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Immunoadsorption, Dexamethasone Pulse Therapy and Rituximab for Pemphigus

NCT00656656 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 23

Last updated 2017-03-13

Study results available
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Summary

Pemphigus is a severe autoimmune blistering disease mediated by circulating antibodies against certain proteins important for maintaining skin integrity. Protein A immunoadsorption is a dialysis-like technique selectively removing the antibodies from patient's blood. Rituximab is a synthetic antibody capable of destroying B cells. B cells are responsible for production of antibodies in the patients blood that, in turn, lead to clinical signs of pemphigus. Dexamethasone pulse therapy is a high-dose short-term corticosteroid therapy that may be used to suppress autoantibody production in pemphigus. While each of these three therapies had been used to treat pemphigus, none was shown effective in all cases. The hypothesis of this study is that a combination of protein A immunoadsorption, rituximab and dexamethasone is more effective that either of these treatments alone in achieving a rapid and durable improvement or cure in patients with pemphigus.

Conditions

  • Pemphigus

Interventions

DRUG

Combination of Protein A Immunoadsorption, Rituximab, Dexamethasone plus Azathioprine

Protein A Immunoadsorption: performed on 3 consecutive days every 3 weeks Rituximab: 1000 mg i.v. given twice at a 2-week interval Dexamethasone pulse therapy: 100 mg i.v. given on 3 consecutive days every 3 weeks Azathioprine: 2.5 mg/kg body weight daily p.o.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Luebeck

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Detlef Zillikens, MD · Department of Dermatology, University of Luebeck

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-01-31
Primary Completion
2011-07-31
Completion
2011-07-31

Countries

  • Germany

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00656656 on ClinicalTrials.gov