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Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) & Cetirizine

NCT02865018 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE1/PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 16

Last updated 2023-06-07

Study results available
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Summary

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. Patients have relapses (also known as attacks) which are often quite severe and leave them with significant disability. Without treatment, within 5 years 50% of NMO patients are blind in one or both eyes or require walking assistance (cane, walker or wheelchair).

NMO has only been relatively recently described and is fairly rare. Most NMO patients' immune systems produce abnormal antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4), which is found in certain cells in the central nervous system. When these AQP4 antibodies bind to AQP4, they trigger a cascade of events involving the immune system which eventually leads to damage to the nervous system. This ultimately leads to disability, some of which is permanent.

Until now, treatments for NMO have been mostly focused on decreasing production of this AQP4 antibody. However, recent experiments in animal models of NMO have shown the importance of what happens inside the central nervous system after the antibody binds to the nervous system cell. Specifically, researchers have noted the importance of a specific cell type, eosinophils, in causing damage in NMO lesions. In a recent study, researchers showed they could prevent damage from NMO by blocking eosinophils using cetirizine, which is a popular over-the-counter allergy medicine.

Cetirizine is already known to be safe and well-tolerated in the general population. In this study, the researchers plan to add cetirizine on to patients' current NMO treatment. The researchers aim to show that it is safe, well-tolerated, and that with cetirizine, NMO patients have less relapses and therefore less disability over the course of the year following initiation of treatment. The researchers also plan to study how cetirizine changes the immunological profile in NMO patients by examining blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

Conditions

  • Neuromyelitis Optica

Interventions

DRUG

cetirizine

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Ilana Katz Sand, MD · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2014-04-30
Primary Completion
2016-02-29
Completion
2016-02-29

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

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 NCT02865018 on ClinicalTrials.gov