ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00776412Updated Nov 9, 2026

Blood Markers of Inflammation, Blood Clotting and Blood Vessel Function in HIV-infected Adults

An observational study in Inflammation and Pathologic Processes, sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.

Sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
310
Ages
18 Years to 100 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will collect information about markers of inflammation, blood clotting and blood vessel function in HIV-infected adults and healthy volunteers. Biomarkers are biological indicators that have been associated with disease. Certain markers of inflammation, blood clotting, and blood vessel function have been associated with risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and death. One marker, called D-dimer, is a breakdown product of blood clots that has been associated with serious medical conditions, including deep vein thrombosis (formation of a blood clot in a vein deep in the body) and pulmonary embolism (blockage in the pulmonary artery that occurs when a blood clot from a vein breaks away, travels to the pulmonary artery and lodges there). High D-dimer levels have also been associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke risk. In a recent study of HIV-infected patients, higher D-dimer levels were strongly correlated with risk of death from any cause. The significance of changes in D-dimer and other biomarkers in HIV-infected adults is not well understood. This study will further explore D-dimer and other biomarkers to try to better understand the relationships between them and HIV infection.

Healthy volunteers and HIV-infected adults 18 years of age or older may be eligible for this study. Two visits are involved, as follows:

Visit 1 (screening visit to determine eligibility)

  • Medical history and physical examination.
  • Blood tests for HIV infection, blood counts, liver and kidney function.
  • Pregnancy test for women who can become pregnant.

Visit 2

  • Blood tests for hepatitis B and C
  • Blood tests for markers of inflammation and blood clotting.
  • Blood test for genetic changes that influence blood clotting.

In some cases, visits 1 and 2 may be combined.

Optional additional visits (up to 8 visits over 3 years)

  • Additional blood draws for investigation of specific clinical or laboratory findings may be requested.
Read the detailed description

D-dimer, a fibrin degradation product generated as a result of plasmin mediated clot dissolution processes, is an indicator of recent clot formation and subsequent fibrinolysis. Analysis of D-dimer concentration is employed in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. More recently, D-dimer levels have been correlated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In a recent case-control study of biomarkers for cardiovascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults, baseline D-dimer levels strongly correlated with all-cause mortality. Notably, the association between baseline D-dimer levels and death due to cardiovascular disease was less significant.

At present, the pathophysiology underlying the association of elevated D-dimer concentrations with mortality in HIV is not understood. This study seeks to identify possible mechanisms underlying D-dimer elevations in HIV-infected adults by investigating a number of pathways that may be associated with the elevations using biomarkers of inflammation, hemostasis, thrombosis, platelet function, lipid metabolism, and additional indicators of endothelial function. Further elucidation of plausible pathways contributing to D-dimer elevation could, ultimately, lead to trials of risk-reducing interventions for patients with an elevated D-dimer level.

This study, an exploratory, cross-sectional study of up to 350 subjects, seeks to prospectively collect data on D-dimer and related biomarkers in HIV-infected adults. Initially, the study will recruit HIV-infected adults with HIV viremia who are not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) and compare their clinical histories and biomarker findings with those from (1) a group of HIV-infected adults with controlled HIV viremia who are receiving ART, and with those from (2) a control group of HIV-negative healthy subjects. Additionally, to study the impact of persistent immune activation and inflammation on immune responses to ART, a cohort of HIV-infected adults with poor CD4+ cell recovery despite effective ART, and to better understand the mechanisms that contribute to impaired immunologic recovery, a cohort of HIV-infected adults with poor CD4+ cell recovery despite effective ART will be enrolled (immunologic non-responder cohort) and for comparison, a control group with similar nadir CD4 counts but with good CD4+ cell recovery on ART.

The study requires 2 visits for screening, history and physical examination, and phlebotomy. A wide array of research assays investigating different aspects of inflammation, coagulation, and endothelial function will be completed. Samples will be stored for future investigation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Inflammation
  • Pathologic Processes

Keywords

  • Immunologic Non-Responder
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Antiretroviral
  • Mortality
  • Natural History
  • HIV Positive
  • HIV Negative
  • Healthy Volunteer
  • HV
03

In context

Inflammation

3,536 studies on the registry are indexed under Inflammation; 642 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 310 is above the median of 100 across 864 observational studies indexed under Inflammation.

