# Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) Clinical Centers

> **NIH NIH U01** · LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO · 2022 · $389,273

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Liver disease is a major cause of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality. The diseases
comprising “pediatric liver diseases” are individually rare, which has hindered the study of their
causes/pathophysiologies. As a result of this basic defect in understanding effective therapeutic
strategies are lacking for most of them. This in turn results in many children with progressing to
end-stage liver disease necessitating orthotopic liver transplantation. Pediatric liver transplants
comprise approximately 10% of all liver transplants performed, and the indications for most of
them lie among the diseases to be studied in the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network
(ChiLDReN). This network combines the efforts of several large and individually successful
clinical research enterprises to recruit subjects and carry them through rigorous clinical studies
and trials with the expectation of establishing well-characterized patient cohorts that can be
followed through the natural history of their disease process and which can be accessed for
trials of emerging therapies. In addition, the biological specimens linked to clinical data provide
the fuel for studies of etiology (genetic and other) and the influences of gene expression and
epigenomics on disease expression and progression, as well as response to therapy. We
propose to participate in ChiLDReN as a center wherein investigators have substantial expertise
in several of the key areas of investigation within the consortium as a whole. Our center has
been one of the top contributors of subjects to studies undertaken by ChiLDReN over the term
of its existence. We expect to continue to contribute substantially to the performance of
ChiLDReN in achieving its goal of successfully eliminating pediatric liver disease as a major
cause of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality. The specific aims at our center include: a)
to participate fully as a leading clinical center in ChiLDReN; b) To pilot a double-blind,
randomized, placebo controlled, cross-over trial testing the efficacy of rifaximin therapy to
reduce symptoms of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and improve Health Related
Quality of Life (HRQOL) in school aged patients in the ChiLDReN network with portal
hypertension (PHTN); c) To characterize the impact of systemic inflammatory markers and
measures of bacterial translocation on both PROs and the growth hormone axis in school age
children with and without PHTN.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10411956
- **Project number:** 5U01DK062436-21
- **Recipient organization:** LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Estella M. Alonso
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $389,273
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2002-09-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10411956

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10411956, Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) Clinical Centers (5U01DK062436-21). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10411956. Licensed CC0.

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