Study of Ezetimibe for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection in Liver Transplant Candidates (EZE-2)
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2016-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
NPC1L1 is a key transporter in the enterohepatic cycle of cholesterol. Initial in vitro and
in vivo data show that blocking this receptor with ezetimibe results in delaying infection in
these models. The investigators hypothesize that HCV has an enterohepatic cycle, being
secreted in bile and reabsorbed either in the canalicular membrane or in the intestine by
association with NPC1L1, following a path similar to the cycle of cholesterol in humans. To
prove this hypothesis the investigators propose to assess the effect of ezetimibe treatment
in HCV infected individuals undergoing liver transplantation to avoid or delay HCV infection.
For this purpose, the investigators propose to administrate ezetimibe 10 mg/d for 12 weeks to
12 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection listed for a liver transplantation.