Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

July 31, 2024 updated by: Jonathan Myers, Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research
Muscle wasting is common in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and adversely affects morbidity and mortality. In 2/3 of males with advanced CKD serum testosterone (TT) levels are reduced, and likely contributes to the wasting. As TT in relatively safe physiologic replacement doses, increases muscle mass in otherwise normal TT deficient subjects, we hypothesize that physiologic TT replacement will be effective in preventing and treating the loss of muscle mass and function in CKD patients, will improve quality of life and may reduce some cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

All subjects will undergo baseline testing that will consist of functional capacity tests, blood tests and muscle biopsies (described in detail below). Subjects will then receive testosterone gel which will be applied daily to the skin of the abdomen or thighs every morning at the same time for 16 weeks. Two days after the hormone treatment is started, the blood testosterone (TT) level will be measured 6 hours after administration. Our goal will be the attainment of serum total TT levels in the mid- to upper normal young adult range. If the serum TT is not at goal, the dose of gel will be increased or decreased repeat testing will be performed within one week. All subjects will be tested for serum TT levels every 4 weeks to assure that the serum total TT remains at goal level. Measurements will be repeated at 8 and 16 weeks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
17

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
        • VA Palo Alto Health Care System
      • San Jose, California, United States, 95128
        • Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

45 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria: CKD subjects; males with calculated GFR (MRDR equation) between 15 and 40 ml/min/1.73m2 and stable or slowly progressive renal failure (decline in function of <1ml/min/month) including those patients requiring hemodialysis and serum testosterone levels of <300 ng/ml and capable of safely performing required exercise testing and serum testosterone levels of <300ng/ml and capable of safely performing required exercise testing.

Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion criteria: applicable to both CKD and control subjects. Any unstable chronic medical condition, previous kidney transplant. Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, active vasculitis, active autoimmune disease, malignancy(<5 yrs), obesity (BMI > 35), alcoholism or other recreational drug use, active heart disease, angina, uncontrolled arrhythmias or myocardial infarct within past 3 months, peripheral vascular disease with claudication, active lung, liver or GI disease, sleep apnea, medically unstable subjects and subjects who received anabolic, catabolic or cytotoxic medications during the prior 3 months. History of prostate CA, PSA >4g/ml, or advanced BPH (AUA symptom score > 21) and abnormal prostate on digital rectal examination. Bone or joint abnormalities that would preclude exercise testing.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Chronic kidney disease
Patients with chronic kidney disease between the ages of 55 and 75 years.
Drug: Testim, 1% testosterone gel
Subjects apply contents of gel packet (Testim, 1% testosterone gel) to skin daily.
No Intervention: Control
Control participants with baseline data collection only (for baseline comparator).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Thigh Cross Sectional Area
Time Frame: Baseline
DEXA-determined thigh cross-sectional area
Baseline
Lean Body Mass
Time Frame: Baseline
DEXA-determined lean body mass
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fat Mass
Time Frame: Baseline
DEXA-determined total body fat mass
Baseline
Quadriceps Strength
Time Frame: Baseline
Lower body strength (in lbs) using quadriceps leg extension.
Baseline
Kidney Disease-Specific Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline
Questionnaire - SF-36, which stands for the Short Form 36 Health Survey. It is a widely used standardized 36 item quality of life assessment. This particular measure focused on symptoms, and is scaled from zero to 100, with a higher score indicating better health functioning.
Baseline
Inflammatory Markers
Time Frame: pre treatment and monthly until end of treatment
C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP is measured in mg/l and is a marker of inflammation. CRP generally ranges from <1.0 to 5 mg/L. A normal value is less than 2.0 mg/L.
pre treatment and monthly until end of treatment
Muscle Atrophy Signaling Pathways
Time Frame: Baseline
These include muscle growth regulatory factors, IGF-1 and myostatin, their receptors and components of the ubiquitin-proteasome and calpain proteolytic pathways and inflammatory cytokines.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ralph Rabkin, Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 25, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 27, 2008

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 28, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 26, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 31, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • RAB0015AGG/SGG
  • IRB# 10132

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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