Efficacy - Safety of Eflornithine-Nifurtimox Combination Versus Eflornithine to Treat Human African Trypanosomiasis

September 28, 2016 updated by: Drugs for Neglected Diseases

Clinical Study Comparing the Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination With the Standard Eflornithine Regimen for the Treatment of Trypanosoma Brucei Gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis in the Meningoencephalitic Phase

The purpose of this study is to compare the therapeutic combination of I.V. eflornithine + oral nifurtimox to the standard IV eflornithine regimen in terms of therapeutic efficacy and clinical safety, in patients suffering from Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (Tbg) human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the meningoencephalitic phase.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Melarsoprol is the most commonly used product for the treatment of patients suffering from human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the meningoencephalitic (second, late) phase. This treatment is frequently complicated by fatal reactive encephalopathy, and at the same time resistance is beginning to appear in various countries. Eflornithine is effective and better tolerated, but it is more difficult to use. Nifurtimox, registered in several South American countries for treatment of Chagas' disease but used off label since the 1970's in series of cases of meningo-encephalitic HAT, is at present the only other potential alternative for the treatment of late-stage HAT.

The very limited number of compounds available, the lack of prospects for the development of new products and the emergence of resistance are arguments for the use of therapeutic combinations. Ideally, drug combinations should allow for reductions in the dosages of the drugs used in a way that, in particular in the case of toxic drugs such as those used for second stage HAT, the toxicity of the combination does not exceed that of either monotherapy. Of the three drug combinations nowadays possible: melarsoprol-nifurtimox, melarsoprol-eflornithine and eflornithine-nifurtimox, the last one has (in two different dosing regimens) shown the least treatment-associated toxicity and mortality in the 69 patients treated in one previous and this clinical trial to date. Good tolerability was also observed in a case series of 31 patients. The efficacy data to date suggest that efficacy is comparable to that of eflornithine and that of melarsoprol (in areas without high melarsoprol failure rates).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

280

Phase

  • Phase 3

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

  • Congo
      • Nkayi, RoC, Congo
        • MSF-Holland
  • Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
      • Isangi, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
        • MSF-Belgium; PNLTHA, Epicentre
      • Katanda, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
        • PNLTHA, STI, Epicentre
      • Mbuyi Maji, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
        • PNLTHA, STI, Epicentre

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

15 years to 70 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • confirmed second-stage T.b. gambiense infection : presence of the parasite in blood, lymph node fluid or CSF and >20 white blood cells/µL in CSF. In presence of blood in the CSF, lumbar puncture must be done again or the patient cannot be included in the study (see 10.9.1).
  • and of age 15 years or older.
  • and resident in __________ (each site will define boundaries or maximum distance)
  • and written informed consent of the patient or of a legally acceptable representative if the patient is a minor (<18 years for both genders in Uganda and Angola, <18 years for males and <16 years for females in the Democratic Republic of Congo) or unable to communicate.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnant woman (systematic testing of women of childbearing potential)
  • treated for late-stage HAT during the last 36 months. Patients previously treated for first-stage (pentamidine) can be included.
  • unlikely to have access to the treatment centre or be accessible at their place of residence for 18 months after treatment
  • unable to take oral medication
  • suffering from conditions other than second stage HAT that seriously limit the chances of survival over 18 months time
  • Severe anemia (Hb< 5g/dl)
  • Severe underlying diseases upon admission (e.g. Active tuberculosis and/or being treated for TB; Bacterial or cryptococcal meningitis; Stages 3 or 4 HIV/AIDS according to the WHO clinical definition) (WHO, 1986).
  • Severe renal failure based on clinical examination combined with biochemistry if available: creatinine clearance <20mL/min
  • Severe hepatic failure based on clinical examination combined with biochemistry if available: total bilirubin >50 µmol/L, ALAT/GPT >70 UI/L, unless these laboratory values are determined by the investigator as likely due to conditions other than hepatic failure.

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: None (Open Label)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Drugs for Neglected Diseases

Collaborators

World Health Organization
Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
Epicentre
Medecins Sans Frontieres, Netherlands
PNLTHA-DRC;
PNLTHA-RoC

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Els Torreele, PhD, Drugs for Neglected Diseases
  • Study Director: Gerardo Priotto, MD, MPH, Epicentre

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

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 6, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 6, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 7, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 29, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 28, 2016

Last Verified

September 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • DNDi-HAT0105; Epicentre-NECT

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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