E/M: TNF and Glucocorticoid Antagonist for GWI Associated Multi-symptom Disease Homeostasis Reset

Sponsor

Nova Southeastern University (Other)

Overall Status

Recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT04254627

Collaborator

RTI International (Other), Miami VA Healthcare System (U.S. Fed)

Enrollment

Locations

Arms

29.2

Anticipated Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site

0.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Gulf War Illness is a condition that affects multiple major organ systems, resulting in a diverse array of symptoms that include debilitating fatigue, memory and cognition difficulties, headaches, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, and musculoskeletal/joint pain. This phase I single-site, open-label two-arm study will assess the safety and mechanistic efficacy of a sequential etanercept-mifepristone intervention for Gulf War Illness. The results of this phase I study will be compared to those from an existing short-duration study to identify the optimal duration and dosage for use in a future phase II study.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Gulf War Illness	Drug: Etanercept Drug: Mifepristone	Phase 1

Detailed Description

This is a study in male Veterans 45-70 years of age who meet the modified Kansas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for GWI (Gulf War Illness) and have high physiologic stress. This phase I single-site, open-label, two-arm study will focus on optimizing the dosage of a sequential etanercept-mifepristone intervention for GWI. Twenty participants will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 13, 16 and 24 weeks. The investigators will use systems biology methods to perform computational modelling of physiological responses to supervised maximal exercise challenge studies on a fitness bicycle at baseline and 24 weeks. These analyses will assess the impact of the treatment on homeostatic networks: the changes in levels of physiological parameters and the changes in inter-correlations among the measured parameters (e.g., cytokines), cross-sectionally and over time. Participants will also undergo subjective assessments of functional health, symptom severity, pain, fatigue, and cognition at baseline, 6, 12, 13, 16, and 24 weeks. Participants will be observed through the treatment period and for 3 months after completion to assess immediate effects and durability of the response.

The results of this phase I study will be compared to those from an existing short-duration study to identify the optimal duration and dosage for use in a future phase II study.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

20 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Treatment

Official Title:

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and Glucocorticoid Antagonist for Gulf War Illness (GWI)-Associated Multi-symptom Disease Homeostasis Reset

Actual Study Start Date :

Sep 24, 2021

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Jun 1, 2023

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Mar 1, 2024

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Mifepristone 300 mg All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 1 will receive one week of mifepristone at 300 mg daily.	Drug: Etanercept Etanercept 50 mg weekly injection Other Names: Enbrel Drug: Mifepristone Mifepristone 300 mg pill Other Names: Mifeprex RU-486
Experimental: Mifepristone 600 mg All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 2 will receive one week of mifepristone at 600 mg (2x300 mg) daily.	Drug: Etanercept Etanercept 50 mg weekly injection Other Names: Enbrel Drug: Mifepristone Mifepristone 300 mg pill Other Names: Mifeprex RU-486

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Mifepristone 300 mg

All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 1 will receive one week of mifepristone at 300 mg daily.

Drug: Etanercept

Etanercept 50 mg weekly injection

Other Names:

Enbrel

Drug: Mifepristone

Mifepristone 300 mg pill

Other Names:

Mifeprex

RU-486

Experimental: Mifepristone 600 mg

All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 2 will receive one week of mifepristone at 600 mg (2x300 mg) daily.

Drug: Etanercept

Etanercept 50 mg weekly injection

Other Names:

Enbrel

Drug: Mifepristone

Mifepristone 300 mg pill

Other Names:

Mifeprex

RU-486

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Safety - incidence and severity of adverse events [16 weeks]
Safety is assessed by the incidence and severity of adverse events, by relation to the study intervention.
Mechanistic effects on biomarker relationships [Baseline and 24 weeks]
Mechanistic effects on biomarker network dynamics are measured by the change in median summary score for network-level distance between the Gulf War Illness biomarker profile at rest and model-predicted stable (healthy) states. These summary scores have a minimum value of zero and reflect the overall difference between the multidimensional relationships of the immune, autonomic, and neuroendocrine systems of ill participants at rest, relative to predicted values for stable (healthy) states. The analysis will be completed using the results of physical measures and biomarker assays performed on blood draws taken at rest prior to exercise challenges at baseline and 16 weeks. These include a Gulf War Illness-specific nanostring gene expression platform, an 18-multiplex cytokine assay, flow cytometry, neuropeptide, sex and stress hormone panels, and physical autonomic measures. Decreases in summary scores between baseline and 24 weeks indicate a better outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Homeostatic network correction [Baseline and 24 weeks]
The degree of correction of the homeostatic network toward normal is measured by the median summary score for network-level differences in connectivity of biomarker networks at multiple times during dynamic exercise challenges. These summary scores have a minimum value of zero and reflect overall changes within the immune, autonomic, and neuroendocrine systems during exercise, relative to predicted values for stable (healthy) states. The analysis will use the results of physical measures and blood draws taken before, during, and after exercise challenges at baseline and 24 weeks. The biomarker assays and physical measures include a Gulf War Illness-specific nanostring gene expression platform, an 18-multiplex cytokine assay, flow cytometry, neuropeptide, sex and stress hormone panels, and physical autonomic measures at multiple times during each exercise challenge and 24 hours afterward. Decreases in summary scores between baseline and 16 weeks indicate a better outcome.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

