ACTHAR Therapy for Central Nervous System Sarcoidosis

November 19, 2020 updated by: The Cleveland Clinic
There is a need for a more reliable, expeditious therapy that can be used as an alternative to glucocorticoids in severe Central Nervous System (CNS) sarcoidosis. This study aims to provide evidence for effectiveness of ACTHAR gel in CNS sarcoidosis, and provide information about its safety and tolerability

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is one of the most severe manifestations of sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis affecting the leptomeninges, spinal cord, or brain parenchyma portends a difficult course and frequently results in severe disability or death (1). Treatment of moderate and severe CNS sarcoidosis typically involves a combination of corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents such as methotrexate (2). Unfortunately, most response rates are reportedly only in the 29-38% range for corticosteroids alone, and the effects of cytotoxic agents in sarcoidosis require up to 6 months to occur. A typical scenario is that patients are treated for prolonged periods with high dose glucocorticoids with suboptimal effectiveness despite development of substantial toxicities. Some series report that cyclophosphamide or infliximab may be beneficial (3), but these approaches are limited by potentially severe toxicities, loss of effectiveness, or payor constraints.

. ACTHAR is a 39-amino acid peptide natural form of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) that was initially approved in 1952 by the FDA. It has since been approved for 19 indications including respiratory sarcoidosis, multiple sclerosis, and infantile spasms.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Phase 4

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
    • Ohio
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44195
        • Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

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

  • ADULT
  • OLDER_ADULT
  • CHILD

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient with sarcoidosis as defined by ATS/ERS/WASOG (American Thoracic Society/European Thoracic Society/World Association for Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders)
  • Stable baseline immunosuppressive medications

  • Moderate to severe disease as defined by at least one of the following criteria:

    • Cranial nerve palsy
    • Neurologic deficits related to intraparenchymal brain, spinal cord and/or cauda equina involvement
    • Dural or leptomeningeal involvement of brain and/or spinal cord
    • Hydrocephalus
    • Seizures

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of any underlying neurologic disorder that would potentially confound interpretation of the study results
  • Significant change in corticosteroid dose within the past 4 weeks, or other immunosuppressive medication within the past 6 months
  • Evidence of current serious infection, or a history of chronic or recurring infections.
  • Contraindication to high-dose corticosteroids (e.g. uncontrolled blood sugar).
  • Allergies to pig-derived proteins
  • Have a history of any opportunistic infection within 6 months prior to screening
  • History of malignancy.

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: NA
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: H.P. Achtar Gel 80 U
H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin) Injection, 80 U daily for 10 days, then 80 U twice weekly for up to a total of 48 weeks on therapy.
Drug: Repository Corticotropin Injection
  • Initial treatment with 80 units daily for ten days (induction phase)
  • Maintenance treatment with 80 units twice weekly (maintenance phase)
Other Names:
  • ACTH
  • ACTH Gel
  • H.P. Acthar Gel

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of patients with clinically significant improvement - successful glucocorticoid tapering.
Time Frame: 12 Weeks
12 Weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of patients with clinically significant improvement - no need for escalation of other therapy.
Time Frame: 12 Weeks
12 Weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The Cleveland Clinic

Collaborators

Mallinckrodt

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Daniel Culver, DO, The Cleveland Clinic

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 (Actual)

February 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 2, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

November 2, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 29, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 29, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

September 30, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 20, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 19, 2020

Last Verified

November 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ACTHAR CNS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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.

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