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TerminatedNCT03113994RoBaCOUpdated Apr 13, 2026

Statin Monotherapy for Treatment of Endocrine Metabolic Disease Risk

A Phase 2 interventional study of Rosuvastatin Calcium and Placebo Oral Tablet in Spinal Cord Injuries, Osteoporosis and Metabolic Syndrome, sponsored by Dr. B. Catharine. Craven. Terminated at 2 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-13.

Sponsored by Dr. B. Catharine. Craven · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
COVID-19 Pandemic

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Dec 2022, 3 years 9 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
8
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Rationale: After having a spinal cord injury (SCI), people develop changes in their body composition that influences their long-term health. Individuals with paralysis after SCI will have large declines in their bone density ant increases in fat mass which increases their risk of fracture and heart disease. Therapies to prevent SCI-related changes in body composition and their health effects are needed. Drugs known as "statins" used often to reduce high cholesterol, may help to reduce bone loss and inflammation.

Hypothesis: Among adults with SCI for a long time, treatment with a drug named Rosuvastatin or a sugar pill, with supplements (coenzyme Q10, calcium and vitamin D), for twelve months can decrease their endocrine metabolic disease risk by increasing bone density and reducing inflammation.

Study Design: A clinical trial will be conducted in Toronto, Ontario and Miami, Florida. Subjects will get statin therapy or placebo (sugar pill) by chance. Study subjects and research staff will not know whether they are taking the study drug or a sugar pill until after the study

Subjects: Fifty-four adults (age 18-60 years) with a long-term SCI and no movement below their level of injury.

Treatment: Subjects will be prescribed Rosuvastatin 10 mg daily or a sugar pill. In addition, all subjects will receive 100 mg of Co-Q10 daily, calcium carbonate 1250 mg and, vitamin D 2,000 IU once a day.

Data Collected: Subjects' bone density will be collected at the start and end of the study. Change in bone density between the two groups will be compared to see if one is better. Blood samples will be collected quarterly to make sure subjects are safe and do not develop problems with their liver or muscles and to measure the effects of the study drugs on inflammation throughout the body.

Clinical Implications: Statins may be safe and effective therapy for adults living with SCI who are at increased risk of endocrine metabolic disease as they age.

Read the detailed description

Rationale: Individuals with motor-complete spinal cord injury (SCI) undergo dramatic changes in body composition in the first 18 months post-injury, including declines in bone mineral density (BMD) that increase lower-extremity fragility fracture risk, and increases in fat mass that increase cardio-metabolic disease (CMD) risk. While statins are an effective treatment for dyslipidemia, research evidence suggests additional pleiotropic effects on bone through promotion of osteogenesis, suppression of osteoblast apoptosis, and inhibition of osteoclastogenesis. There are currently no effective therapies to treat sublesional osteoporosis (SLOP) and reduce the risk of fragility fractures in individuals with SCI.

Hypothesis: Twelve months of statin therapy with concurrent coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), to reduce risk of statin neuromyotoxicity, and standard care (calcium 1250mg OD and vitamin D3 2000IU OD) will be superior to placebo with CoQ10 and standard care, for augmenting knee region BMD and reducing inflammatory stress (hs-CRP), thereby reducing endocrine metabolic disease risk.

Objective: To determine the safety and efficacy of statin therapy for augmenting distal femoral BMD among adults with chronic motor-complete SCI in Toronto, Ontario and Miami, Florida.

Study Design: Multi-centre, double-blind, randomized controlled Phase II safety and efficacy trial.

Subjects: Consenting men and premenopausal women (N=54, age 18-60 yrs) with chronic (≥2 years) spinal cord injury with a neurological level between C1-T10 and an AIS category of A/B.

Intervention: Rosuvastatin 10 mg po daily at night versus placebo for 12 months. All subjects will receive osteoporosis standard care (calcium carbonate 1250mg po daily and vitamin D3 2000 IU po daily) to maintain bone mass and CoQ10 100mg po daily to prevent statin-induced myopathy.

