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WithdrawnNCT00480545Updated Dec 5, 2014

Changes in Bleeding and Clotting During the Menstrual Cycle

An observational study in Von Willebrand's Disorder and Healthy, sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Withdrawn at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-12-05.

Sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston · Observational

Why this study was withdrawn
IRB Approval lapsed
Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
0
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Indirect evidence suggests that hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle also affect the bleeding and clotting system. This study looks at two sensitive laboratory tests at four time points during the menstrual cycle to determine if there is a natural variation in coagulation and platelet function. Laboratory tests in healthy subjects will be compared to women with von Willebrand's disorder type 1, a bleeding disorder. In the future, these laboratory tests may help in the diagnosis of bleeding and clotting disorders and to design treatments for women with abnormal menstrual bleeding.

Read the detailed description

Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common hereditary bleeding disorder, occurring in 1-2% of the population. Menorrhagia, or heavy menstrual bleeding, occurs in the majority of women with von Willebrand disease (VWD) and adversely affects quality of life. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has recommended that women with heavy menstrual bleeding have diagnostic testing for VWD. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of VWD in women with menorrhagia can be difficult due to fluctuations in hemostatic protein levels during the menstrual cycle. The lack of useful coagulation assays has also limited the scope of pharmacokinetic studies and comparative clinical trials needed to determine best clinical practices in women with VWD.

Two new assay systems offer a possibility of increased sensitivity to physiologic variations in coagulation and fibrinolysis. The calibrated automated thrombin generation assay (TG), an estimation of endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), measures generation of thrombin throughout the entire process of coagulation and has appears to be very sensitive to small changes in levels of coagulation proteins. Thromboelastography (TEG) records clot formation and dissolution in whole blood samples providing a good marker for fibrinolysis. We propose that TG and TEG will be more sensitive than traditional coagulation assays to detect physiologic variations in hemostasis during the menstrual cycle and can accurately diagnose VWD. This is a single-institution pilot study to identify trends which are worthy of further exploration in a larger multi-institutional study. Our primary objective is to describe characteristics of TG and TEG at 4 time points during the menstrual cycle (days 0-3, 7-10, 14-17, and 21-24). Our secondary goal is to quantify the effects of VWD on TG and TEG at the same time points during the menstrual cycle and compare these to traditional coagulation assays.

This will be a single-institution pilot study of a total of 40 subjects: 20 healthy women and 20 women with VWD. Subjects must be female between the ages of 18 and 50 years, have regular menstrual periods, and not be pregnant. Women who are taking hormonal therapy, anti-fibrinolytic therapy, hemostatic agents or anti-platelet agents, will not be eligible for participation. Subjects will be given tampons and/or pads to use during one menstrual cycle. Study participation will involve a brief interview, completion of a questionnaire and a pictorial chart of one menstrual cycle, and having blood drawn at 4 time points during one menstrual cycle. Blood samples will be collected for TG and TEG and standard assays of coagulation and fibrinolysis. TG and TEG measurements will be compared to standard measures of coagulation, fibrinolysis, and platelet activation markers. Serum from the visit on day 21-24 will be tested for progesterone and Bhcg to confirm ovulation and exclude pregnancy. All assays will be performed at the Gulf States Hemophilia \& Thrombophilia coagulation laboratory.

This study will result in an improved capability to diagnose women with VWD during the menstrual cycle. These new assays may be useful in the rational design of therapeutic agents and clinical trials. In addition, the physiologic basis of variations in coagulation during the menstrual cycle can be explored in future studies using this assay system.

02

Conditions studied

  • Von Willebrand's Disorder
  • Healthy

Keywords

  • Women with bleeding disorders
  • Menstrual cycle
  • Women
  • Healthy volunteers
03

In context

Lead sponsor

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston is the lead sponsor of 897 studies on the registry; 214 are open to participants now.

Of its 173 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 142 (82%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Women aged 18 to 50 years with regular menstrual cycles.

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

  • Must be female
  • Aged 18 to 50 years, with regular menstrual cycles.
  • Healthy volunteers and women with von Willebrand's disorder are both being recruited.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy
  • Use of hormonal therapy including birth control pills
  • Use of hemostatic agents such as DDAVP or anti-platelet agents.
05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Endogenous Thrombin Potential

    Changes in coagulation as measured by ETP during the menstrual cycle

    Time frame: 28 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. von willebrand factor

    Changes in von Willebrand factor during the menstrual cycle

    Time frame: 28 days

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Oct 2005, a primary completion of May 2011 and a completion of May 2011. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

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

Registered
May 29, 2007
First posted
May 31, 2007
Start
Oct 2005
Primary completionActual
May 2011
CompletionActual
May 2011
Last update
Dec 5, 2014
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 Dec 5, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00480545
Responsible party
Deborah Brown (Associate Professor - Gulf States Hemophilia Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 31, 2007
Start date
Oct 2005
Primary completion
May 2011
Completion
May 2011
Last update
Dec 5, 2014

Study contacts

Deborah L. Brown, M.D.
principal investigator · University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is withdrawn, as verified in Dec 2014. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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