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RecruitingNCT07556718AIMS-CDUpdated Jun 5, 2026

Amitriptyline for IBS-like Symptoms in Quiescent Crohn's Disease

A Phase 2 interventional study of Amitriptyline and Placebo in Quiescent Crohn's Disease (CD), sponsored by University of Michigan. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-05.

Sponsored by University of Michigan · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jun 2026; still recruiting 4 months later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
100
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Many individuals with Crohn's disease continue to experience abdominal pain, bloating, or bowel habit changes even when their inflammation is controlled. Amitriptyline is a medication commonly used at low doses to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and abdominal pain. This study will assess whether amitriptyline is safe and reduces those ongoing GI symptoms in adults with Crohn's disease in remission.

02

Conditions studied

  • Quiescent Crohn's Disease (CD)

Keywords

  • Tricyclic antidepressants
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of Michigan is the lead sponsor of 1,475 studies on the registry; 196 are open to participants now.

Of its 162 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 128 (79%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18-65 years, inclusive, at the time of consent.
  • Established diagnosis of Crohn's disease, confirmed by standard clinical, endoscopic, histologic, and/or radiologic criteria.
  • Quiescent Crohn's disease (qCD) defined by provider global assessment of remission for the last 3 months along with at least one of the following within the past 30 days:
  • Biochemical remission defined by fecal calprotectin \< 150 mcg/g, OR
  • Endoscopic remission defined by colonoscopy demonstrating Simple Endoscopic Scoring (SES)- Crohn's disease (CD) \< 4 per involved segment with no large ulcers (≥5 mm), and Rutgeerts score ≤ i1 (when applicable). OR
  • Radiographic evidence of quiescent disease consistent with the protocol.
  • Completion of a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) within previous 12 months or at baseline demonstrating no clinically significant conduction abnormalities and a QTc ≤440 ms (males) or ≤460 ms (females).
  • Presence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome-like symptoms in the setting of quiescent disease (i.e., recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort on average at least 3 days per month in the past 3 months) and bowel dysfunction (i.e. either The Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) 1-2 and/or 6-7) at least 25% of the time in the past 3 months.
  • At least mild-moderate abdominal pain defined by PROMIS Belly Pain score greater than or equal to 55. (PROMIS score may be re-assed once, 7 days after initial score is recorded
  • Stable Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) medical therapy for at least the past 90 days (e.g., stable biologic, small molecule inhibitors or immunomodulator therapy with no planned changes or corticosteroids at enrollment).
  • Willingness to begin study medication using the amitriptyline self-titration schedule (10 mg → 50 mg as tolerated).
  • If personal history of anxiety and/or depression, stable dose of psychotropic medications for at least 6 months.
  • Willingness to use effective mode of contraception (e.g., OCP, IUD) for the duration of the study in women of child-bearing age.
  • Ability to complete electronic questionnaires, symptom diaries, and remote assessments using the REDCap platform.
  • Ability to provide written or electronic informed consent prior to participating in any study procedures.
  • Stable IBD medical therapy for at least the past 90 days (e.g., stable biologic, small molecule inhibitors or immunomodulator therapy with no planned changes or corticosteroids at enrollment).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Crohn's Disease-Related Exclusions

  • Active Crohn's disease, based on objective markers, endoscopic activity, or radiologic inflammation.
  • Hospitalization for CD flare, bowel obstruction, or other significant disease activity within the protocol-defined timeframe prior to screening.
  • Actively draining perianal fistula or perianal abscess requiring antibiotics, the presence of a draining seton, intra-abdominal abscess requiring antibiotics or surgical or radiographic drainage, entero-cutaneous fistula requiring active management, or other complications suggesting active inflammation.
  • Any clinically significant stricture that could explain the IBS-like symptoms
  • The presence of an ileostomy or colostomy.
  • The presence of a J-pouch or other stool continent pouch (e.g., Koch pouch, continent ileostomy).