45 Years to 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Male

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

45-70 years old
Male sex
In good health by medical history prior to 1990 via Self-Report
Davidson Trauma scale score of 50 or higher
Meets modified Kansas and CDC case definition criteria for Gulf War Illness. The modified Kansas definition, which includes the CDC criteria, includes the following:

Fatigue after exercise as predominant component (a history of exercise intolerance or exercise-induced worsening of symptoms)
Allowance for normal illnesses of aging, such as hypertension and diabetes, if the conditions are treated and are in demonstrable stable and normal ranges at the time of screening and assessment
Allowance of stable comorbid conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) that have not required hospitalization in the 5 years prior to recruitment. Severe TBI is excluded.

Able to provide consent to study
Protective titers for influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia, or updated vaccination for these infections
Patients of childbearing potential must practice effective contraception during the study, and be willing to continue contraception for at least 6 months after intervention
Agrees to participate in follow-up visits

Exclusion Criteria:

Current treated or untreated major depression with psychotic or melancholic features, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusional disorders, dementias of any type, and alcoholism or drug abuse (as determined by self-report, Structured Clinical Interview for mental disorders (SAGE-SR), and Ham-D)
Known allergy to mifepristone, misoprostol, or medicines that contain misoprostol, such as Cytotec or Arthrotec
Current heavy alcohol or tobacco use (self-report). Alcohol consumption not to exceed approximately 15 drinks per week (with a drink defined as 12 oz. beer, 5oz. wine, or 1.5 oz. distilled spirits) and tobacco use not exceed 20 cigarettes (or equivalent) per day.
Current organ failure (as determined by metabolic panel and self-report)
Current treated or untreated rheumatologic and inflammatory disorders, as determined by medical diagnosis of one or more of the following: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, spondyloarthropathies -- ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), Sjogren's syndrome, gout, scleroderma, infectious arthritis, and polymyalgia rheumatic
Chronic active infections such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C (as determined by antibody tests)
History of organ transplant (self-report)
Current untreated primary sleep disorders such as insomnias, sleep related breathing disorders, etc. (self-report)
History of tuberculosis exposure (determined by QuantiFERON-TB® positivity)
Use of medications that could affect immune function (e.g., steroids, immunosuppressants) or limit the interpretation of the exercise challenge (e.g., beta blockers) (self-report)
Renal insufficiency with serum creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL; or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 44; or currently on renal dialysis.
Hepatic insufficiency (bilirubin >2.5mg/dL or transaminases >5x the ULN) Patients with Gilberts syndrome are eligible for the study if other liver function tests are normal, regardless of bilirubin level
Currently have no exclusionary diagnoses that could reasonably explain the symptoms of their fatiguing illness and their severity, using the exclusion criteria best described in the Ambiguities in case definition paper for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
Are scheduled for a surgery within 24 weeks of study enrollment.
Cushing's Disease or salivary cortisol level greater than 0.812 ug/dL.
QT prolongation, as evidenced by medical history (self-report) or ECG at screening.
Uncontrolled diabetes (A1c>7.5)

Prohibited concomitant or prior therapies:

Immunosuppressant drugs, including glucocorticoid taper, topical/inhaled glucocorticoids
Currently on dialysis
Recipient of bone marrow or organ transplant
Previous or current treatment with angiogenic growth factors, cytokines, gene or stem cell therapy
Participating in another interventional clinical trial of an investigational therapy within 8 weeks prior to consent to participate in this study, or planning to participate in another interventional clinical trial of an investigational therapy within 26 weeks after consent to participate in this study
Any herbal medicine that contains licorice root.
Blood thinners