IVIg for Small Fiber Neuropathy With Autoantibodies TS-HDS and FGFR3

Small Fiber Neuropathy Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy in Patient With Small Fiber Neuropathy Associated With Autoantibodies to TS-HDS and FGFR3

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03401073
• Other study ID #: 2017P000592
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: September 1, 2018
• Est. completion date: February 1, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: August 2023
• Source: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The objective of this study is to develop a rationale for the selective treatment of small fiber neuropathy with immune globulin (IVIG) in the appropriate patients.

The investigators hypothesize that individuals with auto-antibodies targeting neuronal antigens (TS-HDS and FGFR3) and confirmed evidence of small fiber neuropathy (by skin biopsy analysis of intra-epidermal nerve fiber density) will have an improvement in both nerve fiber density and pain after treatment with immune globulin.

The co-primary endpoints will be a change in neuropathic pain (by VAS pain score) and a change in intra-epidermal nerve fiber density (by punch skin biopsy).

The data gained from this pilot study will establish a rationale, with an appropriate screening test, for the use of immune globulin for the treatment of small fiber neuropathy.

Description:

Small fiber neuropathies, and mixed small and large fiber neuropathies, have many potential causes including diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, environmental and toxic exposures, HIV, autoimmune and paraproteinemias.

However, despite this broad differential at least 30% of cases of small fiber neuropathies remain idiopathic. There is therefore a growing interest in the potential for using IVIG in small fiber neuropathy without direct proof that the disorder is caused by immune reactions. We have recently uncovered two novel autoantibodies, TS-HDS and FGFR-3, that are targeted again peripheral neural structure. TS-HDS is a disaccharide component of glycosylation of heparin and heparin sulfate.

Patients with elevated levels of IgM against TS-HDS display clear small fiber loss with IgM deposits around the outside of medium- & larger-sized capillaries with C5b-9 complement deposits. FGFR-3 is a secreted cell surface receptor; genetic defects of FGFR-3 are linked to achrondroplasia and other bony abnormalities.

The antibodies to TS-HDS and FGFR-3 are detected in up to 20% of patients with otherwise idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, but are rare in patients without small fiber neuropathy.

Dr. Levine (a co-investigator on this project) recently presented 3 cases of small fiber associated with elevated levels of auto-antibodies to TS-HDS or FGFR-3 who were treated with IVIG at 2 gm/kg/month for 6 months. He examined skin biopsies for intra-epidermal nerve fiber density and patient self-reported pain scores at baseline and after six months of therapy. All 3 cases showed marked improvement in pain scores. The average reduction in pain was 54%. In addition there was a clear increase in the intra-epidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) after 6 months of therapy. Pre-treatment IENFD was 1.6, 1.7, and 2.4 at the calf. After 6 months of therapy the IENFD was 8.4, 5.7, 3.3 respectively (these are clinically significant improvement in nerve fiber density.

The investigators believe these anecdotal cases suggest that TS-HDS and FGFR-3 antibodies may be a marker for a group of SFN patients that are immune mediated and may respond to IVIG. (This case series was presented as a poster at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in 2017)

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 20
• Est. completion date: February 1, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: February 1, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patient with clinically evident and biopsy proven pure small fiber neuropathy as evidenced by reduced intra-epidermal nerve fiber density seen on skin biopsy using PGP 9.5 as the immunostain.

2. Patients must have a baseline pain score on a VAS scale of Greater or equal to 4/10

3. Patients must have elevated titers of autoantibodies to TS-HDS or FFR3 as measured in Dr Alan Pestronk's lab at Washington University in St Louis.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any other known cause for small fiber neuropathy other than the presence of the elevated titers of auto-antibodies. For example patients with diabetes, HIV, Sjogrens, Vitamin deficiency etc.

2. Patients with generalized, severe musculoskeletal conditions other than SFN that prevent a sufficient assessment of the patient by the physician

3. Cardiac insufficiency (New York Heart Association III/IV), cardiomyopathy, significant cardiac dysrhythmia requiring treatment, unstable or advanced ischemic heart disease).

4. Severe liver disease (ALAT 3x > normal value).

5. Severe kidney disease (creatinine 1.5x > normal value).

6. Known hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV infection.

7. Patients with a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) within the last year prior to baseline visit or pulmonary embolism ever; patients with susceptibility to embolism or deep vein thrombosis.