Outcomes: Primary safety outcomes: i) establish the safety of rosuvastatin in chronic SCI by reporting the frequency of myotoxicity and type II diabetes onset; ii) frequency and mean duration of liver transaminase elevations in the rosuvastatin and placebo groups. Primary efficacy outcome: measure the mean between group absolute changes in distal femur areal BMD (aBMD, g/cm2) from baseline to one year. Secondary efficacy outcomes: will examine the mean absolute changes from baseline in: i) volumetric BMD (vBMD, g/cm3); ii) markers of bone turnover - Bone Specific Alkaline Phosphatase (BALP), telopeptide (CTX), Sclerostin and RANK Ligand (RANK-L); iii) serum inflammatory markers including high sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hs-CRP), Interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß). interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor - alpha (TNF-alpha), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR); and, iv) lipid profile; low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglycerides, and total cholesterol Clinical Implications: Should rosuvastatin prove to be safe and efficacious for reducing endocrine metabolic disease risk for adults with chronic SCI, the results will advance the health of people with SCI by reducing the frequency and severity of heart disease and fracture as they age, with a single intervention.

02

Conditions studied

  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Osteoporosis
  • Metabolic Syndrome

Keywords

  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Osteoporosis
  • Cardiometabolic Syndrome
03

In context

Spinal Cord Injuries

1,948 studies on the registry are indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries; 505 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 8 is below the median of 24 across 1,566 interventional studies indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries.

Browse Spinal Cord Injuries studies →

Lead sponsor

Dr. B. Catharine. Craven is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Adult (age 18-60 years)
  • Motor complete SCI (C1-T10 AIS A/B)
  • 2 years post-injury
  • Have a telephone, and ability to attend the study visits
  • Able to take oral medications and swallow independently
  • Can provide free and informed consent
  • Ability to understand instructions in English
  • May report current use of oral alendronate 10mg daily or 70mg weekly or risedronate 5mg daily, 30mg weekly or 150mg monthly

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

These criteria are intended to exclude those in whom; Rosuvastatin would be unsafe, DXA/pQCT measurement or biomarker assessment would be invalid, or in whom other co-morbid health conditions may confound the study results. Exclusion criteria include:

  • Current and/or one year prior to enrolment treatment with any statin such as atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin.
  • Current treatment with IV bisphosphonate, denosumab, recombinant PTH, ovarian hormone therapy, an oral contraceptive, Immunosuppressants (Including Cyclosporine) and fusidic acid.
  • Known allergy to Rosuvastatin, lactose powder, CoQ10, calcium carbonate, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3, or any other ingredient found in rosuvastatin, placebo or study supplements.
  • History of Paget's disease, osteomalacia, steroid induced osteoporosis, or untreated parathyroid or untreated thyroid disease.
  • Subjects with history of stage 4 chronic kidney disease. (124)
  • Current Weight ≥136 kg.
  • Bilateral knee region metal implants (hardware), history of bilateral knee region contracture >30 degrees, fracture or any other bilateral knee region pathology which would preclude accurate DXA assessment of one limb.
  • Post-menopausal women (absence of menses for a minimum of 1 year).
  • Women with amenorrhea due to bilateral surgical removal of the ovaries and/or uterus (women with amenorrhea due to spinal cord injury are able to participate).
  • Pregnancy or lactation.
  • Female of child-bearing potential who is engaged in active heterosexual relations and is not using appropriate birth control methods. Appropriate methods of birth control will include: surgical sterilization at least 6 months prior to using study drug or sexual activity restricted to a vasectomized partner, barrier contraception with a condom or diaphragm in conjunction with spermicidal gel in use at least 30 days prior to using study drug OR sexual abstinence as a lifestyle.
  • History of liver disease or abnormal Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) or Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), ≥1.5 times the upper limit of the normal reference range at enrolment.
  • History of symptomatic hypocalcemia or hypophosphatemia.
  • Concurrent treatment with prednisone (>7.5mg/day for 90 days).
  • Vitamin D deficiency (Serum Vitamin D level \<75nmol/L) after completing 8 to 12 weeks of treatment for Vitamin D deficiency as per the Vitamin D correction protocol (Appendix Page 1).
  • History of heart attack or stroke.
  • Untreated hypertension defined as: elevated BP above (135/85mmHg) assessed with an automated blood pressure cuff at 3 distinct time points in a 7-10 day period.(125, 126)
  • Current alcohol or street drug abuse.
  • Any illness or condition interfering with the trial conduct or subject safety.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
8 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Rosuvastatin

