Short-term Disulfiram Administration to Accelerate the Decay of the HIV Reservoir in Antiretroviral-treated HIV Infected Individuals

June 29, 2020 updated by: University of California, San Francisco
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a two-week course of disulfiram will reduce the HIV-1 latent reservoir in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is using a new approach to try and force HIV out of its protected cellular reservoirs.

Although current therapies are effective at "killing" new viruses that are produced, they are unable to access the virus in cells which were infected before antiretroviral therapy began. HIV can remain "hidden" in a latent (or resting) form in these cells for many years. Since these infected cells can live for many years, they are thought to be the most important barrier to HIV eradication (or "cure").

Many experts believe that one way to attack latent or "hidden" HIV is to use a drug than can "turn on" the virus and hence force HIV-1 out of resting T cells. In a recent study done in the laboratory, disulfiram proved to be among the most effective drugs currently available that can reactivate latent HIV-1,

Our primary hypothesis is that disulfiram will reduce the latent reservoir of HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Theoretically, disulfiram will force HIV to replicate (grow) and thus result in the death of the infected cell. Standard antiretroviral drugs should prevent new cells from becoming infected. The end result of this process is that the total amount of HIV in the body will decline over time.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

16

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

    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94110
        • San Francisco General Hospital
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
        • Johns Hopkins University

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Documented continuous HAART for at least 18 months prior to study entry and on a stable regimen for at least 3 months prior to entry.
  • Documented undetectable HIV viral loads for at least one year. Intermittent isolated episodes of detectable low-level viremia "blips" (> 50 but < 500 copies RNA/mL) remain eligible.
  • Screening plasma HIV-1 RNA levels < 40 copies RNA/mL.
  • CD4 T-cell count above 200 cells/uL for 24 weeks prior to screen.
  • >90% adherence to therapy within the preceding 30 days.
  • Females of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at screening and agree to use a double-barrier method of contraception throughout the study period.
  • Willing to abstain from any alcohol during the two week period in which disulfiram will be administered and during the two week period immediately after disulfiram administration.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current alcohol use disorder or hazardous alcohol use as determined by clinical evaluation.
  • Current use of any drug formulation that contains alcohol or that might contain alcohol.
  • Current use of tipranavir.
  • Current use of maraviroc.
  • Current use of warfarin.
  • Intending to modify antiretroviral therapy in the next 27 weeks for any reason.
  • Serious illness requiring hospitalization or parental antibiotics within preceding 3 months.
  • Severe myocardial disease or coronary artery disease.
  • History of psychosis.
  • Clinically active hepatitis determined by the study physician; ALT or AST >3 x the upper limit of normal.
  • Concurrent treatment with immunomodulatory drugs, or exposure to any immunomodulatory drug in past 16 weeks.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.

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: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Arm
Open label 500mg disulfiram per day by mouth for 14 days
Other Names:
  • Antabuse

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Impact of Two Weeks of Disulfiram, as Measured by the Fold Change in the Infectious Units Per Million Cells (IUPM) Between Baseline and Week 12
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The size of the latent reservoir from each participant was measured by limiting dilution co-culture assay and reported as "infectious units per million cells" (IUPM).This assay measures the frequency of peripheral blood cells from which replication-competent HIV can be grown. The assay was performed at a baseline visit (two weeks before dosing began) and week 12 (10 weeks after the last dose). The primary outcome was the fold-change in IUPM before and after disufiram.
12 weeks
Number of Participants With Adverse Events
Time Frame: Two weeks
The safety and tolerability of a two-week course of disulfiram was defined using the Division of AIDS Table for Grading the Severity of Adult and Pediatric Adverse Events (DAIDS AE Grading Table), Version 1.0, December 2004 (Clarification, August 2009). Details are available on the RSC website (http://rsc.tech-res.com/safetyandpharmacovigilance/). The number of adverse events and their grade was determined for each subject.
Two weeks
The Fold Change in Mean Levels of Viremia During and After Disulfiram Dosing as Compared to Baseline Levels
Time Frame: Baseline to Day 18
Residual viremia was measured using a singe copy assay (SCA) in plasma samples obtained at enrollment, Days -14, -7, 0, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18, and at weeks 3, 4, 8 and 12. The level of residual viremia measured by SCA prior to disulfiram (Days 14, 17 and 0), during treatment (Days 1 to 14) and after dosing (Days 16 and 18) was modelled using negative binomial regression, and reported as the mean fold-change during and after disulfiram as compared to that during the baseline period.
Baseline to Day 18
Number of Participants With Detectable Plasma HIV RNA
Time Frame: Two weeks
Plasma HIV RNA levels were measured weekly using a commercial assay. The number of participants who had a detectable viral load (> 50 copies RNA/mL) was determined.
Two weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Steven G. Deeks, M.D., University of California, San Francisco
  • Principal Investigator: Adriana Andrade, M.D., Johns Hopkins 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

January 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 27, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

January 31, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 30, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 29, 2020

Last Verified

June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB 10-02648

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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