Importance of Liver Innervation for the Osmopressor Response in Humans (HEP-Reflex)

Hannover Medical School (MHH)

Status: Completed

Conditions: PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: 500ml water intake

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01237431

D-MHH-Hep_Reflex-EK5413

Details and patient eligibility

About

In patients with autonomic dysfunction water drinking elicits a pressor response mediated by sympathetic activation. If any, in healthy subjects there is only a slight increase in blood pressure. However, the sympathetic activation is observable by resting energy expenditure increases greater than 20%.

The investigators believe that the response to water may be mediated through sympathetic activation elicited by osmosensitve spinal afferents in the liver. Therefore, the investigators want to test water in liver transplant patients who have a denervated liver. Kidney transplant patients serve as control subjects. The investigators hypothesize that the increase in norepinephrine after water drinking is blunted in liver transplant recipients.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 3 to 24 month past liver or kidney transplantation
• age 18 to 60
• written informed consent
• ability to understand the oral and written information

Exclusion criteria

• pregnancy or lactation
• transplantation of another organ
• chronic heart or vascular disease
• known alcohol or drug abuse
• psychiatric diseases (e.g. chronic depression, schizophrenia, drug addiction)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

liver transplanted patients

Experimental group

Description:

Target group to confirm the hypothesis. Transplantation has to be between 6 an 24 Month before participation.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: 500ml water intake

kidney transplanted patients

Active Comparator group

Description:

Control group, age, gender and medication matched. Transplantation has to be between 6 an 24 Month before participation.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: 500ml water intake