Recombinant Human Prolactin for Lactation Induction

May 8, 2013 updated by: Corrine Welt, Massachusetts General Hospital

Recombinant Human Prolactin for Lactation Induction in Adoptive Mothers

The purpose of the study is to assess the safety and determine the effects of the hormone prolactin on lactation (breast milk production).

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Subjects will participate in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial comparing breast pumping, alone, to breast pumping and r-hPRL. Subjects will have one week of instruction with the breast pump alone. Subsequently, subjects will receive 2 weeks of r-hPRL or placebo followed by 2 weeks of the alternate treatment.

Week 1: Study day 1, a baseline prolactin level will be obtained and subjects will be taught to use an electrical, hospital grade breast pump by a designated lactation consultant. Subjects will pump for 10 minutes at each breast. The total volume of milk will be recorded in a diary throughout the study. Prolactin levels will be obtained every 10 minutes for 60 minutes after pumping begins, then every 30 minutes for a total of 3 hours. Subjects will pump 3 times per day increasing to 8 times per day by the end of the first week and will continue this regimen throughout the study.

Week 2: One week after the initial visit, subjects will return to the GCRC for re-evaluation of the pumping technique and the first dose of medication. Subjects will pump for 10 minutes at each breast as on day 1 and prolactin levels will be obtained every 10 minutes for 60 minutes, then every 30 minutes for a total of 3 hours. At 3 hours, r-hPRL 60 mg/kg or placebo will be administered SC. Blood will be drawn every 10 minutes for 60 minutes, every 30 minutes for 2 hours, then at 4, 6 and 8 hours to obtain a peak prolactin level. Vital signs will be monitored every 15 minutes for the first hour, then every 2 hours for a total of 8 hours. Subjects will pump both breasts every 3 hours, starting after the r-hPRL or placebo injection. Subjects will be taught to give themselves SC injections and will administer their second dose of SC r-hPRL or placebo 12 hours after the first dose. Subjects will continue SC r-hPRL or placebo administration every 12 hours for the next 14 days. They will continue to pump daily, approximately every 3 hours, with a 5 hour break in the night to sleep. Subjects will be asked to refrigerate all milk and bring it in to GCRC visits for prolactin levels.

Subjects will return weekly for 4 additional visits (weeks 3, 4, 5, 6). At the weekly visits, blood will be drawn at baseline for a prolactin level and r-hPRL or placebo will be administered. Blood will then be drawn every 10 minutes for 60 minutes, then every 30 minutes for 2 hours, then every 2 hours for a total of 8 hours after the injection. Vital signs will be monitored as described above. At the week 4 visit, subjects will be switched to the alternate treatment for weeks 4 and 5. Subjects will be seen 14 days after their final injection. A baseline prolactin level will be drawn, then milk will be pumped, as previously. Blood will be drawn every 10 minutes for 60 minutes, then every 30 minutes for a total of 3 hours. A 1 cc sample of the milk will also be obtained 14 days after the final injection for analysis of composition. All side effects of r-hPRL will be recorded throughout the study. All milk obtained during the study will be stored and the milk composition will be determined before it is used. Infants receiving milk produced during the study will initially be monitored in the GCRC under the supervision of a neonatologist.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • 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
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital

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

18 years to 45 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy, non-postpartum women, aged 18-45 years, who desire to lactate for their adoptive children
  • Normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin level
  • Normal adrenal gland function or taking physiological glucocorticoid replacement
  • No medical illnesses that contraindicate breastfeeding
  • HIV negative
  • Normal breast development

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Use of medications known to increase prolactin
  • Anatomical breast abnormalities
  • Previous mammoplasty or breast augmentation
  • Current use of hormonal contraception
  • Allergies to mannitol
  • Medications contraindicated for breastfeeding mothers

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Recombinant human prolactin
Drug: Recombinant human prolactin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Breast milk production
Time Frame: 28 days
28 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Breast milk volume
Time Frame: 28 days
28 days
Breast milk prolactin levels and content
Time Frame: 28 days
28 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

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

September 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 9, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 16, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 9, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 8, 2013

Last Verified

May 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2003P001209-2

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.

Subscribe