Use of Bile Acid Binding Resins to Decrease PFAS Levels Via Colesevalem in Veterans Study (PAVERS)

May 11, 2026 updated by: University of Rhode Island

Use of Bile Acid Binding Resins to Decrease Systemic Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Levels and Improve Serum Lipid Profiles in Veterans: PFAS Reduction in Veterans Via Colesevalem Study (PAVERS) Study

The goal of this study is to test the efficacy and feasibility of Colesevelam administration (50% of the recommended dose) to reduce serum PFAS concentration in the Veteran population who have serum PFAS levels that exceed the National Academies Science criteria (PFASsix > 20 ng/ml) using a double blind-placebo controlled study. Based on PFAS prevalence in serum samples, we anticipate recruiting up to n=500 Veterans to meet the goal of n=50 study participants to receive intervention or placebo. The primary outcome will be initial and final PFAS content in serum (total and 7 individual PFAS). The secondary outcome will be initial and final serum biomarkers related to lipid metabolism. As an exploratory aspect to the proposal, we will also measure fecal PFAS, bile acids, and microbial diversity to examine associations between PFAS content and bile acid levels and microbiome. Fecal PFAS, bile acid content, and microbiome may also be measured.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This double-blind randomized controlled trial has a extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets qd) for 12 weeks to lower total serum PFAS levels in individuals with >20 ng/ml PFAS. After 12 weeks, participants assigned to placebo will have an opportunity to participate in the intervention of 12 weeks. Participants on the intervention will remain on the intervention for another 24 weeks.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 40245
        • Robley Rex VA Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Matthew Cave, MD
        • Contact:
    • Maine
      • Augusta, Maine, United States, 04330
        • VA Maine Healthcare System
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Rodney Sparks, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Angela Slitt, PhD

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

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion:

  • Male or female Veterans aged 25- 65 who have serum PFAS >20 ng/ml exceeding National Academy of Science guidance.
  • Written informed consent will be obtained.
  • Outpatient.
  • Agreeable to participate in sharable data and biorepository.

Exclusion:

  • Under the age of 25 years
  • Unable or unwilling to sign the informed consent statement and HIPAA Authorization form
  • Females who are pregnant (confirmed by urine pregnancy test), nursing or planned pregnancy within study period.
  • Patients with hypertriglyceridemia, vitamin deficient patients, hyperthyroidism and diabetic, pancreatitis and intestinal and bowel obstruction
  • Be receiving any investigational drug other than Colesevelam or participating in any other investigational study.
  • Significant medical illnesses that may limit the subject's ability to complete follow-up visits, in the opinion of the investigator.
  • Be receiving any non-standard immunosuppression protocol or other non-standard treatment that could affect interpretation of the study results.
  • Those with significant cardiovascular disease including treatment with inotropes.
  • Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the Investigator would compromise the safety of the patient or the quality of the data.
  • Active substance abuse if this, in the opinion of the investigator, will interfere with the subject's ability to adhere to the study protocol.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Colesevelam
Oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets daily) for 12 weeks
Drug: Colesevelam
A double-blind randomized controlled trial with an extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets daily) for 12 weeks
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Oral placebo (3 x 250 mg once daily) for 12 weeks
Drug: Placebo
A double-blind randomized controlled trial with an extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PFAS content
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Reduction PFAS content in serum (total and 7 individual PFAS).
24 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Serum biomarkers
Time Frame: 24 weeks
The secondary outcome will be initial and final serum biomarkers related to lipid metabolism.
24 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Exploratory
Time Frame: 24 weeks
As an exploratory aspect to the proposal, we will also measure fecal PFAS, bile acids, and microbial diversity to examine associations between PFAS content and bile acid levels and microbiome.
24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Rhode Island

Collaborators

University of Louisville
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Louisville VA Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Angela Slitt, PhD, The University of Rhode Island

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 (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 30, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 29, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AWD
  • CDMRP-TX240390 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP))

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

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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