The Effect of Statin Therapy on Bile Acid Physiology and the Microbiome in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC): a Multi-omics Study
PSC is a liver disease that has no medical cure. Patients with PSC are at a greatly increased risk of cancer and infection. Additionally, many patients require a liver transplant. Progress towards a cure has been severely limited by an incomplete understanding of why patients develop PSC. The investigators aim to close this gap by conducting a pilot human study in patients with PSC, using statin therapy as a model
• Males and females, greater than or equal to 18 years of age
• Established diagnosis of PSC, defined by either appropriate cholangiographic findings or supportive liver biopsy plus an established diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD - Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) per American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines for the PSC-IBD arm
• Hypercholesterolemia with BMI \< 25.0 for the comparison arm