Background

The UK PSC Consortium (UK PSC) comprises lead project investigators and multiple local collaborators who are active in recruiting PSC cases and was established in 2009. The Project is funded by charitable donations managed by Dr Roger Chapman (Oxford) and by The Norwegian PSC Research Center (Dr Tom Hemming-Karlsen). Patient recruitment is co-ordinated from the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge. Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) a condition characterised by progressive inflammation, obstruction and fibrosis of the intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts of the liver, presents typically in the fourth or fifth decades leading often to cirrhosis, end stage liver disease and a need for liver transplantation.

Primary objective

At the present time the cause of PSC is as yet not known. However, it is believed that genetic factors may be important in the cause of this disease. The aim of this UK collaborative study is to collect DNA and clinical details from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) to perform clinical, epidemiological and genetic studies. If the study is successful, researchers may have a better chance of developing more effective treatments for this disease and understanding what causes PSC. Please click here for more information.