Mechanistic Clinical Trial of Colchicine in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

April 1, 2026 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Mechanistic Clinical Trial of Colchicine in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

The goal of this mechanistic clinical trial is to test the effects of reducing inflammatory signaling in femoral artery atherosclerotic plaques. Researchers will compare patients receiving colchicine to patients receiving placebo to determine the effect of colchicine on the inflammatory state of atherosclerotic femoral arteries.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Patients with peripheral artery disease who will be undergoing femoral endarterectomy will be randomized 1:1 to receive colchicine (0.6mg oral) or placebo daily for 4 weeks prior to 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging. At the baseline visit, study procedures will be reviewed with eligible participants and the study team will obtain written informed consent. Baseline blood samples for laboratory studies will be collected and assayed, as well as additional blood samples for research. Participants will completed study questionnaires at baseline and at the imaging visit. Participants will receive follow-up phone calls with the study team. All eligible participants will be approached for participation in an imaging visit. At the imaging visit, participants will repeat laboratory tests and undergo non-invasive molecular imaging to evaluate the effects of colchicine on the extent of atherosclerotic plaque macrophage activity as assessed by 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • Early 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 Contact

Study Locations

    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age >= 18 years
  2. Diagnosis of peripheral artery disease
  3. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Use of colchicine or systemic anti-inflammatory medication (eg. tocilizumab) in the past 3 months
  2. Allergy to colchicine
  3. Presence of medication with drug-drug interaction
  4. Acute limb ischemia requiring emergent intervention
  5. Autoimmune/autoinflammatory disorders affecting blood vessels or with planned need for systemic anti-inflammatory medication
  6. Recent (<14 days) systemic infection requiring hospitalization or ongoing treatment with antimicrobials
  7. History of persistent anemia, thrombocytopenia, or neutropenia requiring hematology/oncology treatment or felt to pose unacceptable risk to colchicine by the principal investigator
  8. Pregnant or lactating women
  9. History of uncontrolled diabetes or an A1C >10% prior to the baseline visit
  10. History of CrCl < 30 mL/minute or eGFR < 30mL/minute or end-stage renal disease ESRD on dialysis
  11. History of liver disease or chronically-elevated (>3 months) ALT/AST > 3.0 x ULN
  12. Claustrophobia

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Colchicine
Colchicine (0.6 mg oral daily for 4-weeks) will be the drug administered in this study.
See arm description.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
This arm is a matching placebo that will be administered in the same fashion as the experimental arm.
See arm description.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Molecular imaging markers of inflammation
Time Frame: Imaging (Week 4)
Extent of atherosclerotic plaque macrophage activity as assessed by FDG PET/CT
Imaging (Week 4)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Circulating markers of inflammation
Time Frame: Imaging (Week 4)
Expression of plasma IL6 and hsCRP levels
Imaging (Week 4)
Patient-reported walking impairment
Time Frame: Imaging (Week 4)
Walking impairment as reported by Walking Impairment Questionnaire
Imaging (Week 4)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael Levin, MD, University of Pennsylvania

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)

September 25, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 25, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 25, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 8, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

January 18, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 1, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 854429

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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