Integrated alcohol-use and liver care for people with alcohol-associated liver disease

Integrated Therapies for Alcohol use in Alcohol-associated Liver Disease (ITAALD)- Cleveland Clinic Clinical Center

NIH-funded research Cleveland Clinic Lerner Com-Cwru · NIH-11195118

This project aims to find out whether combining medicines for alcohol use, counseling, and liver-specialist care helps people with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis live longer and avoid returning to drinking.

Quick facts

Grant typeU01 cooperative agreement
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionCleveland Clinic Lerner Com-Cwru NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Cleveland, United States)
Project IDNIH-11195118 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would be cared for by a coordinated team of addiction specialists and liver doctors who deliver combined treatments. Care may include FDA-approved medicines for alcohol use disorder such as acamprosate, behavioral counseling like motivational interviewing, standard liver treatments (for example prednisone where used), and in some cases newer experimental drugs such as IL-22. The work builds on prior trials that showed unexpectedly high short-term survival with prednisone in severe alcohol-associated hepatitis and seeks to confirm those findings while testing integrated care approaches. The study would track survival, return to drinking, and safety outcomes.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with alcohol-associated liver disease—especially those with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis—who are willing to receive coordinated addiction and liver care and possible medication treatments.

Not a fit: People without alcohol-associated liver disease, those with only mild disease where study therapies are not appropriate, or those unwilling or unable to engage in counseling or study medications may not receive benefit.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower deaths and reduce relapse by treating alcohol use disorder and liver disease together.

How similar studies have performed: Previous work such as the AlcHepNet trial showed unexpectedly high 90-day survival with prednisone in severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, but those findings need confirmation and testing newer treatments like IL-22 is novel.

Where this research is happening

Cleveland, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Alcoholic Liver Diseases
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.