View clinical trials related to Giant Cell Arteritis.
Filter by:Polymyalgia rheumatic (PMR) is a frequent inflammatory disease. It affects the elderly, with peak incidences at the age of 70 to 80 years; an age >50 years or older, is considered a criterion for the diagnosis. Polymyalgia rheumatica occurs at a frequency that is 3 to 10 times that of giant-cell arteritis. Disease risk varies according to race and geographic region. The incidence is highest among whites in northern European populations (about 20 cases per 100,000 persons older than 50 years of age); it is lower in southern European populations (about 10 cases per 100,000).The diagnosis is based on established ACR/EULAR classification criteria. Long term low-dose glucocorticoid (GCs) (prednisone or prednisolone started at 15 to 20 mg/day progressively tapered) is the mainstay of the treatment. The activity of PMR is evaluated using the PMR-AS, a disease activity score based on morning stiffness, ability to elevate the upper limbs, physician's global disease assessment and pain assessment measured by the patient using VAS, and the C-reactive protein (CRP) level. The PMR-AS is considered as relevant to define relapse and remission but also to decide if treatment have to be decreased, unchanged or increased (PMR-AS < 10: decrease, PMR-AS > 17 increase to previous dosage, 10 ≤ PMR-AS ≤ 17: stable dose).. Comorbidity in PMR are due to GCs and 30% of the patients underwent a relapse when tapering GCs. If the investigators able to start prednisone at a lower dosage (i.e. 8 mg then tapered for 3 to 4 months), the cumulative dosage of steroid would not have major side effects but it is not possible without new therapeutic agents. The TENOR study (Tolerance and Efficacy of tocilizumab iN pOlymyalgia Rheumatica), a phase 2 study, demonstrated efficacy of tocilizumab as first line treatment in PMR without GCs and its ability to spare GCs. This was the first study demonstrating that a biologic may improve PMR without steroid, and that also showed that a short treatment by biologic followed by a low dose GCs therapy may be a new concept in the treatment of PMR. Molecular studies in GCA and PMR suggest that dendritic cells initiate the pathogenic cascade and recruit T cells. Two major immune-response networks have been identified related to type 1 helper T-cell (Th1) and to helper T-cell (Th17). Abatacept is comprised of the ligand-binding domain of CTLA4 plus modified Fc domain derived from IgG1. By containing CTLA4, abatacept blocks the engagement of CD28 with its ligand, thereby inhibiting T cell activation. It has recently demonstrated its efficacy in Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) but also in giant cell arteritis (GCA). Due to its good safety profile in rheumatoid arthritis and its potential to modulate T cell activation and derived cytokines, abatacept is an attractive agent to investigate in patients with PMR. In this randomized prospective placebo controlled study, the objective is to demonstrate the ability of abatacept to improve alone PMR and then to allow a steroid sparing effect after this induction treatment, in early onset PMR.
Primary Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of KEVZARA (sarilumab) in participants with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) as assessed by the proportion of participants with sustained remission for sarilumab with a shorter corticosteroid (CS) tapering regimen as compared to placebo with a longer CS tapering regimen. Secondary Objectives: - To demonstrate the efficacy of sarilumab in participants with PMR compared to placebo, in combination with a CS taper with regards to: - Clinical responses (such as components of sustained remission, disease remission rates, time to first disease flare) over time. - Cumulative CS (including prednisone) exposure. - To assess the safety (including immunogenicity) and tolerability of sarilumab in participants with PMR. - To measure sarilumab serum concentrations in participants with PMR. - To assess the effect of sarilumab in reducing glucocorticoid toxicity as measured by the composite glucocorticoid toxicity index (GTI) questionnaire.
Primary Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of sarilumab in participants with giant cell arteritis (GCA) as assessed by the proportion of participants with sustained remission for sarilumab compared to placebo, in combination with a corticosteroid (CS) tapering course. Secondary Objective: - To demonstrate the efficacy of sarilumab in participants with GCA compared to placebo, in combination with CS taper with regards to: - Clinical responses (such as responses based on disease remission rates, time to first disease flare) over time. - Cumulative CS (including prednisone) exposure. - To assess the safety (including immunogenicity) and tolerability of sarilumab in participants with GCA. - To measure sarilumab serum concentrations in participants with GCA. - To assess the effect of sarilumab on sparing glucocorticoid toxicity as measured by glucocorticoid toxicity index (GTI).
