Copper Histidine Therapy for Menkes Diseases

September 29, 2015 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Early Copper Histidine Therapy in Menkes Disease

Menkes Disease is a genetic disorder affecting the metabolism of copper. Patient with this disease are both physically and mentally retarded. Menkes disease is usually first detected in the first 2-3 months of life. Infant males born with the disease fail to thrive, experience hypothermia, have delayed development, and experience seizures. These infants also have characteristic physical features such as changes of their hair and face. Females may also have changes in hair and skin color, but rarely have significant medical problems.

Appropriate treatment of Menkes Disease requires that the disease be diagnosed early and treatment started before irreversible brain damage occurs. The aim of treatment is to bypass the normal route of absorption of copper through the gastrointestinal tract. Copper must then be delivered to brain cells and be available for use by enzymes.

Copper histidine is a copper replacement that can be injected directly into the body to avoid absorption through the gastrointestinal tract. However, studies have shown the genetic abnormalities causing Menkes disease cannot simply be corrected by copper replacement injections.

The genetic abnormality causing Menkes disease can vary in its severity. Patients with a genetic abnormality that may still permit some production of the enzymes required to process copper may receive benefit from early treatment with copper replacement. However, patients with severe abnormalities of the genes responsible for copper metabolism may receive no benefit from copper replacement.

The purpose of this study is to continue to evaluate the effects of early copper histidine in Menkes disease patients and to correlate specific molecular defects with responses to treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Menkes disease is an X-linked recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by defects in a gene that encodes an evolutionarily conserved copper-transporting ATPase (ATP7A). Several issues must be addressed in configuring therapeutic strategies for this disorder: (a) affected infants must be identified and treatment commenced very early in life before irreparable neurodegeneration occurs, (b) the block in intestinal absorption of copper must be bypassed, (c) circulating copper must be delivered to the brain, and (d) copper must be available to enzymes within cells that require it as a cofactor.

Very early, pre-symptomatic therapy with copper injections has been associated with improved overall survival and, in some patients - based on their molecular defects, with vastly better neurological outcomes in comparison to the usual natural history of this disorder. The purpose of this study is to continue to provide early copper treatment to other newborn infants diagnosed as having Menkes disease.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • 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
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Newborn infants in whom Menkes disease is confirmed on biochemical or molecular grounds and in whom no neurological symptoms are present are eligible for enrollment in this study.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Newly identified patients classified as symptomatic at the time of diagnosis, and affected individuals with mild phenotypes are not currently eligible for this clinical trial.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Copper histidine
Drug: Copper Histidine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Gross Motor Development at 36 Mos of Age or at Death (Mos)
Time Frame: 36 months or death
This was measured based on the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) I or II for age-appropriate gross motor development in apparently normal healthy subjects at specific ages (in months). The DDST employs a grid to assess expected developmental milestones in relation to chronologic age.
36 months or death
Fine Motor Adaptive Development at 36 Mos of Age or at Death (Mos)
Time Frame: 36 months or death
This was measured based on the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) I or II for age-appropriate fine motor development in apparently normal healthy subjects at specific ages (in months). The DDST employs a grid to assess expected developmental milestones in relation to chronologic age.
36 months or death
Personal-Social Development at 36 Mos of Age or at Death (Mos)
Time Frame: 36 months or death
This was measured based on the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) I or II for age-appropriate personal-social development in apparently normal healthy subjects at specific ages (in months). The DDST employs a grid to assess expected developmental milestones in relation to chronologic age.
36 months or death
Language Development at 36 Mos of Age or at Death (Mos)
Time Frame: 36 months or death
This was measured based on the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) I or II for age-appropriate language development in apparently normal healthy subjects at specific ages (in months). The DDST employs a grid to assess expected developmental milestones in relation to chronologic age.
36 months or death

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Somatic Growth Percentiles at 3 Years of Age (or at Age of Death) - Weight Percentile
Time Frame: 36 months or death
36 months or death
Somatic Growth Percentiles at 3 Years of Age (or at Age of Death) - Length Percentile
Time Frame: 36 months or death
36 months or death
Somatic Growth Percentiles at 3 Years of Age (or at Age of Death) - Head Circumference Percentile
Time Frame: 36 months or death
36 months or death

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Stephen G Kaler, M.D., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

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

June 1, 1990

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 30, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 29, 2015

Last Verified

September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 900149
  • 90-CH-0149

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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