8. Body mass index (BMI) =40 kg/m2.

9. Medical conditions whose symptoms and effects could alter protein catabolism and/or IgG utilization (e.g. protein-losing enteropathies, nephrotic syndrome).

10. Known IgA deficiency with antibodies to IgA.

11. History of hypersensitivity, anaphylaxis or severe systemic response to immuno-globulin, blood or plasma derived products, or any component of Gamunex.

12. Known blood hyperviscosity, or other hypercoagulable states.

13. Use of IgG products within six months prior to enrolment.

14. Use of other blood or plasma-derived products within three months prior to enrollment.

15. Patients with a history of drug or alcohol abuse within the past five years prior to enrollment.

16. Patients unable or unwilling to understand or comply with the study protocol

17. Participating in another interventional clinical study with investigational treatment within three months prior to enrollment.

18. Women who are breast feeding, pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, or are unwilling to use an effective birth control method (such as implants, injectable, combined oral contraceptives, some intrauterine devices (IUDs), sexual abstinence or vasectomized partner) while on study.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy
• Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
• Small Fiber Neuropathy

Intervention

Drug:
• Intravenous immunoglobulin
Gamunex-C [immune globulin injection (human) 10% caprylate/chromatography purified] is a sterile solution of human immune globulin protein.
• 0.9% Sodium Chloride
Sodium Chloride (also known as saline) is a solution of sodium chloride, or salt, and sterile water.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Phoenix Neurological Associates, LTD

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (15)

Antoine JC, Boutahar N, Lassabliere F, Reynaud E, Ferraud K, Rogemond V, Paul S, Honnorat J, Camdessanche JP. Antifibroblast growth factor receptor 3 antibodies identify a subgroup of patients with sensory neuropathy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2015 Dec;86(12):1347-55. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2014-309730. Epub 2015 Jan 27. — View Citation

Cocito D, Ciaramitaro P, Isoardo G, Barbero P, Migliaretti G, Pipieri A, Proto G, Quadri R, Bergamasco B, Durelli L. Intravenous immunoglobulin as first treatment in diabetics with concomitant distal symmetric axonal polyneuropathy and CIDP. J Neurol. 2002 Jun;249(6):719-22. doi: 10.1007/s00415-002-0698-0. — View Citation

Cortez M, Singleton JR, Smith AG. Glucose intolerance, metabolic syndrome, and neuropathy. Handb Clin Neurol. 2014;126:109-22. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53480-4.00009-6. — View Citation

Eftimov F, Winer JB, Vermeulen M, de Haan R, van Schaik IN. Intravenous immunoglobulin for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Dec 30;(12):CD001797. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001797.pub3. — View Citation

Gibbons CH. Small fiber neuropathies. Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2014 Oct;20(5 Peripheral Nervous System Disorders):1398-412. doi: 10.1212/01.CON.0000455874.68556.02. — View Citation

Hahn AF, Bolton CF, Zochodne D, Feasby TE. Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. Brain. 1996 Aug;119 ( Pt 4):1067-77. doi: 10.1093/brain/119.4.1067. — View Citation

Kafaie J, Al Balushi A, Kim M, Pestronk A. Clinical and Laboratory Profiles of Idiopathic Small Fiber Neuropathy in Children: Case Series. J Clin Neuromuscul Dis. 2017 Sep;19(1):31-37. doi: 10.1097/CND.0000000000000178. — View Citation

Kass-Iliyya L, Javed S, Gosal D, Kobylecki C, Marshall A, Petropoulos IN, Ponirakis G, Tavakoli M, Ferdousi M, Chaudhuri KR, Jeziorska M, Malik RA, Silverdale MA. Small fiber neuropathy in Parkinson's disease: A clinical, pathological and corneal confocal microscopy study. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2015 Dec;21(12):1454-60. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.10.019. Epub 2015 Nov 3. — View Citation

Lauria G, Hsieh ST, Johansson O, Kennedy WR, Leger JM, Mellgren SI, Nolano M, Merkies IS, Polydefkis M, Smith AG, Sommer C, Valls-Sole J; European Federation of Neurological Societies; Peripheral Nerve Society. European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society Guideline on the use of skin biopsy in the diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy. Report of a joint task force of the European Federation of Neurological Societies and the Peripheral Nerve Society. Eur J Neurol. 2010 Jul;17(7):903-12, e44-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2010.03023.x. — View Citation

