A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Somatropin in the Treatment of Patellar Tendinopathy

March 29, 2022 updated by: Hospital for Special Surgery, New York

A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Somatropin in the Treatment of Patellar Tendinopathy

Patellar tendinopathy is one of the most frequent causes of non-traumatic knee pain and reduced function in patients. Standard treatment options for patellar tendinopathies include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, cryotherapy, manual therapy, eccentric exercises, and ultrasound. Unfortunately many patients fail to respond to these therapies and return to normal activity levels, and recurrence rates for those who do respond are unacceptably high. Many patients who fail to respond display persistent degenerative changes on imaging studies suggesting a failure to regenerate the pathological tissue. Developing new therapies that can directly promote the synthesis of new, healthy extracellular matrix tissue could therefore address an important therapeutic need and make a substantial improvement in our ability to effectively treat patellar tendinopathy and reduce recurrence rates. Somatropin (human growth hormone of recombinant DNA origin) has been shown to increase protein synthesis and matrix production when delivered directly into the tendon. This study will evaluate the ability of somatropin to improve clinical outcomes and tissue quality in patients with chronic tendinopathy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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Withdrawn

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

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 2

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
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10021
        • Hospital for Special Surgery

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 46 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Males and females ages 18 - 50
  • Patients with a greater than 3 month history of anterior knee pain
  • Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of patellar tendinopathy (confirmation by ultrasonography demonstrating local anterior-posterior thickening of the tendon of at least 1mm compared with the mid-tendon level, and a hypo-echoic area)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have received corticosteroid injections within 12 months
  • Patients who have full-width disruptions of the patellar tendon
  • Patients who have undergone previous knee surgery or intraarticular injury
  • Patients who have have arthritis (Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2 or higher), open growth plates, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, history of cancer or any major medical illnesses or endocrine disorders
  • Patients with a body mass index greater than 35
  • Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant
  • Patients who are current collegiate, professional or elite athletes, or are participating in sports organizations that currently ban the use of somatropin

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: Basic Science
  • 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: Drug: Somatropin
Under ultrasound guidance, patients will receive an injection of somatropin (0.1mg in a volume of 0.2mL of bacteriostatic saline) into the area of tendinopathic lesion. A series of three injections will be delivered one week apart. Vials will be blinded.
Drug: Somatropin
Active drug
Other Names:
  • Growth hormone
  • Human growth hormone
Other: Progressive exercise program
Over a 12 week period beginning at the second study visit patients will perform a standard of care eccentric exercise training regime. Each session consists of three bilateral exercises: leg press, back squat, and hack squat. Subjects will complete four sets in each exercise with a 2-3 minute rest between sets. The repetitions/loads are: 15 repetition maximum (RM) week 1, 12RM weeks 2-3, 10RM weeks 4-5, 8RM weeks 6-8 and 6RM weeks 9-12. All exercises are performed from complete 0º to 90º of knee flexion and back again. Each of the eccentric and concentric phases will occur over a period of 3 seconds, respectively for a total of 6 seconds per contraction.
Procedure: Patellar tendon biopsy
Bilateral biopsies will be performed on an elective basis, although the investigators will aim to have 8 subjects in each group receive the biopsy. Biopsies will be obtained at the 26 week time point. The data obtained from the biopsy will help address the mechanism behind observed changes in outcome scores, physical measurements or imaging studies. The biopsy will be performed under ultrasound guidance and using sterile technique with a disposable 14G, 2cm biopsy instrument.
Placebo Comparator: Drug: Placebo
Under ultrasound guidance, patients will receive an injection of 0.2mL of bacteriostatic saline (which is an equivalent volume of diluent used in the active comparator arm) into the area of tendinopathic lesion. A series of three injections will be delivered one week apart. Vials will be blinded.
Other: Progressive exercise program
Over a 12 week period beginning at the second study visit patients will perform a standard of care eccentric exercise training regime. Each session consists of three bilateral exercises: leg press, back squat, and hack squat. Subjects will complete four sets in each exercise with a 2-3 minute rest between sets. The repetitions/loads are: 15 repetition maximum (RM) week 1, 12RM weeks 2-3, 10RM weeks 4-5, 8RM weeks 6-8 and 6RM weeks 9-12. All exercises are performed from complete 0º to 90º of knee flexion and back again. Each of the eccentric and concentric phases will occur over a period of 3 seconds, respectively for a total of 6 seconds per contraction.
Procedure: Patellar tendon biopsy
Bilateral biopsies will be performed on an elective basis, although the investigators will aim to have 8 subjects in each group receive the biopsy. Biopsies will be obtained at the 26 week time point. The data obtained from the biopsy will help address the mechanism behind observed changes in outcome scores, physical measurements or imaging studies. The biopsy will be performed under ultrasound guidance and using sterile technique with a disposable 14G, 2cm biopsy instrument.
Drug: Bacteriostatic saline
Placebo, the diluent used to reconstitute somatropin
Other Names:
  • Saline
  • 0.9% NaCl

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
Change in Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Patellar outcome score from enrollment
Time Frame: Week 1 to week 26
Week 1 to week 26

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
Change in patient completed visual analog scale (VAS) of knee pain levels
Time Frame: Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Change in patient completed Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Patellar outcome score
Time Frame: Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Change in patient completed Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Instrument System (PROMIS) Physical Function Computer Adaptive Test
Time Frame: Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Change in patient completed Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Instrument System (PROMIS) Short Form Global Health Scale
Time Frame: Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 26
Ultrasound assessment of patellar tendon quality
Time Frame: Weeks 1, 14, 26
Five point assessment scale of tendon quality (0 Normal, Normal tendon structure; 1 Mild, Ill-defined abnormal hypoechogenicity; 2 Moderate, Well-defined abnormal hypoechogenicity; 3 Severe, Well-defined abnormal hypoechogenicity and anechoic clefts; 4 Complete, Full-width tendon disruption or tear)
Weeks 1, 14, 26
Electron micrographs of patellar tendon biopsy sample
Time Frame: Week 26
Bilateral biopsies will be taken, and the size (measured in squared nanometers) will be measured
Week 26
Gene expression of patellar tendon biopsy sample
Time Frame: Week 26
Bilateral biopsies will be taken, and the expression of genes will be measured with microarrays or RNA-sequencing
Week 26

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.
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York

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: Christopher L Mendias, PhD, ATC, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York

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.
May 1, 2020

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.
December 1, 2020

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.
December 1, 2020

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).
November 3, 2015

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.
November 4, 2015

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.
November 5, 2015

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.
March 31, 2022

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.
March 29, 2022

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, 2020

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.
  • HUM00107019

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

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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