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Studying how fat builds up in the liver of children with obesity

Studies why fatty liver disease develops in obese teenagers aged 12 to 18.

Key facts

Who runs it
Yale University
Where
New Haven, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Pathogenesis of Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
260 people, planned
Started
28 Jun 2021
Expected to end
30 Jan 2027
Type of study
Observational
Treatments tested
  • Usual diet and physical activity
Record updated
30 July 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for obese young people aged 12 to 18 who are in good general health and in puberty. It studies how fat builds up in the liver.

Age
12 to 18 years
Sex
Boys and girls can join.
Disease stage
Obese (BMI above the 85th percentile) and in puberty (Tanner stage II-V).
Earlier treatment
Taking no medication on a chronic basis. Cannot have used drugs that affect fat in the liver (for example liraglutide, fish oil).

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Baseline creatinine above 1.0 mg
  • Pregnancy
  • Hormone disorders such as Cushing syndrome
  • Serious heart, lung or other long-term illness
  • Psychiatric disorder or substance abuse

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 9 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Good general health, taking no medication on a chronic basis
  • age 12 to 18 years, in puberty (girls and boys: Tanner stage II-V)
  • BMI >85th for obese cohort

Who cannot take part

  • use of drugs affecting intrahepatic fat content (e.g.; liraglutide, fish oil, etc.)
  • the presence of endocrinopathies (e.g. Cushing syndrome)
  • cardiac or pulmonary or other significant chronic illness
  • adolescents with a psychiatric disorder or with substance abuse
  • monogenic obesity syndromes
  • Baseline creatinine >1.0 mg; pregnancy

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 12 and 18 years old?

Where in United States

  • Yale New Haven HospitalNew Haven, United StatesContact: Ermena RefugjatiTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The main aim of the study is to discover the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of NAFLD in obese youth.

Treatments tested

  • Usual diet and physical activity

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Pathophysiologic Mechanisms Leading to Intrahepatic Fat Accumulation in Obese Youth
Plain-language title
Studying how fat builds up in the liver of children with obesityGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Fit questions
Built from NCT04634643, who can take part
Record updated
30 July 2026