Pilot Study of Ustekinumab for Subjects With Chronic Atopic Dermatitis

NCT01806662 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 32

Last updated 2018-03-14

Study results available
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Summary

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic disease associated with intense itching, which affects most aspects of everyday life in the majority of patients. Acute inflammation and extensor/facial involvement is common in infants, whereas chronic inflammation increases in prevalence with age, as do localization to flexures. AD has a complex background characterized by immune activation, increased epidermal thickness in chronic diseased skin, and defective barrier function. In normal, healthy skin, the outer layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum is made up flattened dead cells called corneocytes held together by a mixture of lipids and proteins. The stratum corneum and, in particular, the lipid layer are vital in providing a natural barrier function that locks water inside the skin and keeps allergens and irritants out. In people with AD, the barrier function is defective, which leads to dry skin. As the skin dries out, it cracks allowing allergens and irritants to penetrate.

Mild AD can be controlled with emollients and topical medications. However, moderate to severe AD is extremely difficult to control and requires systemic treatment that is often unsatisfactory due to impracticality and lack of effectiveness. Only three therapeutic options exist for moderate to severe AD, including: 1) oral steroids 2) cyclosporine A (CsA), that is not widely used in the US as it is not FDA approved for AD and 3) ultraviolet phototherapy. Oral steroids and CsA treatments have major side effects and UV radiation therapy is highly inconvenient for patients. Several biologic medications, such as TNF-alpha inhibitors, are effective, convenient, and relatively safe therapies for psoriasis, but have thus far not shown efficacy in AD. Ustekinumab is a unique biologic medication that may specifically target AD.

The investigators study will determine whether there is a reversal of the skin thickness and the immune pathways involved in the disease during treatment with Ustekinumab and what specific immune cells are involved. The investigators are also interested to understand how the clinical reversal of the disease will correlate with tissue reversal of the disease.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Ustekinumab

Injection of monoclonal antibody against the p40 subunit of IL-12/23

OTHER

Placebo

Injection of placebo

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Rockefeller University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • James Krueger, MD PhD · Rockefeller University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-03-31
Primary Completion
2015-03-31
Completion
2015-03-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

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 NCT01806662 on ClinicalTrials.gov