NCT02634541

Brief Summary

Axial spondyloarthritis is an inflammatory rheumatic disease mainly affecting joints in the spine and the sacroiliac joints. Inflammatory pathways are likely the central link from axial spondyloarthritis to the known increased risk of atherosclerotic morbidity. Positron emission tomography (PET) is the most sensitive method to detect inflammatory foci in clinical practice. A few small studies have demonstrated that PET imaging together with computed tomography (PET/CT) detects inflamed tissues in relevant patient groups. One study suggested that antirheumatic treatment diminishes the inflammation detected in PET/CT. No study so far has disclosed whether aortic inflammation is present in patients with spondyloarthritis, and whether the inflammation would wane with efficient antirheumatic treatment. The current study is aimed to grade the articular and aortic inflammatory signals in the PET/CT imaging before and after antirheumatic treatment of clinically active axial spondyloarthritis. Sixty patients aged 18-75 years with axial spondyloarthritis and radiologic sacroiliitis as detected either by MRI or X-ray will be recruited. Twenty of those are DMARD-naive, and 40 patients have axial spondyloarthritis resistant to sulfasalazine or other conventional antirheumatic drug. In addition, approximately 30 patients without spondyloarthritis but with stable coronary heart disease and approximately 20 healthy controls will be taken as historical controls. All the axial spondyloarthritis patients are PET/CT scanned after inclusion in the study. The DMARD-naive patients (n=20) are started sulfasalazine-based regimen for 12 weeks, which is the time point for a second PET scan for this subgroup. Adalimumab will be commenced for those without remission at 12 weeks. After another 16 weeks, those with adalimumab will be scanned with PET/CT for the third time. The subgroup with active disease in spite of prior conventional treatment (n=40) is also scanned with PET/CT right after the enrolment and after 16-week treatment with adalimumab. The first 15 patients form a pilot group, which is used to check the validity of the power calculation. The project will give essential new information on PET-detectable inflammation in the patients with axial spondyloarthritis. The results will be published in international publication series. The publications will form the basis for a doctoral thesis. Funding for the project comes from Abbvie Ltd.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for phase_4

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2016

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

December 16, 2015

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

December 18, 2015

Completed
14 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2016

Completed
1.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2017

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2017

Completed
Last Updated

February 23, 2017

Status Verified

February 1, 2017

Enrollment Period

1.9 years

First QC Date

December 16, 2015

Last Update Submit

February 22, 2017

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • PET signals within groups

    Decrease in PET signal levels both in major CV tissues (mean TBR in the whole aorta) and musculoskeletal tissues (lumbar spine and articular enthesitis as well as arthritis) after antirheumatic treatment. Thus the variables of most interest reflect intraindividual changes.

    16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • PET signals between groups

    16 weeks

Study Arms (2)

DMARD-naive

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Sulfasalazine will be given as the initial therapy.

Other: PET/CT imaging

Post-sulfasalazine

EXPERIMENTAL

Sulfasalazine contraindicated or not efficient, adalimumab will be given as the initial therapy.

Drug: AdalimumabOther: PET/CT imaging

Interventions

Biologic drug

Post-sulfasalazine

PET/CT imaging

DMARD-naivePost-sulfasalazine

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 75 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Axial spondyloarthritis (ASAS criteria) and radiologic sacroiliitis as detected either by MRI or X-ray.

You may not qualify if:

  • Psoriasis or psoriasis arthropathy
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Unwillingness to participate in the study with additional imaging protocols
  • Expected life-span less than \<1 year
  • Diabetes (to improve the PET imaging quality)
  • Probable noncompliance
  • Pregnancy
  • Age \<18 years or \>75 years
  • Contraindication for adalimumab
  • Methotrexate used within the previous 6 months
  • A biologic medicine used within the previous 6 months

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Helsinki University Central Hospital

Helsinki, Finland

RECRUITING

Päijät-Häme Central Hospital

Lahti, Finland

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Spondylitis, Ankylosing

Interventions

Adalimumab

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Axial SpondyloarthritisSpondylarthropathiesSpondylarthritisSpondylitisSpinal DiseasesBone DiseasesMusculoskeletal DiseasesAnkylosisJoint DiseasesArthritis

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntibodies, MonoclonalAntibodiesImmunoglobulinsImmunoproteinsBlood ProteinsProteinsAmino Acids, Peptides, and ProteinsSerum GlobulinsGlobulins

Central Study Contacts

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 4
Allocation
NON RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Internal Medicine

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

December 16, 2015

First Posted

December 18, 2015

Study Start

January 1, 2016

Primary Completion

December 1, 2017

Study Completion

December 1, 2017

Last Updated

February 23, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-02

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations