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TerminatedNCT03777319Updated Oct 23, 2023Results posted

Spironolactone Versus Prednisolone in DMD

A Phase 1 interventional study of Spironolactone and Prednisolone in Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne, sponsored by Kevin Flanigan. Terminated at 4 sites in United States. Open to male participants aged 4 Years to 7 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-10-23.

Sponsored by Kevin Flanigan · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Inability to recruit participants.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
2
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
4 Years to 7 Years
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

This is a randomized, open-label, pilot clinical trial of spironolactone suspension versus oral prednisolone for use in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The goals are to determine the safety of 6 months of treatment with spironolactone treatment int he steroid-naive DMD population as well as to determine if either spironolactone or a standard clinical dose of corticosteroids results in equivalent improvement in time to complete the 100 meter timed test (100M).

Read the detailed description

Until recently, the only treatment shown to improve strength and preserve ambulation in DMD patients was the use of glucocorticoids, which are accompanied by significant side effects including obesity, cushingoid features, osteoporosis, and behavioral disturbances. Spironolactone is an aldosterone antagonist primarily used as a potassium sparing diuretic that is widely used in the pediatric population, with limited side-effects including gynecomastia and hyperkalemia. Recent studies by Dr. Rafael-Fortney have evaluated the effect of spironolactone treatment in several different mouse models of DMD. Her results show that treatment of these mice demonstrates increased muscle membrane stabilization while reducing the negative side-effects typically associated with standard of care glucocorticoids. This pilot study is designed to determine whether this commonly used medication, spironolactone, may have similar beneficial effects with a lower side effect profile and be applicable to a wider population of DMD patients.

The hypothesis for this controlled pilot trial is that spironolactone and prednisolone are of equal efficacy in improving skeletal muscle function over a 6-month period, and that spironolactone will be well tolerated in this patient population.

One outcome is that both drugs demonstrate equal efficacy in motor function. This would then serve as pilot data for a longer term study.

02

Conditions studied

  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne
03

In context

Muscular Dystrophies

548 studies on the registry are indexed under Muscular Dystrophies; 89 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 2 is below the median of 24 across 344 interventional studies indexed under Muscular Dystrophies.

Browse Muscular Dystrophies studies →

Lead sponsor

Kevin Flanigan is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
4 Years to 7 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients ≥4 to ≤7 years of age
  • Clinical features of DMD that include proximal predominant weakness and/or gait disturbance
  • Presence of a truncating mutation of the DMD gene in the patient or an affected male relative OR a muscle biopsy that demonstrates \<5% dystrophin in the patient or an affected male relative
  • Normal left ventricular ejection fraction by screening echocardiogram
  • Ability to cooperate for testing
  • No prior treatment with glucocorticoids or vamorolone
  • No concomitant experimental therapies

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subject amenable to or currently being treated with eteplirsen, casimersen, or viltolarsen
  • Hyperkalemia at screening
  • History of or ongoing renal failure (elevated creatinine, oliguria, anuria)
  • Hypersensitivity to spironolactone (rash, respiratory distress, arrhythmia, numbness or tingling of extremities)
  • Current treatment with an ACEi
  • Severe peptic ulcer disease or recent gastrointestinal perforations
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Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
2 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Spironolactone

    An anticipated twelve subjects will be prescribed a standard clinical dose of spironolactone of 1 mg/kg/day. The spironolactone will be provided as suspension.

    Drug: Spironolactone

  • Active comparator
    Prednisolone

    An anticipated twelve subjects will be prescribed a standard clinical dose of prednisolone of 0.75 mg/kg/day or weekend dosing per sites standard of care. The prednisolone will be provided will be provided as suspension.

    Drug: Prednisolone

Interventions

  • DrugSpironolactone

    Spironolactone will be prescribed for 6 months, after which the family and primary care physician will determine to either remain on spironolactone or transfer to prednisolone.

  • DrugPrednisolone

    Prednisolone will be prescribed for 6 months as the clinical standard of care.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Efficacy: Change in Time to Complete a 100 Meter Timed Test.

    The determination of whether spironolactone has similar efficacy to glucocorticoids in improving muscle strength in steroid naïve DMD patients. This will be determined by measuring the time to complete a 100 meter timed test (100M).

    Time frame: 6 months

  2. Safety Will be Monitored Through Regular Review of Electrolytes.

    Electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium, Cloride and Carbon dioxide, mmol/L) will be measured on a monthly basis following initiation of either spironolactone or prednisolone.

    Time frame: 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Efficacy: Dynamometry Score

    Secondary outcome measures will be Dynamometry score, which is a summation of maximum voluntary isometric contraction test values for knee flexion, knee extension, elbow flexion, and elbow extension

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Results

Posted Oct 23, 2023
Limitations and caveats
Full enrollment into the study was unable to be obtained.

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneSpironolactonePrednisolone
Started11
Completed11
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryEfficacy: Change in Time to Complete a 100 Meter Timed Test.

The determination of whether spironolactone has similar efficacy to glucocorticoids in improving muscle strength in steroid naïve DMD patients. This will be determined by measuring the time to complete a 100 meter timed test (100M).

Time frame:
6 months
Reported as:
Number · sec
Efficacy: Change in Time to Complete a 100 Meter Timed Test.
secSpironolactonePrednisolone
Efficacy: Change in Time to Complete a 100 Meter Timed Test.-0.6-5.3
PrimarySafety Will be Monitored Through Regular Review of Electrolytes.

Electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium, Cloride and Carbon dioxide, mmol/L) will be measured on a monthly basis following initiation of either spironolactone or prednisolone.

Time frame:
6 months
Reported as:
Number · mmol/L
Safety Will be Monitored Through Regular Review of Electrolytes.
mmol/LSpironolactonePrednisolone
Sodium-Baseline142140
Sodium-Month 1142140
Sodium-Month 2141139
Sodium-Month 3142141
Sodium-Month 4139139
Sodium-Month 5139139
Sodium-Month 6140143
Potassium-Baseline4.53.8
Potassium-Month 14.74
Potassium-Month 24.24.5
Potassium-Month 34.13.9
Potassium-Month 44.54.6
Potassium-Month 54.54.2
Potassium-Month 64.33.9
Chloride-Baseline103105
Chloride-Month 1109105
Chloride-Month 2107104
Chloride-Month 3103105
Chloride-Month 4103105
Chloride-Month 5103106
Chloride-Month 6101105
CO2-Baseline2922
CO2-Month 12224
CO2-Month 22524
CO2-Month 32724
CO2-Month 42825
CO2-Month 52826
CO2-Month 62626
SecondaryEfficacy: Dynamometry Score

Secondary outcome measures will be Dynamometry score, which is a summation of maximum voluntary isometric contraction test values for knee flexion, knee extension, elbow flexion, and elbow extension

Time frame:
6 months
Reported as:
Number · kg
Efficacy: Dynamometry Score
kgSpironolactonePrednisolone
Elbow Flexion (Right)-Baseline03.6
Elbow Flexion (Left)-Baseline04.1
Elbow Extension (Right)-Baseline05.3
Elbow Extension (Left)-Baseline04.1
Knee Flexion (Right)-Baseline4.13.3
Knee Flexion (Left)-Baseline2.83.4
Knee Extension (Right)-Baseline3.84.8
Knee Extension (Left)-Baseline5.95.2
Elbow Flexion (Right)-Month 63.12.9
Elbow Flexion (Left)-Month 63.53.4
Elbow Extension (Right)-Month 62.44.3
Elbow Extension (Left)-Month 62.53.8
Knee Flexion (Right)-Month 64.34.1
Knee Flexion (Left)-Month 64.13.9
Knee Extension (Right)-Month 67.26
Knee Extension (Left)-Month 68.35.1

Adverse events

Collected over Data was collected for each participant over a 7 month duration.. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Spironolactone0/1 (0%)0/1 (0%)1/1 (100%)
Prednisolone0/1 (0%)0/1 (0%)1/1 (100%)
Most frequent other events
Most frequent other events
EventSpironolactonePrednisolone
Viral IllnessGastrointestinal disorders1/10/1
Loose StoolGastrointestinal disorders1/10/1
Muscle CrampsMusculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders0/11/1
Dental CavityGastrointestinal disorders0/11/1

