Thalassemic Iron Overload Cardiomyopathy is Ameliorated by Taurine Supplementation (TICATS)

September 30, 2023 updated by: Kevin H.M. Kuo, MD, MSc, FRCPC, University Health Network, Toronto

Thalassemic Iron Overload Cardiomyopathy is Ameliorated by Taurine Supplementation (TICATS Study)

Hypothesis: Taurine, in combination with standard iron chelation therapy, is more effective than chelation therapy alone in reducing cardiac iron overload, oxidative stress and cardiac damage in β-Thalassemia.

Protocol: Sixty subjects with transfusion dependent β-Thalassemia receiving deferasirox iron chelation therapy will be recruited and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either (1) placebo and continuation of their iron chelation or (2) a combination of iron chelation plus taurine. Transfusion and safety visits will be scheduled monthly with clinical/biochemical assessment visits every three months. The efficacy of taurine combined with standard chelation therapy will be assessed at baseline and 12 months posttreatment by both cardiac T2*MRI, and cardiac function. The recruitment period is projected to be 12 months from initiation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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 (Estimated)

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.
60

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C4
        • Recruiting
        • University Health Network
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Kevin Kuo, MD, MSc, FRCPC
        • Contact:

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Participant inclusion criteria

Participants who meet all of the following criteria will qualify for entry into the study:

  1. Diagnosis of transfusion-dependent Thalassemia being followed at the RBC clinic at TGH
  2. Age 18 or older
  3. On a stable dose of iron chelation for >30 days. Combination iron chelation regimen is allowed in the study
  4. Cardiac MRI T2* ≥8ms measured within 3 months prior to randomization.
  5. Preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >50% as measured by cardiac MRI measured within 3 months prior to randomization.

Participant exclusion criteria

Participants who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from the study:

  1. More than 16 transfusions in the past 12 months or those who are anticipated to be on a 3 week transfusion schedule during the study period
  2. Serum ferritin < 500 ng/mL at screening
  3. Liver iron concentration > 40 mg/g dw as measured by liver R2 MRI (FerriScan) measured within 3 months prior to randomization
  4. Signs and symptoms consistent with congestive heart failure in the opinion of the investigator
  5. As a result of medical review, physical examination or screening investigations, the investigator considers the subject unfit for the study.
  6. No fixed address
  7. Interval advent of general contraindications to MRI.
  8. Taking another investigational product within 30 days of anticipated date of randomization
  9. Women who are currently pregnant or plan to become pregnant during the study period

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.
Experimental: Taurine
675mg taurine four times daily
Dietary supplement: Taurine
675mg taurine four times daily
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
placebo four times daily
Other: Placebo
placebo four times daily

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
Cardiac iron overload
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in ratio (T2* at year 1)/(T2* at baseline) between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Left ventricular ejection fraction
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in LVEF between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 months
Blood taurine level
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in blood taurine level between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 months
C-reactive protein
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in CRP between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 months
Interleukin-6
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in IL-6 between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 months
Plasma MDA
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in Plasma MDA between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 months
Reduced glutathione
Time Frame: 12 months
Differences in GSH between the taurine and standard chelation therapy arm
12 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.
University Health Network, Toronto

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.
June 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 31, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 31, 2025

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).
February 28, 2020

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.
February 28, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

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.
March 2, 2020

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.
October 3, 2023

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.
September 30, 2023

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.
September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 18-5613

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

Undetermined at this time

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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