Over the last decades outcome has greatly improved for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA). This is in sharp contrast to the situation for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), with a lifetime prevalence of 2.4% for women and 1.7% for men, PMR is the commonest auto-inflammatory musculoskeletal disease in adults aged ≥50 years. Due to population ageing, the number of PMR patients will likely double in the decades to come (CBS). Glucocorticoids (GC) are the mainstay of treatment. However, there is an unmet medical need of alternatives in the treatment of PMR as 50% of patients will relapse or have difficulties to reduce the corticosteroid doses. Also, there is increasing awareness of steroid related toxicity and in addition, long-term toxicity is a well-known side-effect of glucocorticoids in PMR. Low dose methotrexate (< 10 mg per week) has been tested in two blinded randomized control trials and 4 open label studies and has shown low to moderate efficacy as corticosteroid-sparing agent. Studies on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers yielded negative results. The effectiveness of leflunomide has only been convincingly demonstrated in case series. The high rate of relapses and adverse events in steroid treated patients indicate that alternative adjuvant agents are needed. There is evidence that leflunomide could serve as steroid sparing agent and that leflunomide can be used to prevent relapses in the clinical management of polymyalgia rheumatica. We will perform a randomized placebo controlled trial. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio receiving either leflunomide 20 mg once daily + glucocorticoids , or placebo + glucocorticoids.
Naltrexone is an FDA approved drug (for alcoholism) that has found widespread use "off-label" to treat pain and improve quality of life at much lower doses than are used for the approved indication. There are a few scientific studies in three conditions (fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease, and multiple sclerosis) that suggest that this drug has benefit and is safe. However, considering the extent of use in other conditions, and uncertainty about the mechanism of action study is needed in a diverse set of diseases, including vasculitis. The purpose of this clinical trial is to determine if low dose naltrexone is effective in improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with vasculitis. Although it is a pilot study, a placebo-controlled component is used because of the prominent placebo group effect seen in studies with self-reported subjective outcomes.
This study seeks to understand the journey that patients eventually are diagnosed with vasculitis experience in the period prior to their formal diagnosis by a healthcare provider. Data elements of interest include average time from the onset of the first symptoms to the time a diagnosis of vasculitis is confirmed. Other aims include identifying factors associated with the time to diagnosis. These factors will be divided into: a) intrinsic factors, or so-called "patient-related factors", such as the type of vasculitis symptoms, patient demographics, socioeconomic status, patients' beliefs regarding the etiology of their symptoms, and other factors, and b) extrinsic factors, or "professional/health system factors", such as healthcare access, referral patterns, testing patterns, and other factors. Understanding such factors can guide future efforts to shorten delays in diagnosis and thereby improve outcomes. All analyses will be done for the population of patients with vasculitis as a whole and by individual types of vasculitis.
A case-control study to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of FDG uptake in cranial arteries by FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis.
The use of ultrasonography in detecting giant cell arteritis ( GCA) is emerging. Currently, temporal biopsy is the gold standard to diagnose GCA but studies have shown the interest to use B mode ultrasonography. However, until now, the study of velocities in GCA have not been yet performed.
Giant-cell arteritis (GCA) is the most frequent vasculitis after 50 years. Corticosteroid therapy is the reference treatment for GCA. This treatment is highly effective but must be maintained for 12 to 24 months to avoid relapses, which causes the onset of numerous adverse effects in this elderly population. Currently clinicians have no way to estimate this risk of relapse during the treatment of GCA. Invariant T lymphocytes associated with the mucous membrane (MAIT), whose role in vasculitides has recently been shown and which produce IL-17 and IFN-γ, two key cytokines in the pathophysiology of GCA could be implicated in the pathophysiology of GCA and could constitute a predictive marker of relapse. Our hypothesis is that blood MAIT are recruited in the artery wall in patients with GCA and that the number of circulating MAIT in the blood falls and then returns to normal if the corticoids are effective. Given that it will be necessary to include a large number of patients to show that the persistence of a low number of circulating MAIT in patients treated with corticoids is a predictor of relapse, we propose, as the first step, to carry out a pilot study to obtain preliminary data on these new markers. The study is classified as interventional because a lot of blood samples are taken
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) affects large and medium sized vessels. Large vessel-GCA (LV-GCA) affecting aorta and/or its main branches is seen a) together with temporal arteritis (AT-GCA), b) as isolated LV-GCA but also c) with polymyalgia rheumatica. There is a risk of vision loss and cerebral thromboembolic events or great vessel injury in GCA. With delayed or inadequate treatment mortality and morbidity increases. This highlights the need of fast diagnosis and early treatment. The cornerstone in the diagnosis of GCA is a positive temporal artery biopsy. Patients with LV-GCA have more general, but less cephalic symptoms than patients with AT-GCA. Also, biopsy from large vessels can rarely be done and only 50% have a positive temporal artery biopsy (TAB). Hence, diagnosis often rely on imaging. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG PET)/CT has shown high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and is believed to be superior to other imaging modalities in the diagnosis of LV-GCA . The impact of FDG PET/CT in the management of LV-GCA has been evaluated and has shown to increase the diagnostic accuracy in a significant proportion of patients. However, studies have indicated a lower sensitivity in steroid treated patients. The aim of this study, was to evaluate the effect of steroid treatment on large-vessel FDG uptake in new-onset, treatment-naive LV-GCA by repetitive FDG PET/CT pre- and post therapeutic. With insights into the diagnostic capabilities after treatment is initiated, the possibility of timely treatment and confident diagnostic work up will improve.