Statin Therapy to Improve Atherosclerosis in HIV Patients

November 9, 2017 updated by: Steven K. Grinspoon, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Statin Therapy to Improve Inflammation and Atherosclerosis in HIV Patients

In HIV patients, statin therapy will attenuate plaque inflammation, thus, making plaques less vulnerable, will deter plaque progression, and improve endothelial function. In addition to known cholesterol-lowering and C-reactive protein lowering effects, immunomodulatory effects of statins will lead to a shift from pro-inflammatory monocyte and T cell subsets to less atherogenic subpopulations.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • 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

    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  1. Men and women age 18-60 with previously diagnosed HIV disease
  2. Subclinical coronary artery disease as defined by presence of one or more plaque on coronary CTA without history of cardiac events or cardiac symptoms and no evidence of critical coronary stenosis. Target to background ratio (TBR) as determined by PET of > 1.6.
  3. Stable anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy as defined by no changes in ARV regimen for >6 months
  4. LDL-cholesterol >70 mg/dL and <130 mg/dL

Exclusion criteria:

  1. History of acute coronary syndrome
  2. Contraindication to statin therapy
  3. Current statin use
  4. AST or ALT two times greater than the upper limit of normal or receiving treatment for active liver disease
  5. Renal disease or creatinine >1.5 mg/dL (given the risk of contrast nephropathy during CT angiography of the heart)
  6. Infectious illness within past 3 months
  7. Contraindication to beta-blocker (including moderate to severe asthma or heart block) or nitroglycerin use as these drugs are given as part of the standard cardiac CT protocol. Previous allergic reaction to beta blocker or nitroglycerin.
  8. Body weight greater than 300 lbs due to CT scanner table limitations
  9. Patients with previous allergic reactions to iodine-containing contrast media
  10. Active illicit drug use
  11. Patients who report any significant radiation exposure over the course of the year prior to randomization. Significant exposure is defined as:

    1. More than 2 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) within 12 months of randomization
    2. More than 2 myocardial perfusion studies within the past 12 months
    3. More than 2 CT angiograms within the past 12 months
    4. Any subjects with history of radiation therapy.
  12. Patients already scheduled or being considered for a procedure or treatment requiring significant radiation exposure (e.g., radiation therapy, PCI, or catheter ablation of arrhythmia) within 12 months of randomization
  13. Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  14. Coronary artery luminal narrowing >70% seen on coronary CTA

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: placebo
Placebo
Experimental: Atorvastatin
20 mg PO QD for the first 3 months, followed by 40 mg PO QD for the final 9 months.
20 mg PO QD for the first 3 months, followed by 40 mg PO QD for the final 9 months.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Coronary and Aortic Plaque Inflammation
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month change in mean FDG-PET TBR (18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography target-to-background ratio)
Measured at baseline and 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Plaque Progression
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month percent change in plaque volume
Measured at baseline and 1 year
Endothelial Function
Time Frame: 1 year
Assessment of endothelial function was to be measured by endothelial vasodilator function.
1 year
Immune Function
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month change in CD4 T-lymphocytes
Measured at baseline and 1 year
Lipid Profile
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month change in lipid profile
Measured at baseline and 1 year
C-reactive Protein (CRP)
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month change in Log CRP concentration
Measured at baseline and 1 year
Adipocytokines
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 1 year
12 month change in IL-6
Measured at baseline and 1 year
Liver Function Tests (LFTs)
Time Frame: Measured at baseline, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months

Number of participants with LFT abnormalities (greater than or equal to 3 times the upper limit of normal).

For reference, the normal ranges for AST and ALT are shown below. Please note that the normal range for ALT at Labcorp changed over the course of the study. AST and ALT elevations were determined based on the normal range at the time the lab test was performed.

ALT: 0-40 IU/L, 0-44 IU/L, or 0-55 IU/L AST: 0-40 IU/L

Measured at baseline, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Steven K. Grinspoon, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

September 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 24, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

August 25, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 11, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2017

Last Verified

November 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2008-P-000257
  • R01HL095123 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • HL 095123

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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