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Frailty in AgingPhase 2GRDNCT01833078

Ghrelin Repeated Dose Study

A Phase 2 study testing ghrelin in people with Frailty in Aging, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome leading to physical deterioration including muscle wasting (sarcopenia) and unintentional weight loss. There are currently no approved therapies for frailty. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite centers in the brain. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 70 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Frailty in Aging
What is being tested?
ghrelin
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
5 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2013to Jun 2013
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 70 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Individuals with three, four or five frailty criteria using the Fried frailty criteria

Who cannot join

  • Diabetes mellitus or fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL
  • Hospitalization for stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, vascular surgery in the past six months.
  • New York Heart Association Class III or IV congestive heart failure
  • Therapy for cancer in the past 12 months, except non-melanoma skin cancer
  • BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2
  • Current use of corticosteroids other than topical, ophthalmic, and inhaled preparations
Show all 15Show fewer
  • Therapy with megestrol acetate or dronabinol within the last 6 weeks
  • Thyroid stimulating hormone measured as < 0.4 mU/L or greater than 10mU/L
  • Abnormal liver function tests (LFTs > 2x upper limit of normal)
  • Hemoglobin < 11g/dL
  • Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) above the age-specific reference range
  • History of surgery within the last 30 days
  • Unstable medical or psychological conditions or unstable home or food environment
  • Cognitive deficit as defined by a Folstein Mini Mental State Exam score < 24/30
  • Depression (defined as a score of > 11 on the Geriatric Depression Questionnaire)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Ghrelin in Frail Elderly Subcutaneous Repeated Dose Study

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome leading to physical deterioration including muscle wasting (sarcopenia) and unintentional weight loss. There are currently no approved therapies for frailty. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite centers in the brain. The investigators already know that a single dose of Ghrelin improves food intake immediately after the dose in frail older people. In this study, the investigators are trying to find out if repeated daily doses of ghrelin will help frail older people improve food intake for multiple days in a row.

Read the detailed description

The study design is an open label, repeated dose administration study in which we will examine the safety and efficacy of repeated subcutaneous ghrelin administration in frail individuals. There will be a screening visit plus three additional study visits at the CTRC on Days 1, 2, and 7. Participants will receive an injection of ghrelin subcutaneously once daily on Days 1 and 7 and will self-administer the subcutaneous injection before breakfast on Days 2-6 at home. A food record will be kept from Day -3 to Day 6. We will assess the efficacy of repeated ghrelin doses to sustainably increase caloric intake from pre-treatment baseline without hyperglycemia or raising of cortisol levels.

Being tested
ghrelin

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • ghrelinDrug

    ghrelin administration subcutaneously for 7 days

Study groups in NCT01833078
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
7 day ghrelin dosing - all participantsOtherAll participants will receive an injection of ghrelin (7.5mcg/kg) dose subcutaneously once daily on Days 1, 2 and 7 in the research center and will self-administer the subcutaneous injection before breakfast on Days 2-6 at home.
Receives: Drug: ghrelin

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Safety

    1.Safety: # of participants with treatment emergent adverse events

    Measured: pre-treatment baseline through 30 days following the last administration of study treatment day 7

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Sustainability of Increased Caloric Intake

    Sustained food intake of standardized meal from Days 1 compared to Day 7.

    Measured: pre-treatment baseline (day 1) through day 7

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted16 Apr 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2013
  3. Primary completionJun 2013
  4. Study completionJun 2013

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
5 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01833078
Sponsor's protocol ID
817283
Acronym
GRD
Status last verified
Sep 2015
First submitted
11 Apr 2013
Last updated
8 Oct 2015
Data monitoring committee
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing ghrelin in people with Frailty in Aging, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 15 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Oct 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 8 Oct 2015). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Safety (time frame: pre-treatment baseline through 30 days following the last administration of study treatment day 7). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Oct 2015.

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