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)SpironolactonePrednisoloneTotal
<=18 years112
Between 18 and 65 years000
>=65 years000
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)SpironolactonePrednisoloneTotal
Female000
Male112
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants)SpironolactonePrednisoloneTotal
Hispanic or Latino000
Not Hispanic or Latino112
Unknown or Not Reported000
Race (NIH/OMB)
Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants)SpironolactonePrednisoloneTotal
American Indian or Alaska Native000
Asian000
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander000
Black or African American000
White112
More than one race000
Unknown or Not Reported000
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)SpironolactonePrednisoloneTotal
United States112
08

Study locations

4 sites
  • University of Iowa
    Iowa City, Iowa 52242, United States
  • Nationwide Children's Hospital
    Columbus, Ohio 43205, United States
  • The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
  • University of Utah
    Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Manzur AY, Kuntzer T, Pike M, Swan A. Glucocorticoid corticosteroids for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jan 23;(1):CD003725. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003725.pub3. PubMed 18254031 ↗
  • Buck ML. Clinical experience with spironolactone in pediatrics. Ann Pharmacother. 2005 May;39(5):823-8. doi: 10.1345/aph.1E618. Epub 2005 Apr 5. PubMed 15811903 ↗
  • Rafael-Fortney JA, Chimanji NS, Schill KE, Martin CD, Murray JD, Ganguly R, Stangland JE, Tran T, Xu Y, Canan BD, Mays TA, Delfin DA, Janssen PM, Raman SV. Early treatment with lisinopril and spironolactone preserves cardiac and skeletal muscle in Duchenne muscular dystrophy mice. Circulation. 2011 Aug 2;124(5):582-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.031716. Epub 2011 Jul 18. PubMed 21768542 ↗
  • Janssen PM, Murray JD, Schill KE, Rastogi N, Schultz EJ, Tran T, Raman SV, Rafael-Fortney JA. Prednisolone attenuates improvement of cardiac and skeletal contractile function and histopathology by lisinopril and spironolactone in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. PLoS One. 2014 Feb 13;9(2):e88360. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088360. eCollection 2014. PubMed 24551095 ↗
  • Lowe J, Floyd KT, Rastogi N, Schultz EJ, Chadwick JA, Swager SA, Zins JG, Kadakia FK, Smart S, Gomez-Sanchez EP, Gomez-Sanchez CE, Raman SV, Janssen PM, Rafael-Fortney JA. Similar efficacy from specific and non-specific mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist treatment of muscular dystrophy mice. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2016;3(3):395-404. doi: 10.3233/JND-160173. PubMed 27822449 ↗
  • Chadwick JA, Hauck JS, Lowe J, Shaw JJ, Guttridge DC, Gomez-Sanchez CE, Gomez-Sanchez EP, Rafael-Fortney JA. Mineralocorticoid receptors are present in skeletal muscle and represent a potential therapeutic target. FASEB J. 2015 Nov;29(11):4544-54. doi: 10.1096/fj.15-276782. Epub 2015 Jul 15. PubMed 26178166 ↗
  • Chadwick JA, Swager SA, Lowe J, Welc SS, Tidball JG, Gomez-Sanchez CE, Gomez-Sanchez EP, Rafael-Fortney JA. Myeloid cells are capable of synthesizing aldosterone to exacerbate damage in muscular dystrophy. Hum Mol Genet. 2016 Dec 1;25(23):5167-5177. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddw331. PubMed 27798095 ↗
  • Alfano LN, Miller NF, Berry KM, Yin H, Rolf KE, Flanigan KM, Mendell JR, Lowes LP. The 100-meter timed test: Normative data in healthy males and comparative pilot outcome data for use in Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinical trials. Neuromuscul Disord. 2017 May;27(5):452-457. doi: 10.1016/j.nmd.2017.02.007. Epub 2017 Feb 17. PubMed 28279570 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Mar 8, 2021

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 23, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03777319
Lead sponsor
Kevin Flanigan
Collaborators
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Responsible party
Kevin Flanigan (Professor of Neurology, Nationwide Children's Hospital) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Dec 17, 2018
Start date
Dec 5, 2018
Primary completion
Sep 27, 2021
Completion
Nov 30, 2021
Results posted
Oct 23, 2023
Last update
Oct 23, 2023

Study contacts

Kevin Flanigan, MD
principal investigator · Nationwide Children's Hospital
Megan Waldrop, MD
principal investigator · Nationwide Children's Hospital

Oversight

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

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