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Statin-related Muscle PainNCT04575090

7 Tesla MRI Study in Patients With Statin Related Muscle Complaints

A study testing Simvastatin in people with Statin-related Muscle Pain and Muscle Aches, run by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 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

Roughly 5-10% of statin-treated patients report muscle pain, aches, weakness, cramps, stiffness, or "heaviness" - typically occurring symmetrically in the legs. For healthcare providers, the major diagnostic challenge is to unambiguously link these symptoms to statin use, especially since some patients can have normal… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 80 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Simvastatin
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
8 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
5 Mar 2016to 23 Jun 2021
Phase
Interventional
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 18 to 80 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Adults age >18 yrs or <80 yrs Patients reporting complaints of statin-associated muscle symptoms, aches, weakness, cramps, or stiffness of legs.

Who cannot join

  • Patients who drink large quantities of grapefruit juice (>1 quart daily)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center

    Dallas, Texas, 75390

Other trials in United States

About this study

Roughly 5-10% of statin-treated patients report muscle pain, aches, weakness, cramps, stiffness, or "heaviness" - typically occurring symmetrically in the legs. For healthcare providers, the major diagnostic challenge is to unambiguously link these symptoms to statin use, especially since some patients can have normal serum creatine kinase (CK) levels despite demonstrable weakness and muscle biopsy proven statin-induced myopathy .

No well accepted, standardized, or Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-endorsed diagnostic method exists for statin-induced muscle injury. This lack of an objective diagnostic methodology blocks vertical advancement of the field.

The successful completion of this project will develop in vivo techniques that will provide insight into how statins affect muscle metabolism and help establish a methodology to objectively diagnose muscle injury due to statins. The development of an MRS technique will allow for in-vivo analyses and the data accumulated here will serve as preliminary data for futher extramural funding of studies with much larger sample sizes. Ultimately, this focus of research will lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of patients with statin-related muscle complaints, which is central to obtaining the cardiovascular risk reduction from lipid-lowering drugs.

Read the detailed description

The goal of the first study will be to generate hypothesis regarding the long-term effects of statin in muscles by studying 7T MRS findings in patients who are currently experiencing statin-related muscle complaints or who have a history of severe reactions to statins (i.e. rhabdomyolysis, anti-HMGCR-associated autoimmune myopathy, or CK elevation > 10 times the upper limit of normal). We anticipate enrolling roughly 5 such patients. The protocol involves a single visit for a blood draw and MRS of calf muscle. The data will be compared to historical controls provided by the Advanced Imaging Research Center.

Second, we will study the effect of short-term statin administration in 5 patients with a history of statin related muscle complaints and 5 controls with no statin related muscle complaints . Controls will be matched for age, weight, and body mass index. Patients will undergo a wash-out of lipid lowering drugs followed by a challenge with simvastatin 40 mg daily (similar to a statin withdrawal and rechallenge). We chose simvastatin since it is the most common statin that caused myopathy according to our preliminary data (as well as most other published reports). Each patient will have 5 visits. The screening visit will involve a review of inclusion/exclusion criteria, blood draw, questionnaire, and instructions to withhold all lipid lowering drugs until visit 1. Any patient with known antibodies to HMGCR will be excluded from the remainder of the study.

Visit 1 will occur 2 weeks after stopping all lipid lowering drugs. A minimum 2 week period off lipid lowering drugs is required to allow clearance of any medication from the systemic circulation. Patients will undergo MRS of the calf muscle and a blood draw. Patients will then start simvastatin 40 mg daily.

Being tested
Simvastatin
Medical subject headings
Myalgia, Muscle Weakness, Muscle Cramp

What participants receive

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

Study groups in NCT04575090
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Arm 1 (Observational Arm)No interventionPatients in substudy 1 will be identified by the PI from the clinic as individuals who are currently experiencing statin related muscle complaints or who have had severe reactions to statins in the past. There is going to be only one visit which will last for apprximately 3.5 hrs. Subjects will have height, weight and vitals measured. They will be asked pain and and demographic questionnaire. They will have their blood draw and will undergo MRS.
Arm 2 (Interventional Experimental Arm)ExperimentalSubjects with statin related muscle complaints were enrolled in this arm and will have 3 visits. First visit is screening visit which will last for about 2 hrs and the next 2 visits will last for about 3.5 hrs. The screening visit will occur 2 weeks prior to visit 1. Subjects will have height, weight and vitals measured. They will be asked pain and and demographic questionnaire. They will have their blood draw and will undergo MRS. Some volunteers who do/do not regularly exercise or are/are not active in sports may be asked to exercise prior to the MRS. This exercise may be in the form of hand grasps, toe-raises, bicycling on a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill. Exercise will be limited to up to one hour, during which time the subject's vital signs and blood oxygenation will be monitored. During the scan, the subject's heart rate and respiratory rate may be monitored
Receives: Drug: Simvastatin
Arm 3 (Interventional Control Arm)ExperimentalSubjects with no statin related muscle complaints were enrolled in this arm and will have 3 visits. First visit is screening visit which will last for about 2 hrs and the next 2 visits will last for about 3.5 hrs. The screening visit will occur 2 weeks prior to visit 1. Subjects will have height, weight and vitals measured. They will be asked pain and and demographic questionnaire. They will have their blood draw and will undergo MRS. Some volunteers who do/do not regularly exercise or are/are not active in sports may be asked to exercise prior to the MRS. This exercise may be in the form of hand grasps, toe-raises, bicycling on a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill. Exercise will be limited to up to one hour, during which time the subject's vital signs and blood oxygenation will be monitored. During the scan, the subject's heart rate and respiratory rate may be monitored
Receives: Drug: Simvastatin

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in Pre- and Post-phosphocreatine Relaxation Time

    Measure differences in pre- and post-phosphocreatine relaxation time in SAMS (Statin Associated Muscle Symptoms) patients on simvastatin compared to placebo.

    Measured: Baseline, 10 Weeks

Timeline

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

  1. First posted5 Oct 2020
  2. Study start5 Mar 2016
  3. Primary completion20 Feb 2017
  4. Study completion23 Jun 2021

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 N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
8 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04575090
Sponsor's protocol ID
STU 012016-017
Status last verified
Apr 2022
First submitted
15 May 2020
Last updated
31 Oct 2022
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Simvastatin in people with Statin-related Muscle Pain and Muscle Aches, run by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 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 1 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 31 Oct 2022. 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.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 31 Oct 2022). 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?

Change in Pre- and Post-phosphocreatine Relaxation Time (time frame: Baseline, 10 Weeks). 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 31 Oct 2022.

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