Lefaucheur JP, Wahab A, Plante-Bordeneuve V, Sene D, Menard-Lefaucheur I, Rouie D, Tebbal D, Salhi H, Creange A, Zouari H, Ng Wing Tin S. Diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy: A comparative study of five neurophysiological tests. Neurophysiol Clin. 2015 Dec;45(6):445-55. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2015.09.012. Epub 2015 Nov 17. — View Citation

Mendell JR, Barohn RJ, Freimer ML, Kissel JT, King W, Nagaraja HN, Rice R, Campbell WW, Donofrio PD, Jackson CE, Lewis RA, Shy M, Simpson DM, Parry GJ, Rivner MH, Thornton CA, Bromberg MB, Tandan R, Harati Y, Giuliani MJ; Working Group on Peripheral Neuropathy. Randomized controlled trial of IVIg in untreated chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. Neurology. 2001 Feb 27;56(4):445-9. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.4.445. — View Citation

Nolano M, Biasiotta A, Lombardi R, Provitera V, Stancanelli A, Caporaso G, Santoro L, Merkies IS, Truini A, Porretta-Serapiglia C, Cazzato D, Dacci P, Vitale DF, Lauria G. Epidermal innervation morphometry by immunofluorescence and bright-field microscopy. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2015 Dec;20(4):387-91. doi: 10.1111/jns.12146. — View Citation

Peltier A, Goutman SA, Callaghan BC. Painful diabetic neuropathy. BMJ. 2014 May 6;348:g1799. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1799. Erratum In: BMJ. 2014;348:g3440. — View Citation

Pestronk A, Schmidt RE, Choksi RM, Sommerville RB, Al-Lozi MT. Clinical and laboratory features of neuropathies with serum IgM binding to TS-HDS. Muscle Nerve. 2012 Jun;45(6):866-72. doi: 10.1002/mus.23256. — View Citation

Singleton JR, Bixby B, Russell JW, Feldman EL, Peltier A, Goldstein J, Howard J, Smith AG. The Utah Early Neuropathy Scale: a sensitive clinical scale for early sensory predominant neuropathy. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2008 Sep;13(3):218-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1529-8027.2008.00180.x. — View Citation

* Note: There are 15 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	The Change in Nerve Fiber Density Between Visits 1 and 8.	Difference in intra-epidermal nerve fiber density between visits 1 and 8 will be measured.; Intra-epidermal nerve fiber density is a quantitative measure of the number of nerve fibers per millimeter. The outcome is the number of nerve fibers measured at visit 8 minus the number of nerve fibers measured at visit 1. A positive value indicates that nerve fiber density has increased (a better outcome), a negative value indicates that the nerve fiber density has decreased (a worse outcome).	Visit 1 (time zero) and visit 8 (range of visit time 22-27 weeks after visit 1), thus a total of 22-27 weeks for the study (the range is provided to ensure final follow up is completed despite any conflicts with travel or holidays).
Secondary	The Change in Neuropathic Pain Severity Between Visits 1 and 8.	The visual analog scale (VAS) of pain allows for quantification of neuropathic pain.; The VAS pain scale depicts a line ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain). The scale is ordinal ranging from 0-10.; The difference in pain between visit 1 and visit 8 (pain measured at visit 8 subtracted from the score at visit 1) is the range. Positive values indicate an increase in pain (worse outcome), negative values indicate an improvement in pain (better outcome).	Visit 1 (time zero) and visit 8 (range of visit time 22-27 weeks after visit 1), thus a total of 22-27 weeks for the study (the range is provided to ensure final follow up is completed despite any conflicts with travel or holidays).
Secondary	2) The Difference in Change Between Quantified Utah Early Neuropathy Examination Scores, Between Treatment and Placebo Groups Between Visits 1 and 8.	The Utah Early Neuropathy Scale (UENS) was developed specifically to detect and quantify early small-fiber sensory neuropathy and to recognize modest changes in sensory severity and distribution.; The UENS scale ranges from 0 (no neuropathy) to 42 (severe small fiber neuropathy). The outcome measure is the UENS score from Visit 8 minus the UENS score at visit 1. The difference in the two scores indicates the change in neuropathy severity. A positive value indicates that neuropathy has worsened over the course of the study, a negative value indicates that neuropathy has improved over the course of the study.	Visit 1 (time zero) and visit 8 (range of visit time 22-27 weeks after visit 1), thus a total of 22-27 weeks for the study (the range is provided to ensure final follow up is completed despite any conflicts with travel or holidays).