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WithdrawnNCT00323440Updated Oct 11, 2017

Inflammatory Proteins in Familial Mediterranean Fever During Attack and Remission

An observational study in Familial Mediterranean Fever, sponsored by Sheba Medical Center. Withdrawn at 1 site in Israel. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-10-11.

Sponsored by Sheba Medical Center · Observational

Why this study was withdrawn
Collaboration could not be established
Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
0
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a genetic disease, caused by mutations in the FMF gene, entitled MEFV. The disease is characterized by painful attacks of inflammation in sites lined by serous membranes (e.g. abdominal pain caused by inflammation of the peritoneum, a serous membrane surrounding all internal organs within the abdomen). Continuous colchicine treatment prevents attacks in most patients. The pathogenesis of the disease, what leads to the attacks and how colchicine helps, are questions not yet resolved. Elucidating the role of the inflammatory proteins is an important step towards the understanding of these questions. To date only small numbers of cytokines and inflammatory proteins have been studied individually. We propose to study a large number of these proteins in the RNA and protein levels addressing the interaction between them and the effect of colchicine on their expression.

Blood samples will be drawn from consenting patients in remission, during attacks, under and without colchicine treatment. (20 patients in each category).Twenty healthy volunteers will donate control blood samples for the study. RNA will be produced from the neutrophils, and cytokines and various proteins' RNA expression will be determined. Major expressed proteins will be measured in the same samples and the results will be analyzed with regard to the activity of the disease, MEFV mutations and colchicine treatment status. The information obtained by the study may allow us to determine the sequence of events associated with FMF attack development, and perhaps take us one step further in the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease.

Read the detailed description

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a genetic disease, caused by mutations in the FMF gene, entitled MEFV. The disease is characterized by painful attacks of inflammation in sites lined by serous membranes (e.g. abdominal pain caused by inflammation of the peritoneum, a serous membrane surrounding all internal organs within the abdomen). Continuous colchicine treatment prevents attacks in most patients. The pathogenesis of the disease, what leads to the attacks and how colchicine helps, are questions not yet resolved. Elucidating the role of the inflammatory proteins is an important step towards the understanding of these questions. To date only small numbers of cytokines and inflammatory proteins have been studied individually. We propose to study a large number of these proteins in the RNA and protein levels addressing the interaction between them and the effect of colchicine on their expression.

Blood samples will be drawn from consenting patients in remission, during attacks, under and without colchicine treatment. (20 patients in each category).Twenty healthy volunteers will donate control blood samples for the study. RNA will be produced from the neutrophils, and cytokines and various proteins' RNA expression will be determined. Major expressed proteins will be measured in the same samples and the results will be analyzed with regard to the activity of the disease, MEFV mutations and colchicine treatment status. The information obtained by the study may allow us to determine the sequence of events associated with FMF attack development, and perhaps take us one step further in the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease.

02

Conditions studied

  • Familial Mediterranean Fever

Keywords

  • Familial Mediterranean fever
  • Inflammation
  • Attacks
  • Remission
  • RNA
  • Cytokines
  • Inflammatory proteins
  • MEFV
  • mutations
  • Colchicine
  • Treatment
  • microarray RNA analysis
03

In context

Familial Mediterranean Fever

61 studies on the registry are indexed under Familial Mediterranean Fever; 27 are open to participants now.

Browse Familial Mediterranean Fever studies →

Lead sponsor

Sheba Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 678 studies on the registry; 63 are open to participants now.

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
Yes
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

FMF patients recruited at clinic on follow-up visits and FMF patients arriving at ER during attacks

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

  • FMF patients, agreeing with diagnostic criteria, in attack or remission, under or without colchicine treatment.
  • Age 18 or older
  • Male or female
  • all ethnic groups arriving for treatment or routine follow up appointment
  • Written Consent to participate and donate blood for protein, RNA and DNA analyses.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 18
  • Patients that use anti inflammatory medications, other than colchicine
  • Patients who in addition to FMF suffer from another acute infectious or inflammatory disease
  • Patients who in addition to FMF suffer from another chronic infectious or inflammatory or disease.
  • Amyloidosis
  • Pregnancy
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

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.

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.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Groups and cohorts

  • Group 1

    FMF patients in remission

  • Group 2

    FMF patients during attack

  • Group 3

    FMF patients without colchicine in remission

  • Group 4

    FMF patients without colchicine in attack

06

Study locations

1 site
  • Sheba Medical Center
    Tel Hashomer, 52621, Israel
07

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Start is estimated for Aug 2008; primary completion for Aug 2010, 24 months later.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 7, 2006
First posted
May 9, 2006
StartEst.
Aug 2008
Primary completionEst.
Aug 2010
CompletionActual
Aug 2016
Last update
Oct 11, 2017
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 11, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00323440
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 9, 2006
Start date
Aug 2008 (estimated)
Primary completion
Aug 2010 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2016
Last update
Oct 11, 2017

Study contacts

Avi Livneh, MD
principal investigator · Sheba Medical Center

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Oct 2017. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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