ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00315406Updated Jul 12, 2022

Determining Disease Activity Biomarkers in Individuals With Polyarteritis Nodosa

An observational study in Polyarteritis Nodosa, sponsored by University of Pennsylvania. Completed at 9 sites in 2 countries. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-07-12.

Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
107
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare immune system disorder that causes swelling and damage to small- and medium-sized blood vessels in the body. In order to properly treat this disease, it is critical that the level of disease activity can be determined over the course of the disease. The purpose of this study is to determine new biological markers, or biomarkers, that may be used to assess the severity of disease in people with PAN.

Read the detailed description

PAN, also known as systemic necrotic vasculitis, was the first recognized form of primary systemic vasculitis. PAN causes the inflammation of small- to medium-sized blood vessels, especially those supplying the nerves, skin, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, heart, eye, and genitals. Unlike another form of vasculitis called microscopic polyangiitis, PAN does not usually cause glomerulonephritis, a type of kidney disease, or vasculitis in the very smallest blood vessels (arterioles, capillaries, and venules). There are no radiographic or serologic tests that can reliably measure disease activity in PAN. Currently, clinicians must rely on patients' symptoms, signs, laboratory tests, and imaging to guide treatment decisions, but such data are rarely consistently reliable in determining PAN disease activity. This study will use new scientific methods to discover new biomarkers that can be used to monitor disease activity in PAN patients. These biomarkers may be used to help direct clinical care for PAN patients and assist in future drug development.

Study visits will occur monthly for the first year, then every 3 months thereafter for the remainder of the study. Blood and urine collection will occur at every visit. A physical exam and medical and medication history will occur every 3 months; also, participants will be asked to complete several questionnaires to assess disease activity, health status, and tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Participants may have additional study visits if a disease flare or disease-related complications occur during the study.

02

Conditions studied

  • Polyarteritis Nodosa

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • PAN
  • Periarteritis Nodosa
03

In context

Polyarteritis Nodosa

22 studies on the registry are indexed under Polyarteritis Nodosa; 6 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 107 is below the median of 462 across 14 observational studies indexed under Polyarteritis Nodosa.

Browse Polyarteritis Nodosa studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Pennsylvania is the lead sponsor of 1,668 studies on the registry; 235 are open to participants now.

Of its 158 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 109 (69%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Individuals with polyarteritis nodosa. Enrollment will be sequential and participants will have disease in various stages and of different duration.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Parent or guardian willing to provide , if applicable
  • Diagnosis of vasculitis
  • Diagnosis of PAN, meeting at least 1 major criterion and 1 minor criterion OR 2 major criteria of the following adapted American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria that fall under the diagnosis of PAN and that are not explained by other causes:

MAJOR CRITERIA

  1. Arteriographic abnormality
  2. Presence of granulocyte or mixed leukocyte infiltrate in an arterial wall on
  3. Mononeuropathy or polyneuropathy

MINOR CRITERIA

  1. Weight loss of more than 4 kg (8.8 lbs)
  2. Livedo reticularis, cutaneous ulcerations, or skin nodules
  3. Testicular pain or tenderness
  4. Myalgias
  5. Diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mm Hg
  6. Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) or serum creatinine levels
  7. Ischemic abdominal pain

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Microscopic polyangiitis
  • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis(Wegener's)
  • Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Churg-Strauss)
  • Takayasu's arteritis
  • Giant cell arteritis
  • Cogan's syndrome
  • Behcet's disease
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Kawasaki disease
  • Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Mixed connective tissue disease or any overlap syndrome
  • Presence of antiproteinase 3 or antimyeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)
  • Glomeronephritis
  • Alveolar hemorrhage
  • , , or infection
  • Any other infectious form of medium vessel vasculitis
  • Isolated cutaneous PAN
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(6)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
107 participants (actual)
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Discover biomarkers in PAN capable of measuring disease activity and response to treatment.

    Time frame: Study completion

Secondary outcomes

  1. Measure the predictive value of biomarkers for clinical outcome in PAN.

    Time frame: Study completion.

07

Study locations

9 sites
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
  • Boston University School of Medicine
    Boston, Massachusetts 02118, United States
  • Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
    Rochester, Minnesota 55905, United States
  • Cleveland Clinic Foundation
    Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States
  • University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
  • University of Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
  • University of Utah
    Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
  • St. Joseph's Healthcare
    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
  • Mount Sinai Hospital
    Toronto, Ontario M5T 3L9, Canada
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Bonsib SM. Polyarteritis nodosa. Semin Diagn Pathol. 2001 Feb;18(1):14-23. PubMed 11296989 ↗
  • Said G, Lacroix C. Primary and secondary vasculitic neuropathy. J Neurol. 2005 Jun;252(6):633-41. doi: 10.1007/s00415-005-0833-9. Epub 2005 Apr 5. PubMed 15806339 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 12, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00315406
Responsible party
Peter Merkel (Professor, University of Pennsylvania) — Principal investigator
First posted
Apr 18, 2006
Start date
Apr 2006
Primary completion
Dec 2019
Completion
Dec 2019
Last update
Jul 12, 2022

Study contacts

Peter A. Merkel, MD, MPH
study chair · University of Pennsylvania

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion