The UK-AIH Cohort
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The United Kingdom Autoimmune Hepatitis Cohort (UK-AIH): a multi-centre platform for research and translational medicine
IRAS ID
144806
Contact name
David EJ Jones
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS foundation trust
Research summary
Our immune system normally protects us by attacking the bugs that cause infections. Very occasionally a person’s immune system can develop a fault and start to attack parts of the body instead. In autoimmune hepatitis a faulty immune system attacks the liver. This can damage the liver leading to liver failure and cirrhosis. Autoimmune hepatitis is a rare disease which affects around 10 thousand people in the UK. People who develop autoimmune hepatitis need treatment with medicines to reduce the activity of the immune system, and many need lifelong treatment. Not everybody responds well to the current treatments and some people suffer from side effects of treatment. Some people still die of the condition and some others need to have a liver transplant. We want to collect more information about the condition to help to improve treatments.
UK-AIH is a study for anyone with autoimmune hepatitis in the UK. It will collect information from any patient who wishes to participate. Some people will be asked to donate blood samples, answer questionnaires, and let researchers use any liver tissue samples that are taken as part of their normal medical care. All this information will be studied to identify new tests and treatments. We will store safely the information and samples, and samples of participants’ DNA, so that they can be used to answer new questions about autoimmune hepatitis that may come up in the future. We will also ask people for permission to contact them or their doctors in the future if there are new studies or trials of new treatments for which they might be suitable.
This study is being paid for by the National Institute for Health Research and is being coordinated by Newcastle University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which is the sponsoring organisation.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0303
Date of REC Opinion
24 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion