An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Micronized progesterone suspension and Placebo in Puberty and Hyperandrogenism, sponsored by University of Virginia. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 10 Years to 17 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-05.
Sponsored by University of Virginia · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science
The purpose of this study is two-fold. (1) We will determine if in mid- to late pubertal girls without hyperandrogenism (HA), progesterone (P4) acutely reduces waking luteinizing hormone (LH) frequency to a greater extent than sleep-associated LH frequency. (2) We will determine if in mid- to late pubertal girls with HA, P4 will acutely suppress waking LH frequency to a lesser degree than it does in girls without HA.
This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded crossover study to test the following hypotheses: (1) In normal mid- to late pubertal girls without hyperandrogenism (HA), progesterone acutely suppresses waking LH pulse frequency more than sleep-associated LH pulse frequency; and (2) compared to normal mid- to late pubertal girls without HA, acute progesterone suppression of waking LH pulse frequency is impaired in mid- to late pubertal girls with HA. Studies will be performed in mid- to late pubertal girls (at least Tanner breast stage 3 but no more than 2 years postmenarcheal). Subjects will complete two 18-hour Clinical Research Unit (CRU) admissions in separate menstrual cycles. Immediately before and during the first CRU admission, either oral micronized progesterone (0.8 mg/kg/dose) or placebo (randomized) will be given at 0700, 1500, 2300, and 0700 h. During the CRU admission, blood will be obtained every 10 minutes through an indwelling iv catheter from 1800 to 1200 h. This will allow full characterization of pulsatile LH secretion in addition to other hormone measurements. A second CRU admission (performed at least 2 months later given blood withdrawal limits) will be identical to the first except that placebo will exchanged for progesterone or vice versa (treatment crossover). The primary endpoint is LH pulse frequency while awake. (LH pulse frequency while asleep is an important secondary endpoint.) Results in pubertal girls without HA were recently published (Kim et al, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2018;103:1112-1121). Data from girls with HA will be compared to recently-published results in girls without HA. Mean LH pulse frequency while awake will be analyzed via a hierarchical linear mixed model (HLMM). HA status (HA vs. non-HA), sleep status (wake vs. sleep), and treatment (progesterone vs. placebo) will represent fixed-effects, along with all associated interactions. Random effects will be used to account for hierarchical variance-covariance structure of the crossover study design. With regard to hypothesis testing, the association between HA status and wake LH pulse frequency will be evaluated via linear contrasts of HLMM least squares pulse frequency means. The differential impact of exogenous progesterone on wake LH pulse frequency in pubertal girls with and without HA (primary analysis) will be evaluated via the same testing method. Using published and preliminary data, we determined that, if 16 pubertal girls with HA complete both admissions, we should have at least an 80% chance of detecting a 0.2 pulse/hour differential effect of P4 on wake LH pulse frequency between the HA and the non-HA groups with a two-sided false positive rejection rate of no more than 0.05.
81 studies on the registry are indexed under Hyperandrogenism; 22 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 36 is below the median of 47 across 51 interventional studies indexed under Hyperandrogenism.
Browse Hyperandrogenism studies →University of Virginia is the lead sponsor of 675 studies on the registry; 138 are open to participants now.
Of its 61 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 42 (69%) have results posted.
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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.
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
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).
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.
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HbA1c
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Bilirubin
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Micronized progesterone 0.8 mg/kg at 0700, 1500, 2300 and 0700 h. Progesterone is a natural hormone.
Drug: Micronized progesterone suspension
Placebo contains only inert ingredients and is not expected to exert any direct physiological effects.
Drug: Placebo
Micronized progesterone 0.8 mg/kg at 0700, 1500, 2300 and 0700 h. Progesterone is a natural hormone.
Also known as: Progesterone
Placebo contains only inert ingredients and is not expected to exert any direct physiological effects
Luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency
LH pulse frequency while awake vs. while asleep pulse frequency
Time frame: During first CRU admission and during the second CRU admission (which occurs at least 2 months after the first)
Plan to share: Undecided — Data from this study will be deposited in the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub "DASH." We will also provide raw study data (de-identified) as supplementary materials in manuscripts (e.g., see Kim SH, et al. Progesterone-mediated inhibition of the GnRH pulse generator: differential sensitivity as a function of sleep status. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2018; 103: 1112-1121 [PMCID in process]).
Started Jun 2008 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2025, 208 months after the start.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Progesterone