioning
  • Children with PSC who are seen at one of the participating clinical sites in the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) will be asked to contribute information, DNA, and other specimens. The information and specimens will be available to investigators to carry out approved research aimed at learning more about the possible causes and long-term effects of PSC.

Conditions

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Liver Diseases

Cholangitis, Sclerosing

Study ID

NCT04181138

Start date

Dec 30, 2021

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

May 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 31, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients with the clinical diagnosis of large or small duct PSC made at any time prior to enrollment are screened for eligibility to participate in this prospective cohort study. The site PI will determine eligibility following review of MRCP or ERCP images with the site radiologist to confirm presence of an abnormal cholangiogram at the time of diagnosis of large duct PSC. Liver histopathology obtained at the time of diagnosis of small duct PSC will be reviewed with the site pathologist prior to enrollment.

Individuals must meet all of the Inclusion criteria in order to be eligible to participate in the study:

1. Aged 2 through 25 years at time of screening.
2. Diagnosis of large duct PSC based on review of cholangiogram by MRC, ERC, or intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC) by the site radiologist and interpreted to be consistent with PSC, based on one or more of the following:

  • Focal structuring of the bile duct(s)
  • Dominant stricture of the common bile duct
  • Saccular dilatation of bile duct(s)
  • Beaded appearance of bile duct(s)
  • Pruning appearance of the distal bile duct branches

AND/OR
3. Diagnosis of small duct PSC based on review of liver histopathology by the site pathologist and interpreted to be compatible with PSC:

  • Probable small duct PSC: biopsy with ≥3 of 5 criteria: periductal edema, concentric inflammation, bile duct injury, ductular reaction, and neutrophils in bile ducts (cholangitis) OR...
  • Definitive small duct PSC: Periductal fibrosis/ "onion skinning" around interlobular bile ducts or smaller profiles
4. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
5. Able to provide informed consent/assent

Participants for the imaging study are eligible if they are:

1. Aged 8 through 25 years at the time of screening
2. No absolute contraindication to MRI
3. No skin condition that could be aggravated by MREL
4. Meet all other eligibility criteria of the PSC Observational Study
5. For whom none of the exclusion criteria apply

Exclusion Criteria:

An individual who meets any of the following criteria at baseline will be excluded from participation in this study.

1. History of liver transplantation
2. History bone marrow transplantation
3. History of primary or acquired immunodeficiency predisposing to secondary sclerosing cholangitis, for instance: hyper-IgM syndrome, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) syndrome, common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) syndrome, cartilage hair hypoplasia syndrome, or HIV/AIDS
4. History of histiocytosis, including Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), or hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
5. History of ischemic cholangitis
6. History of portal vein thrombosis with biliopathy, veno-occlusive disease, or abdominal radiation vasculopathy
7. History of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis
8. History of biliary tract surgery for cholecystolithiasis prior to cholangiogram/liver biopsy evaluated to determine enrollment
9. History of biliary tract surgery for choledochal cyst
10. History of hepatocellular carcinoma, or hepatoblastoma
11. History of surgical biliary trauma
12. History of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) hepatitis
13. History of Sickle Cell Disease
14. History of cystic fibrosis, biliary atresia, Caroli disease/congenital hepatic fibrosis, or progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3/MDR3 disease
15. History of cardiac hepatopathy.
16. History of metabolic disorders, including Wilson's disease, glycogen storage disorder, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency
17. Diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
18. Concurrent pregnancy at the time of enrollment -

Study Design

Enrollment

1000 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Primary outcome measure

  • To characterize the major phenotypes of PSC including patients with large duct or small duct disease, with and without Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and with and without Auto Immune Hepatitis (AIH) [ Time Frame: up to 10 years ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Rohit Kohli, MD

Children's Hospital Colorado

Recruiting

Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Shikha Sundaram, MD

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Nitika Gupta, MD

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Estella Alonso, MD

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical

Recruiting

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45229

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Alex Miethke, MD

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Recruiting

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Kathleen Loomes, MD

Texas Children's Hospital (Baylor College of Medicine)

Recruiting

Houston, Texas, United States, 77030

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Mary Elizabeth Tessier, MD

The University of Utah

Recruiting

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84113

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Mark Deneau, MD

Seattle Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Pamela Valentino, MD

More Information

Sponsor

Arbor Research Collaborative for Health

Last update posted

Jul 14, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • Pediatric Liver Disease
  • Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Arbor Research Collaborative for Health on 2026-07-14.