RA-2 13-cis Retinoic Acid (Isotretinoin) (RA-2)

July 29, 2021 updated by: John Amory, University of Washington

A Pilot Trial of 13-cis Retinoic Acid (Isotretinoin) for the Treatment of Men With Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia

Men with infertility and normal hormone levels have few options for fertility treatment. Previous research work has suggested that men with infertility may have low levels of the active form of Vitamin A, called retinoic acid, in their testes. We think that giving men with low sperm counts retinoic acid may increase their sperm counts and improve their chances of fathering a pregnancy. We want to see if retinoic acid administration over twenty weeks can increase sperm production and help infertile men become fathers without the need for In vitro fertilization (IVF) and/or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We also want to see if adding calcitriol with retinoic acid will improve sperm motility in a sub-set of subjects.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a 20 week, unblinded, two-arm pilot study to determine the impact of therapy with 13-cis retinoic acid and calcitriol on sperm indices in infertile men. Twenty infertile men, ages 21-60 with abnormal sperm analyses will be enrolled for 20-week and given 20 mg 13-cis retinoic acid, twice daily. Subjects#11-#20 will also be administered calcitriol to see if adding calcitriol with Accutane will improve sperm motility. All subjects will be closely followed for side effects related to treatment. The impact of treatment on indices of spermatogenesis will be determined by monthly seminal fluid analyses.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

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
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195
        • University of Washington Medical Center

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

19 years to 58 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects will be infertile men (no pregnancy with partner with normal cycles and normal hysterosalpingogram despite >1 year of unprotected intercourse).
  • Abnormal sperm analyses with a total, motile sperm count of less than 10 million sperm as assessed by semen analysis on two occasions separated by one week.
  • In the opinion of the investigator, is able to comply with the protocol, understand and sign an informed consent and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ) form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Men participating in another clinical trial
  • Men not living in the catchment area of the clinic
  • Clinically significant abnormal findings at screening
  • Known genetic infertility (e.g. Klinefelter syndrome or Y-chromosome microdeletions),
  • Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (that might respond to gonadotropin injections),
  • The use of anabolic steroids, illicit drugs, or the consumption of more than 4 alcoholic beverages daily
  • Severe mental health problems requiring medications
  • Current therapy with retinoic acid (e.g. Accutane) or vitamin A.
  • Score of greater than 15 on the Patient health questionnaire (PHQ9).
  • Abnormal serum chemistry values according to local laboratory normal values which indicate liver or kidney dysfunction. Other abnormal lab values may also be exclusionary, at the discretion of the investigator
  • Men with a personal history of serious psychiatric disorders
  • Men currently receiving tetracycline containing medications
  • Men currently receiving phenytoin
  • Men with a history of inflammatory bowel disease
  • Men with a history of bone disease
  • Men who have used isotretinoin within eight weeks of the start of dosing
  • Men with elevated serum triglycerides

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 13-cis retinoic acid
20mg 13-cis retinoic acid twice daily (BID) with meals for 20 weeks
Drug: 13-cis retinoic acid
Accutane is used for the treatment of severe acne
Other Names:
  • Isotretinoin
  • Accutane
Experimental: Calcitriol 0.25 mcg
oral calcitriol 025 mcg BID subjects 11-20 for 20 weeks
Drug: 13-cis retinoic acid
Accutane is used for the treatment of severe acne
Other Names:
  • Isotretinoin
  • Accutane
Drug: Calcitriol
Calcitriol is a form of vitamin D given twice daily (BID)
Other Names:
  • 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Millions of Sperm Per Ejaculate
Time Frame: Up to 20-weeks
Millions of sperm per ejaculate in men treated with 13-cis retinoic acid
Up to 20-weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Washington

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

August 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 10, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 10, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

February 12, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 2, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 29, 2021

Last Verified

June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00000564

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 Male Infertility

Clinical Trials on 13-cis retinoic acid

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Turkmenistan

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe