Pilot Study of Pioglitazone for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Asthma in Obese Asthmatics (Glitz Asthma) (GLITZ)

February 25, 2015 updated by: Anne Dixon, University of Vermont

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Pioglitazone for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Asthma in Obese Asthmatics. (The GLITZ Asthma Study)

Asthmatics who are significantly overweight tend to have more severe symptoms, more flare ups, and are more likely to have poorly-controlled asthma when compared to other asthmatics.

Researchers believe this occurs because excess adipose tissue (fat) in the bosy can cause higher-than-normal levels of leptin and lower levels of adiponectin in the blood.

The researchers of this study are testing a medication called pioglitazone in overweight asthmatics because they believe it can help regulate leptin and adiponectin and that this may improve symptoms of asthma.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Participants in this study will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to pioglitazone or placebo (an inactive pill). They will be given study medication to take every day for 12 weeks (3 months).

Participants will complete a number of asthma-related questionnaires and a variety of pulmonary function tests. Participants will undergo physical exams, an electrocardiogram, and blood sampling to measure leptin, adiponectin, markers of inflammation, blood cell counts, glucose levels, BNP hormone levels, and liver function.

To monitor participants throughout the study, follow-up visits will be done at 2, 6, and 12 weeks after starting study drug. At these visits many of the pulmonary function tests and questionnaires will be repeated.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

28

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

    • Vermont
      • Colchester, Vermont, United States, 05446
        • The Vermont Lung Center at the University of Vermont

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 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Asthma diagnosed by a physician at least 1 year prior to study enrollment
  • Poorly-controlled asthma at study enrollment
  • Non smokers (stopped smoking at least 1 year ago) and limited lifetime history of smoking
  • Body mass index 30-60
  • Responds to methacholine challenge test with PC20 of <16 mg/ml
  • On a stable dose of inhaled corticosteroid for at least 4 weeks prior to study entry
  • FEV1 > 60% predicted
  • Able to obtain weekly weights at home

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Systemic steroids within the past 4 weeks
  • Lung pathology other than asthma
  • Other significant non-pulmonary co-morbidities such as: coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, congestive heart failure with an ejection fraction <50%, liver disease or elevated liver enzymes at baseline, malignancy (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers), AIDS, renal failure with serum creatinine >3.0, or disorders requiring steroid treatment such as vasculitis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis
  • B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) >400pg/ml
  • Pregnant or lactating
  • Currently taking a beta blocker, a CYP2C8 inhibitor or inducer such as gemfibrozil or rifampin, a TZD (thiazolidinedione), or allergic to TZD
  • Taking antioxidants (if taking a multivitamin must be on a stable regimen prior to enrollment)
  • Illicit drug use within the past year
  • Current/active upper respiratory infection (if active URI, wait until asymptomatic for 1 week to enroll)
  • Asthma exacerbation within the past 4 weeks (includes ER, urgent care, or hospital visits due to asthma resulting in an increase in asthma-related medications)
  • Undergoing evaluation for sleep apnea, or plans to institute treatment for sleep apnea (patients on a stable treatment regimen for sleep apnea for the last 3 months will be allowed to participate)
  • Clinically significant abnormalities present on screening 12-lead electrocardiogram
  • Women of childbearing potential using oral contraceptives who are not willing to use a second method of contraception during the study

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: 2
Matching placebo (inert tablet)
Active Comparator: 1
Pioglitazone tablets; 30 mg/day for 2 weeks; then increased to 45 mg/day until week 12 (approximately 3 months)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PC20
Time Frame: 12 weeks

Airway reactivity will be measured with methacholine challenge testing following ATS guidelines.

This is the concentration of methacholine that produces a 20% decrease in lung function (measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second)

12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anne E Dixon, MD, The Vermont Lung Center at the University of Vermont

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.

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

January 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 5, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 6, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

November 7, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 26, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 25, 2015

Last Verified

February 1, 2015

More Information

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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