SOAR: Study Observing Antiarrhythmic Remodelling Using LGE-MRI (SOAR)

January 22, 2016 updated by: Nassir F. Marrouche, MD, University of Utah
The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate how dronedarone (Multaq®) may aid in the slowing of progression of left atrial and ventricular fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation as assessed by late gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) arises as a result of a complex interaction between triggers, perpetuators and substrate. As early as 1995, Morillo et al have demonstrated that AF is associated with ultrastructural changes in myocytes. In animal models, alterations in myocytes after sustained AF resemble those of myocardial hybernation with a phenotypical adaptation towards a more fetal stage. Ultimately, these structural changes would lead to Calcium overload and metabolic stress, similar changes have been observed in humans. However, in humans, atrial dilatation and degenerative changes have been observed. Interstitial fibrosis (caused by deposits of collagen and fibronectin) is the prime cause of structural remodeling in left atrium (Boldt et al., 2004). It has been well established that fibrosis is a confounding clinical factor in causing AF (Kostin et al., 2002). But AF itself promotes fibrosis, which in turn leads to increased conduction heterogeneity within the atrial substrate resulting in further progression of AF (Everett,and Olgin, 2007).

The recent introduction of Late Gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) sequence now allows for non-invasive assessment of the location and extent of arrhythmia related fibrosis.

Contrast enhancement occurs as a result of altered washout kinetics of gadolinium relative to normal surrounding tissue, which may reflect increased fibrosis or tissue remodeling of the myocardium. Our group has demonstrated the feasibility of a new LGE-MRI acquisition and processing protocol to detect fibrosis in the LA.

To date, no controlled trials evaluating the effect of antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) and regression of left atrial fibrosis as assessed by LGE-MRI has been performed. We propose to use LGE-MRI to evaluate the effects of dronedarone vs. placebo on atrial and ventricular fibrosis. It has been shown that the success of catheter ablation procedure (which has been shown to be superior in terms of maintaining sinus rhythm in AF patients when compared to anti-arrhythmic drugs) is dependent upon the extent of fibrosis (Akoum et al., in prep). In AF patients with greater than 35% enhancement (percent left atrial fibrosis), the success of catheter ablation in reducing AF recurrence is greatly reduced. Hence for these patients, a drug that can control the progression of fibrosis and simultaneously provide respite from AF recurrence would be an extremely desirable prescription.

Multaq® is the chosen drug in this study because clinical trials (Hohnloser et al., 2009) have shown that it has the potential to reduce incidence of hospitalizations due to cardiovascular events by 25.5% and death in AF patients by 45%. We acknowledge the information that Dronedarone may be more prone to AF recurrence, however, it has a better safety profile with regards to thyroid and neurologic events and does not interfere with oral anticoagulants (Le Heuzey et al., 2010), which make dronedarone a more preferred antiarrhythmic drug to be used for this study. Furthermore, in patients who took dronedarone post cardioversion procedure to revert arrhythmia back to normal sinus rhythm (NSR), dronedarone has been shown to decrease AF recurrences (Le Heuzey et al., 2010).

OBJECTIVES:

Primary:

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate how dronedarone may aid in the regression or slowing of progression of left atrial and ventricular fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation as assessed by LGE-MRI, using longitudinal data from a double-blinded, prospective study of patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation over a twelve month follow up period.

Secondary:

  • To study the effects of dronedarone in global parameters of myocardial remodeling such as right and left atrial volumes and right and left ventricular volumes.
  • To study correlation between AF burden expressed as percentage of AF measured by an 8-day Holter Monitoring at three, six and twelve months post initiation.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

33

Phase

  • Phase 3

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients age 18 and older
  • Must carry a diagnosis of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation for 1 months or longer prior to being enrolled.
  • AAD: Multaq® (dronedarone) candidate
  • Patients have given informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are unavailable to continue follow-up at the University of Utah outpatient clinic.
  • Patients weighing >200 lbs (MR image efficacy decreases due to density)
  • Prior RF Ablation treatment for atrial fibrillation
  • Severe renal failure manifested by a chronic GFR of < 30 mL/min, or acute renal failure regardless of the GFR, until the renal function has stabilized. (Gadolinium contraindication)
  • Enrollment in any other investigational trial for anti-arrhythmic therapy
  • Any health related Gadolinium/MRI contraindications: Pacemaker devices, etc.
  • Pregnant women
  • Individuals with cognitive impairments who are unable to give informed consent

  • Multaq® (dronedarone) contraindications:

    • NYHA Class IV heart failure or NYHA Class II - III heart failure with a recent decompensation requiring hospitalization or referral to a specialized heart failure clinic
    • Second- or third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block or sick sinus syndrome
    • Bradycardia < 50 bpm
    • Concomitant use of strong CYP 3A inhibitors, such as ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, cyclosporine, telithromycin, clarithromycin, nefazodone, and ritonavir
    • Concomitant use of drugs or herbal products that prolong the QT interval and might increase the risk of Torsade de Pointes, such as phenothiazine anti-psychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, certain oral macrolide antibiotics, and Class I and III antiarrhythmics
    • QTc Bazett interval ≥ 500 ms or PR interval > 280 ms
    • Severe hepatic impairment
    • Pregnant women
    • Nursing 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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Half of the patients will be assigned placebo.
Drug: Placebo
Placebo will be administered by the patient's team according to established guidelines.
Experimental: Multaq® (dronedarone)
Half of the patients will be prescribed dronedarone.
Drug: dronedarone
Dronedarone will be prescribed by the patient's team according to established guidelines.
Other Names:
  • Multaq®

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
LA Fibrosis
Time Frame: baseline, 1 year
The change in left atrial fibrosis percentage, as measured on a scale, using MRI imaging, from baseline to the end of treatment.
baseline, 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Utah

Collaborators

Sanofi

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Nassir F Marrouche, MD, University of Utah

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

November 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 11, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

August 16, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 19, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 22, 2016

Last Verified

January 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB_00040931

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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