    Drug: Rosuvastatin Calcium · Dietary Supplement: Coenzyme Q10 · Dietary Supplement: Calcium Carbonate · Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Drug: Placebo Oral Tablet · Dietary Supplement: Coenzyme Q10 · Dietary Supplement: Calcium Carbonate · Dietary Supplement: Vitamin D

Interventions

  • DrugRosuvastatin Calcium

    10mg Rosuvastatin, daily for 12 months

  • DrugPlacebo Oral Tablet

    Placebo, daily for 12 months

  • Dietary supplementCoenzyme Q10

    100mg CoQ10, daily for 12 months

  • Dietary supplementCalcium Carbonate

    1250mg Calcium Carbonate, daily for 12 months

  • Dietary supplementVitamin D

    2000IU Vitamin D, daily for 12 months

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from Baseline in areal BMD of the knee region

    Dual Xray Absorptiometry (DXA) Assessment of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) of the knee region

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from Baseline in Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL)

    Serum assessment of LDL

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  2. Change from Baseline in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)

    Serum assessment of HDL

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  3. Change from Baseline in triglycerides (TG)

    Serum assessment of TG

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  4. Change from Baseline in total cholesterol

    Serum assessment of cholesterol

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  5. Change from Baseline in High sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP)

    Serum assessment of hsCRP

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  6. Change from Baseline in Interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß)

    Serum assessment of IL-1ß

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  7. Change from Baseline in interleukin-6 (IL-6)

    Serum assessment of IL-6

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  8. Change from Baseline in tumor necrosis factor - alpha (TNF-alpha)

    Serum assessment of TNF-alpha

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  9. Change from Baseline in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

    Serum assessment of ESR

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  10. Change from Baseline in Bone Specific Alkaline Phosphatase (BALP)

    Serum assessment of BALP

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (or study completion)

  11. Change from Baseline in C-telopeptide (CTX)

    Serum assessment of CTX

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (or study completion)

  12. Change from Baseline in Sclerostin

    Serum assessment of Sclerostin

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (or study completion)

  13. Change from Baseline in RANK Ligand (RANK-L)

    Serum assessment of RANK-L

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 12 months (or study completion)

  14. Change from Baseline in volumetric BMD of the tibia (pQCT)

    Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) assessment - Toronto Site Only

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  15. Change from Baseline in volumetric BMD of the tibia (HR-pQCT)

    High Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT) assessment - Toronto Site Only

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

Other outcomes

  1. Changes in visceral adipose tissue

    Whole Body DXA assessment of body composition

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  2. Changes in lean mass

    Whole Body DXA assessment of body composition

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

  3. Changes in aortic arterial stiffness

    Assessment of Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity (aPWV)

    Time frame: Baseline and 12 months (or study completion)

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • University Of Miami Miller School of Medicine
    Miami, Florida 33136, United States
  • University Health Network - Toronto Rehab Lyndhurst Centre
    Toronto, Ontario M4G 3V9, Canada
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 13, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03113994
Lead sponsor
Dr. B. Catharine. Craven
Collaborators
The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, University of Miami, Rick Hansen Institute
Responsible party
Dr. B. Catharine. Craven (Clinician Scientist/Principal Investigator, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Apr 14, 2017
Start date
Feb 26, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2022
Completion
Dec 31, 2022
Last update
Apr 13, 2026

Study contacts

B. Catharine Craven, BA, MD, FRCPC, MSc
principal investigator · Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - UHN

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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