Ca-Mg Butyrate in GWI (Butyrate)

Microbiome Targeted Oral Butyrate Therapy in Gulf War Multisymptom Illness

The primary objective of this clinical trial is to determine if treatment with Butyrate formulation that consists of butyric acid as calcium and magnesium derivatives (Ca-Mg Butyrate) improves the physical function of men and women Veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness (GWI). The primary outcome measure is a change from baseline on the Short Form Health Survey 36-item (VSF-36), with respect to physical functioning and symptoms. The secondary outcome will focus on the drug's role in (a) restoring gut microbiome and virome, (b) decreasing gastrointestinal disturbances (constipation, diarrhea, pain), (c) decreasing chronic fatigue, (d) decreasing systemic inflammation, and (e) a decrease in cognitive deficits.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Gulf War Illness; Neurocognitive Dysfunction; Chronic Fatigue
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Cal-Mag Butyrate; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

Nearly one third of 700,000 military personnel deployed during Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Aug 2, 1990 to July 31, 1991) in the Kuwaiti War Theater are suffering from Gulf War Illness (GWI), an unexplained chronic illness characterized by multiple symptoms. The illness has taken a heavy toll on deployed Veterans' overall quality of life. Recent research has revealed the host gut microbiome's role in gastrointestinal disturbance, systemic inflammation, and neurotrophic abnormalities in Gulf War Illness mouse models. Also, short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate restored a healthy microbiome and improved gut microbial metabolism apart from attenuating GWI symptom persistence in preclinical studies. Butyrate, a nutraceutical endogenously produced in the host gut following bacterial fermentation, has shown promise in gastrointestinal disturbances such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

This is a randomized, two-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase II clinical trial. The treatment group will receive microencapsulated butyrate capsules (600 mg twice a day for 18 weeks). The placebo group will receive a matching placebo formulation twice a day for 18 weeks. However, after two weeks of the treatment (20 weeks) there will be a follow up virtual visits. The primary outcome measure for this clinical trial is a change from baseline of VSF-36 and CVLT III test scores with respect to physical and mental functioning and symptoms. The secondary outcome measures include changes from baseline of host-microbiome signature, intestinal permeability assessment, peripheral pro-inflammatory biomarkers, and GWI-associated symptoms IBS, chronic pain, fatigue, sleep issues, and cognitive impairment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 120
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jonathan Skupsky; Phone Number: (562) 826-8000; Email: Jonathan.Skupsky@va.gov
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Saurabh Chatterjee, PhD; Phone Number: (919)599-2278; Email: saurabhc@hs.uci.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Long Beach, California, United States, 90822
      • Recruiting
      • VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA
      • Principal Investigator: Saurabh Chatterjee, PhD
      • Contact: Saurabh Chatterjee, PhD; Email: saurabhc@hs.uci.edu
  • Florida
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33125
      • Recruiting
      • Miami VA Healthcare System, Miami, FL
      • Contact: Nancy Klimas, MD; Phone Number: 142204 305-575-7000; Email: nancy.klimas@va.gov
      • Contact: Devra Cohen, MPH; Phone Number: 14214 3055757000; Email: Devra.cohen@va.gov
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84148
      • Not yet recruiting
      • VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT
      • Contact: Ashok Tuteja, MD; Phone Number: 801-582-1565; Email: ashok.tuteja@va.gov
      • Contact: Catherine Loc-Carrillo, MPH; Phone Number: 4616 8015821565; Email: catherine.Loc-carrillo@va.gov

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 38 years to 68 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Gulf war era veteran deployed 40 and 70 years old, in good health by medical history prior to 1990 meeting GWI case definition of CDC and Kansas criteria and
• currently have no exclusionary diagnoses (self- reported) that could reasonably explain the symptoms of their fatiguing illness. The severity of illness is moderate to severe, scoring less than 30 of 100 on the physical domain of VSF36 .

Exclusion Criteria:

• Untreated schizophrenia,
• Untreated bipolar disorder,
• Untreated delusional disorders,
• Untreated dementias of any type and
• active alcoholism or drug abuse.
• Medical conditions excluded include (i) organ failure, (ii) defined rheumatologic inflammatory disorders, and (iii) transplant.
• Use of Butyrate in any form in the 3 months prior to study drug, medications that would impact gut motility, diarrhea, chronic pain, and immune function e.g., steroids, (Last 3 months)
• immunosuppressive drugs or biologic response modifiers within 3 months of study entry will be used as exclusion criteria.
• Pregnancy, or planned pregnancy in the next 6 months,
• Body mass index more than 35
• Specific diets that may have enhanced or enriched fiber or butyrogenic formulations (FODMAP)
• Medications that could potentially impact immune function in the past one month will be excluded (e.g., steroids, antibiotics, immunosuppressives;
• Medications containing supplement calcium or magnesium butyrate should not be taken for at least 3 months before study entry.
• Nutraceuticals that are formulated to impact gut microbiome or immune health) and use of drugs that affect GI motility and use of any antibiotic in the last 2 months.
• Known allergy to butyrate supplements or their derivatives such as sodium salts or hydroxy derivatives of butyrate and/or inactive ingredients of active and placebo soft gelatin will also be excluded.
• Current evidence of celiac disease or late-stage cirrhosis of the liver, Giardia antigen presence, Clostridium difficile toxin in stool, tissue transglutaminase antibody, recent change in gastrointestinal medications, use of drugs that affects gastrointestinal motility, and use of any antibiotic in the last two months also will be excluded.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cal-Mag-Butyrate; Take oral capsule as directed (600 mg, twice a day for 18 weeks) with or without food.	Drug: Cal-Mag Butyrate; Supplements; Other Names: Bodybio Calcium Magnesium Butyrate
Placebo Comparator: Placebo for Cal-Mag-Butyrate; Take oral capsule as directed (600 mg, twice a day for 18 weeks) with or without food.	Drug: Placebo; Only Cal-Mag but no Butyric acid; Other Names: Placebo Cal-Mag Butyrate

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Veterans Short Form 36-Item Health Survey Physical Component Summary	Veterans Health Survey contains 36 items to measure health functioning from the patient's point of view. Qualify of life will be determined per Short Form-36 for Veterans' quality of life Physical component (PCS) summary scales, range from 0 to 100 with 100 being better; 50 is expected population average.	Change from Baseline at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 20 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II)	CVLT-II asks questions about cognitive symptoms related to recall and memory. The CVLT-II is used to measure verbal learning and episodic long-term memory. It assesses learning, short- and long-delayed recall and recognition for a list of 16 shopping items. Subjects are expected to remember a list of words. They are asked to repeat the words remembered 5 times (5 trials). Each of the words correctly remembered, in each trial, is marked as 1 point. The reported data represent the number of correct items for the Trial 1-Trial 5, Short Delay Free Recall, and Long Delay Free Recall. The long-delayed recall is assessed at 20 minutes. The CVLT enables a comprehensive characterization of a participant's memory profile. Scale ranges from 0 to 80 with 80 being the best.	Change from Baseline at 9, 18 and 20 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
• Collaborators: Miami VA Healthcare System; VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Saurabh Chatterjee, PhD, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 15, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 10, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 5, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): May 10, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 26, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 24, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Microbiome; Gulf War Illness; Butyrate; SCFA; GWI; Butyric acid
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive Dysfunction; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Neurotransmitter Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Histamine Antagonists; Histamine Agents; Butyric Acid
• Other Study ID Numbers: SPLD-006-21S; I01CX002372 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

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.: Yes