L-Citrulline Supplementation Pilot Study for Overweight Late Onset Asthmatics (SANDIA)

June 29, 2017 updated by: Fernando Holguin, University of Pittsburgh
In people who develop asthma after the age of 12 and who are also overweigh, there can be an increased burden of asthma symptoms, more flare-ups, and poorly-controlled asthma when compared to normal weight asthmatics. Certain factors are more abundant in the blood of individuals who are obese. One such factor is derived from the metabolism of an amino acid found in your diet, which is known as L-arginine (Amino acids are most commonly known as the building blocks of proteins, the same as the proteins found in food). This factor is called asymmetric dimethylarginine or ADMA. The balance of L-arginine to ADMA may be important to the health of subjects with asthma. The balance between L-arginine and ADMA plays an important role in producing nitric oxide (NO) in the airways. NO is normally produced in the lung and plays a major role in maintaining airways open and functioning normally. Our research has shown that in subjects with asthma who are overweight and developed asthma later in life, the combination of low L-arginine and high ADMA, may lead to lower NO levels. We are asking participants in this study to take L-citrulline, which is converted to L-arginine by your body, as a supplement for a period of one week. We anticipate that L-citrulline will restore NO levels in the airways, by increasing the ratio of L-arginine to ADMA

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.

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.
10

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.
  • Phase 1

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • Asthma Institute, University of Pittsburgh

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

14 years to 71 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male and female patients, 18-75 yrs old, from all racial/ethnic backgrounds
  • Diagnosis of asthma for >1 yr
  • BMI ≥ 30
  • Baseline pre-bronchodilator FEV1 between 60 and 90% predicted with a 12% or greater bronchodilator response to 4 puffs of albuterol
  • Smoking history <20 pack years and no smoking in the last year
  • Able to identify age of asthma onset

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Respiratory tract infection within the last 4 weeks;
  • Oral CS burst within the last 4 weeks or regular systemic CS use
  • Hospitalization within the last 3 months
  • ER visit within the 4 weeks
  • Significant or uncontrolled concomitant medical illness including (but not limited to) heart disease, cancer, diabetes
  • Current smoking or within the previous 12 months
  • Current use of statins for the past 30 days (Statins lower ADMA levels)
  • Pregnancy
  • Intolerance or allergy to L-arginine or L-citrulline
  • Phosphodiesterase inhibitors
  • Taking oral nitrates

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

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.
Active Comparator: L-citrulline
3-gr/day of L-citrulline effervescent powder mix
Dietary supplement: L-citrulline
Patients will take 3-gr of L-citrulline/day for 7 days
Other Names:
  • L-citrulline 3 gr efervescent powder
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
3 gr of Placebo/day matching L-citrulline effervescent powder
Dietary supplement: L-citrulline
Patients will take 3-gr of L-citrulline/day for 7 days
Other Names:
  • L-citrulline 3 gr efervescent powder

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
Exhaled nitric oxide
Time Frame: 1 week
Patients will be randomized to 1 week of 3 g of L-citrulline/day vs matching placebo, The outcome is the pre to post intervention change in exhaled NO
1 week

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
Sputum and plasma L-arginine/ADMA levels
Time Frame: 1 week
This outcome compares the pre to post L-citrulline supplementation changes in sputum and plasma L-arginine/ADMA
1 week

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.
University of Pittsburgh

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: Fernando Holguin, MD MPH, University of Pittsburgh

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.

General Publications

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.
September 7, 2013

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.
June 1, 2016

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.
June 1, 2017

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).
October 16, 2012

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.
October 26, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

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.
October 29, 2012

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.
July 2, 2017

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.
June 29, 2017

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.
June 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • L-citrulline Asthma

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