Albumin for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Intervention — ACHIEVE  

Intracerebral Hemorrhage Clinical Trial

Official title: Albumin for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Intervention

Status Terminated

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out what effects, good and bad, the medication Albumin has on subjects who have experienced a type of stroke known as an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). An ICH is when spontaneous bleeding into the brain occurs due to fragile blood vessels.

This research is being done because currently there is no effective treatment for ICH. However, study investigators believe that Albumin, the medication being tested in this study, is safe and may help improve patient recovery from ICH over time.

Subjects will be enrolled in the study for a total of 90 days. Following enrollment, subjects will be randomized to receive 3 daily injections of either Albumin or Placebo (liquid with no drug), and will receive 3 brain MRI scans (with and without contrast), as described below.

All subjects will be monitored continuously through 96 hours after enrollment (5 days) in the Georgetown ICU. Blood tests and clinical evaluations of neurological status, consisting of questions about subjects' functional abilities and medical history, will occur in the Georgetown ICU once every 24 hours through post-enrollment Day 5. Additionally, subjects will receive daily chest x-rays, and daily EKGs (exams that monitor how your heart is doing by placing electrodes, or small monitors, on your skin in specific locations).

Similar clinical evaluations will occur at Day 30 and Day 90. Should subjects be discharged at these time points, day 30 assessments will occur over the phone, and day 90 assessments will occur in-person at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Clinical Trial Description

We aim to determine the safety and explore the efficacy of human albumin as a neuroprotective (or cytoprotective) agent for the treatment of acute primary supratentorial ICH. Albumin therapy has been shown to be cytoprotective in animal studies of both ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, and in a phase II human study in ischemic stroke.

To date no acute intervention (beyond supportive medical care) has been identified to improve outcomes in patients with primary ICH. Neuronal injury from a primary ICH is due not only to the space occupying effects of the hemorrhage but also due to the development of edema and toxicity from blood breakdown products in the subacute phase. Cytoprotective strategies targeted to limit blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown and edema formation hold promise as treatment strategies to limit this injury.

A number of MR imaging outcome markers demonstrating a potential neuroprotective effect include measures of hematoma volume, perihematomal edema, and blood brain barrier disruption. The term "hyperintense acute injury marker" (HARM) has been proposed to describe the radiologic finding of hyperintense signal within the cerebrospinal fluid spaces visualized on post-contrast fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI in patients with acute ischemic stroke. HARM has the potential to serve as a marker of blood brain barrier disruption in patients with primary ICH. The current study will involve serial MR imaging in ICH patients randomized to placebo vs. albumin to assess whether there are differences in the frequency of HARM and perihematomal edema in the albumin treated patients. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cerebral Hemorrhage
• Hemorrhage
• Intracerebral Hemorrhage

• NCT number: NCT00990509
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Georgetown University
• Status: Terminated
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: September 2009
• Completion date: June 2013