Trial of Lithium Carbonate for Treatment of Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma Syndrome

October 31, 2019 updated by: Elizabeth Streeten, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Trial of Lithium Carbonate for Treatment of Osteoporosis Pseudoglioma Syndrome

This was a pilot study of 10 patients with Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) from the Old Order Mennonite community and 16 controls, who did not have OPPG. Five of the 10 OPPG patient elected to participate in the Lithium trial and 5 participated only in baseline data (labs, pQCT). The 5 with OPPG who were given lithium for 6 months had both dual energy xray absorptiometry (DXA), peripheral quantitative computerized tomography (pQCT) and lab assessment at baseline and 6 months. Studies in the mouse model of OPPG showed that lithium normalized their bone strength. Controls (n=16) were recruited from the Old Order Mennonite community, to minimize the effects of environmental and lifestyle factors. The controls were not be given lithium. The age range of participants was 4-64 years.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma (OPPG) syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder (approximately 50 cases have been reported worldwide) due to mutations in the LRP5 gene, causing blindness from birth and fragile bones (osteoporosis)in early childhood. The bony fragility can lead to recurrent fractures of major bones such as the hip (femur) and spine, leaving some children in wheelchairs.

Treatment to strengthen the bones in OPPG has primarily been with osteoporosis medications used in other fragile bone disorders of childhood and in adults, namely the bisphosphonates (eg. pamidronate, alendronate). These drugs have helped the bone strength in OPPG somewhat but have not prevented all fractures. We have observed fractures of the hip in 3 children with OPPG who we have treated, in spite of their attaining normal bone density (determined by DXA, dual xray absorptiometry) with bisphosphonates. Therefore, new treatments for OPPG are greatly needed and new methods besides DXA are needed to monitor bone strength on treatment.

A mouse model of OPPG has been created. In the mouse model of OPPG, lithium dramatically improved their bones, returning them to normal strength and preventing fractures. Lithium, which is used for people with psychiatric disease, is known to lead to higher bone strength and reduced fractures in people who are on it for psychiatric disease. Lithium has been used safely and is approved for children 12 and above. The theory is that lithium will improve bone strength in OPPG in humans, as it has in the mouse, by stimulating bone production bypassing the genetic defect in OPPG.

In this study, we recruited 10 patients with OPPG and treated those who agreed (n=5) with lithium for 6 months, monitoring the response of the bones by both DXA and pQCT (peripheral quantitative computed tomography), the latter which gives information about bone quality. An IND was obtained to use lithium in this study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

26

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, 17601
        • University of Maryland Amish Research Clinic

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

5 months to 60 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Age 4 years or greater
  • Diagnosed with osteoporosis pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) or a first degree relative of someone with OPPG. For diagnosis of OPPG, one of the following is required: (1) congenital blindness in a child born into a family with known OPPG where at least one affected family member has had an LRP5 mutation demonstrated or (2) a child with no known family members with OPPG who has congenital blindness, DXA Z-score < -2.0 and mutation in LRP5 documented
  • No contraindications to lithium carbonate
  • For women of child bearing age, willing to undergo urine pregnancy test

Exclusion Criteria

  • Age under 4 years
  • Not diagnosed with osteoporosis pseudoglioma (OPPG) syndrome or a first degree relative of someone with OPPG, or a member of the Old Order Mennonite community
  • Pregnant
  • For women of childbearing age, not willing to undergo urine pregnancy test
  • Contraindication to Lithium (serum creatinine > 1.3, known cardiovascular disease [history of myocardial infarction, heart failure], currently on diuretic or ACE inhibitor)
  • Glomerular filtration rate below 80 cc/min

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: Lithium
patients with OPPG will be treated with lithium for 6 months
Drug: Lithium
lithium will be given for 6 months to patients with OPPG, starting at a low dose of 2.5 mg/kg daily, gradually increasing until a lithium blood level of 0.3-0.6 ng/dl is achieved.
Other Names:
  • lithium carbonate or lithium citrate will be used
No Intervention: Unaffected controls
Family members of patients with OPPG will have DXA and pQCT to compare to OPPG patients. These unaffected participants will not receive lithium.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
pQCT of Lower Leg
Time Frame: Baseline
pQCT will be done at baseline for all OPPG participants and unaffecteds. The Z-score indicates the number of standard deviations away from the mean of age matched controls. A Z-score of 0 is equal to the mean, with negative numbers indicating values lower than the mean and positive values higher. A positive change in Z-score indicates a favorable outcome.
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
pQCT Z-score in OPPG Participants at Baseline and 6 Months After Lithium
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
The Z-score indicates the number of standard deviations away from the mean of age matched controls. A Z-score of 0 is equal to the mean, with negative numbers indicating values lower than the mean and positive values higher. A positive change in Z-score indicates a favorable outcome.Z-score of pQCT variable was noted for the in two OPPG participants who received lithium and were also able to get pQCT scans. The "n" of 2 was too small to do statistical analyses. Of the 5 OPPG who were on lithium, 2 were too small for the machine (eventhough over age 4) and 1 had rods in his legs and couldn't have pQCT
baseline, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Elizabeth A Streeten, MD, University of Maryland, College Park

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

July 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 20, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

April 21, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 4, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 31, 2019

Last Verified

April 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HP-00040536

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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.

Clinical Trials on Osteoporosis Pseudoglioma

Clinical Trials on Lithium

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Jordan

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe