Zinc for HIV Disease Among Alcohol Users - an RCT in the Russia ARCH Cohort (ZINC)

November 8, 2018 updated by: Jeffrey Samet, Boston Medical Center
This study is a double-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the efficacy of zinc supplementation vs. placebo among 250 HIV-infected Russians from the Russia ARCH Cohort, who are ART-naive at enrollment and have a recent history of heavy drinking.

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

The combination of heavy alcohol consumption and HIV infection is associated with increased mortality, HIV disease progression, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and a proinflammatory state characterized by increased biomarker levels of inflammation. Heavy alcohol use and HIV infection are both causes of microbial translocation, the process by which bacterial products from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract leak across the GI membrane to the portal circulation. Microbial translocation causes immune activation leading to end organ damage. Alcohol can cause microbial translocation via zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiency is common among HIV-infected heavy drinkers and linked to high mortality rates. Zinc supplementation is affordable, available, does not interfere with ART, and has minimal adverse drug reactions. In animal models zinc reduces ethanol associated microbial translocation. In human studies zinc slows HIV disease progression and reduces levels of inflammatory biomarkers which are strongly linked to mortality. Given zinc's potential efficacy we propose to conduct Zinc for INflammation and Chronic disease in HIV (ZINC HIV), a double-blinded randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of zinc supplementation vs. placebo among 250 HIV+ Russians, who are ART-naive at enrollment and have a recent history of heavy drinking. We will recruit most of our participants from the Russia cohort within the Uganda Russia Boston Alcohol Network for Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (URBAN ARCH) Consortium study. Our specific aims will test the efficacy of zinc supplementation, compared to placebo to (1) improve markers of mortality as measured by the VACS index; (2) slow HIV disease progression as measured by CD4 cell count; (3) improve markers of AMI risk as measured by the Reynolds risk score; and (4) lower levels of microbial translocation and inflammation as measured by serum biomarkers. We hypothesize that as compared with placebo, patients receiving zinc supplementation will have significantly lower AMI and mortality risk as measured by the VACS index and Reynolds risk scores; higher CD4 cell counts; lower levels of biomarkers for microbial translocation and inflammation. Importantly, if our hypotheses are true, zinc supplementation could ultimately become a standard adjunctive therapy complementing alcohol interventions among HIV-infected persons even in resource limited environments. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The combination of heavy alcohol consumption and HIV infection results in serious health problems and an increased risk of death. Although it is not exactly clear how alcohol and HIV do this, inflammation appears to play an important role. Zinc supplementation has anti-inflammatory properties. This study is designed to see if giving zinc supplementation to HIV infected people who are heavy drinkers reduces the risk of serious health problems and death.

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.
254

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

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 66 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-70 years old
  • HIV-infected
  • ART naïve
  • Heavy alcohol consumption [i.e., NIAAA at-risk drinking levels] in the past 30 days
  • Provision of contact information for two contacts to assist with follow-up;
  • Stable address within St. Petersburg or districts within 100 kilometers of St. Petersburg;
  • Possession of a home or cellular telephone

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not fluent in Russian
  • Cognitive impairment resulting in inability to provide informed consent based on assessor assessment
  • Pregnancy
  • Breastfeeding

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: Triple

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: Zinc gluconate
Study participants will receive zinc gluconate supplements (15 mg for men and 12 mg for women) and will be instructed to take one pill daily for 18 months.
Dietary supplement: Zinc gluconate
Study participants will be randomly assigned to a zinc gluconate or placebo group and will be instructed to take one pill of study medication orally daily for 18 months.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Study participants will receive identically packaged placebo (sucrose) pills and will be instructed to take one pill daily for 18 months.
Dietary supplement: Placebo

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
Time Frame
Improved markers of mortality as measured by change in VACS index
Time Frame: Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Participants will be followed for up to 18 months

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
Time Frame
Slower HIV disease progression as measured by change in CD4 cell count
Time Frame: Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Improved markers of AMI risk as measured by the Reynolds risk score
Time Frame: Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Lower biomarker levels of microbial translocation and inflammation as measured by sCD-14, IL-6, D-dimer, IFABP, LBP
Time Frame: Participants will be followed for up to 18 months
Participants will be followed for up to 18 months

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.
Boston Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

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: Jeffrey Samet, MD, MA, MPH, Boston Medical Center
  • Principal Investigator: Matthew S. Freiberg, MD, MSc, Vanderbilt University

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

Helpful Links

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.
October 1, 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.
February 1, 2017

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.
November 8, 2018

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).
August 30, 2013

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.
September 3, 2013

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.
September 4, 2013

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.
November 9, 2018

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.
November 8, 2018

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.
November 1, 2018

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.
  • H-31901
  • U01AA021989 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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