Browse Inflammation studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is the lead sponsor of 2,446 studies on the registry; 179 are open to participants now.

Of its 405 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 302 (75%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 100 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

HIV positive patients and HIV negative healthy controls will be enrolled.

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

  • Age greater than or equal to 18 years
  • Ability to understand and provide
  • Adequate venous access
  • Adequate blood counts ( greater than or equal to 9.0 g/dL, greater than or equal to 50,000 cells/mm(3))
  • Willing and able to comply with study requirements and procedures including storage of blood samples for use in future studies of , AIDS, immune function, inflammation, coagulation, and atherosclerosis
  • Negative serum pregnancy test for females of (female subjects who have medical documentation of hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy do not need to undergo pregnancy testing)

For HIV-negative subjects:

- No known history of HIV infection. At enrollment, HIV antibody testing will be performed to confirm negative HIV-1 antibody status.

For HIV-positive subjects:

  • Established HIV diagnosis (previous documentation of HIV-1 infection in the subject s medical record; for subjects without such confirmation, positive ELISA testing confirmed by Western Blot or other confirmatory test, or plasma HIV viral load greater than 10,000 copies/mL)
  • Must be under the care of a physician for HIV and general medical issues.

For HIV-positive subjects enrolling in the immunologic non-responder cohort:

  • less than 300 cells/mm(3) after two years of effective combination ART with documentation of viral suppression
  • HIV viral load less than 50 copies/mL at screening, with no viral load greater than 1,000 copies/ml during the period of viral suppression.
  • Not currently receiving any medication known to be associated with a low CD4 count
  • No concurrent illness known to cause a low CD4 count
  • Controls for this cohort will have a historical nadir CD4 count less than 300 cells/mm3, with current CD4 count greater than 300 cells/mm3 after three years of effective combination ART with documentation of viral suppression.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Pregnant or breast-feeding
  • Known bleeding or clotting disorder
  • Current use of prescription anticoagulant including warfarin, low molecular weight heparin, clopidogrel or aggregation inhibitor
  • Concurrent requiring cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiation therapy
  • Substance abuse or severe psychiatric disorder that would interfere with adherence to protocol requirements
  • Any serious medical condition for which the principal investigator feels participation may be
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

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.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

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.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

CD4 count

The number of CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, in a given amount of blood. It is used to follow how well the immune system is doing in HIV.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
310 participants (actual)

Groups and cohorts

  • HIV negative

    Healthy Volunteer cohort

  • HIV positive INR

    HIV positive INR cohort

  • HIV positive Standard

    HIV positive Standard cohort

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Obtain blood samples for further investigation into the correlation between markers of coagulation, including D-dimer, and markers of platelet function, inflammation, endothelial cell function, and clinical parameters in HIV-infected adults.

    The findings of this exploratory study will be used to generate hypotheses for future research studies.

    Time frame: Cross-sectional and longitudinal

07

Study locations

1 site
  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
    Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Kuller LH, Tracy R, Belloso W, De Wit S, Drummond F, Lane HC, Ledergerber B, Lundgren J, Neuhaus J, Nixon D, Paton NI, Neaton JD; INSIGHT SMART Study Group. Inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers and mortality in patients with HIV infection. PLoS Med. 2008 Oct 21;5(10):e203. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050203. PubMed 18942885 ↗
  • Borges AH, O'Connor JL, Phillips AN, Baker JV, Vjecha MJ, Losso MH, Klinker H, Lopardo G, Williams I, Lundgren JD; INSIGHT SMART Study Group; ESPRIT Study Group; SILCAAT Scientific Committee. Factors associated with D-dimer levels in HIV-infected individuals. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 13;9(3):e90978. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090978. eCollection 2014. PubMed 24626096 ↗
  • Tenorio AR, Zheng Y, Bosch RJ, Krishnan S, Rodriguez B, Hunt PW, Plants J, Seth A, Wilson CC, Deeks SG, Lederman MM, Landay AL. Soluble markers of inflammation and coagulation but not T-cell activation predict non-AIDS-defining morbid events during suppressive antiretroviral treatment. J Infect Dis. 2014 Oct 15;210(8):1248-59. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu254. Epub 2014 May 1. PubMed 24795473 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 9, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00776412
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 21, 2008
Start date
Nov 20, 2008
Last update
Nov 9, 2026

Study contacts

Joseph A Kovacs, M.D.
principal investigator · National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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