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TerminatedNCT00057486Updated Dec 14, 2016

Interleukin 12 (IL-12) for the Treatment of Cryptosporidiosis in AIDS Patients

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of IL-12 in HIV Infections and Cryptosporidiosis, sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Terminated. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-12-14.

Sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
2
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

There is no proven effective treatment for chronic diarrhea caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium in advanced AIDS. This trial will test the safety of interleukin-12 (IL-12) as part of a combination therapy for this parasite.

Read the detailed description

Cryptosporidium parvum can cause chronic diarrhea and biliary disease in people with AIDS, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Highly effective antiparasitic treatment for this infection is not currently available. Paromomycin and azithromycin have some efficacy and have been used in combination in a small number of patients. However, in clinical trials of this drug combination, patients remained infected with the parasite despite improvement of their symptoms.

Improving the immune system with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been the most effective therapy described for cryptosporidiosis (chronic infection with Cryptosporidium parvum), with over 80% of patients showing improvement. However, immune reconstitution is not possible in all patients.

Interferon gamma expression is strongly associated with control of cryptosporidiosis. IL-12 stimulates interferon gamma, and IL-12 treatment has been shown to prevent cryptosporidiosis in mice. This study will evaluate IL-12 in combination with standard therapy for cryptosporidiosis in patients with AIDS.

This is a dose-escalation study. All patients will be treated with paromomycin and azithromycin. The initial group will be treated with either 110 ng/kg IL-12 (6 patients) or placebo injections (2 patients) twice a week for 4 weeks. If the initial dose is ineffective and the combination of drugs is tolerated, a second group of patients will be randomized to either 300 ng/kg IL-12 (6 patients) or placebo injections (2 patients) twice a week for 4 weeks. Patients will be evaluated for eradication of the parasite (as measured by immunofluorescence and intestinal biopsy), decreases in stool frequency, decreases in 24 hour stool volume, stimulation of intestinal Th1 cytokine production, increases in body weight, improvements in Karnofsky score, and improvements in serum alkaline phosphatase levels and transaminases (if elevated at baseline).

02

Conditions studied

  • HIV Infections
  • Cryptosporidiosis

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Keywords

  • Chronic Diarrhea
  • Interleukin 12
03

In context

Cryptosporidiosis

30 studies on the registry are indexed under Cryptosporidiosis; 7 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 2 is below the median of 50 across 16 interventional studies indexed under Cryptosporidiosis.

Browse Cryptosporidiosis studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is the lead sponsor of 2,401 studies on the registry; 179 are open to participants now.

Of its 396 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 294 (74%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • HIV infection
  • CD4 cell count \< 150 cells/µl
  • Stable antiretroviral regime that includes at least two nucleotide analogues for at least 4 weeks
  • Viral load \< 10,000 copies/ml
  • Chronic diarrhea, defined as three loose or watery bowel movements a day for 5 days per week over 3 weeks
  • Stool positive for Cryptosporidium and no other enteric pathogen (bacterial culture, C. difficile toxin assay, AFB stain, ova and parasite examination, and stain for microsporidia)
  • Karnofsky score >= 70
  • Acceptable methods of contraception

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant
  • Active opportunistic infection
  • History of hypersensitivity or significant intolerance to aminoglycosides, macrolide antibiotics, or colony stimulating factors
  • Requires intravenous fluids
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double
Enrollment
2 participants

Interventions

  • DrugIL-12
06

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

07

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 14, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00057486
Lead sponsor
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
First posted
Apr 3, 2003
Start date
Sep 1997
Primary completion
Jun 2005
Completion
Jun 2005
Last update
Dec 14, 2016

Study contacts

Arthur White
principal investigator · Baylor College of Medicine
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Mar 2003. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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