Medication-Related Exclusions

  • Current use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).
  • Current use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or other medications that have a clinically significant interaction with amitriptyline.
  • Current use of Cisapride.
  • History of hypersensitivity or allergy to amitriptyline or other TCAs.
  • Planned change in IBD maintenance therapy during the study period.

Cardiac and Safety Exclusions

  • Known cardiac conduction abnormalities, including:
  • Prolonged QT interval defined as QTc >440 ms in males or >460 ms in females in previous 12 months or baseline ECGHistory of cardiac arrythmias, including Brugada syndrome, currently taking guanethidine or recent use of guanethidine in the past 14 days
  • Recent history of myocardial infarction in the past 3 months
  • Use of medications that significantly prolong QT interval (e.g., amiodarone, terfenadine, or sotalol), unless deemed safe by study medical oversight.

Psychiatric / Neurologic Exclusions

  • Evidence of active major depressive disorder, defined by depression score greater than or equal to 11 on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
  • History of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or other severe psychiatric conditions that may interfere with study participation
  • Active or passive suicidal ideation in the last 3 months.
  • Hospitalization for any psychiatric illness in the last year.
  • Personal history of seizures.
  • Currently taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or recent use of MAOI in the last 14 days.

Other Medical Exclusions

  • Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or plans to become pregnant during the study period.
  • Positive urine pregnancy test at screening, if applicable.
  • History of angle-closure glaucoma.
  • History of urinary retention requiring hospitalization or emergency department (ED) visit in the last 6 months.
  • Current or recent substance use disorder that may interfere with participation.
  • Participation in another interventional clinical trial within the exclusion window
  • Inability or unwillingness to comply with study visits, medication instructions, electronic assessments, or follow-up requirements.
  • Any condition that, in the investigator's opinion, would interfere with the study or pose undue risks to the participant.
05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Amitriptyline

    Roughly 50 participants

    Drug: Amitriptyline

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Roughly 50 participants

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugAmitriptyline

    Amitriptyline will be administered orally once daily. It will be dispensed in capsules or tablets that are visually identical to placebo. Self-titration schedule beginning at 10 mg and increasing to a maximum of 50 mg over the first six weeks, as tolerated. Participants will continue their maximum tolerated dose through Week 24.

  • DrugPlacebo

    Placebo capsules or tablets will be visually indistinguishable from amitriptyline to maintain participant and investigator blinding. Self-titration schedule beginning at 10 mg and increasing to a maximum of 50 mg over the first six weeks, as tolerated. Participants will continue their maximum tolerated placebo dose through Week 24.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Safety reported as the proportion of participants experiencing a serious adverse event (SAE),

    An SAE is defined as an adverse events resulting in hospitalization or emergency department visit and/or suicidal ideation or hallucinations that are considered "probably" or "definitely" related to the study-drug.

    Time frame: Week 24

Secondary outcomes

  1. Efficacy in Abdominal Pain

    Assessed using the PROMIS Belly Pain score which range from 5-25 and higher scores indicate worse symptoms.

    Time frame: Week 24

  2. Global Symptom Improvement

    Assessed using The Irritable Bowel Severity Scoring System (IBS-SSS) is a questionnaire used for evaluating the severity of IBS with a maximum score of 500. Higher scores indicate increased pain.

    Time frame: Week 24

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • University of Michigan
    Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
    Recruiting
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 Jun 5, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07556718
Lead sponsor
University of Michigan
Collaborators
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Responsible party
Allen Lee (Assistant Professor, University of Michigan) — Principal investigator
First posted
Apr 29, 2026
Start date
Jun 3, 2026
Primary completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 5, 2026

Study contacts

Charlie Bourque Jr.
Contact
cabjr@med.umich.edu
(734) 615-3911
Allen A. Lee, MD, MS
Contact
allenlee@med.umich.edu
(734) 936-9454
Allen A. Lee, MD, MS
principal investigator · University of Michigan
Shrinivas Bishu, MD
principal investigator · University of Michigan
Prashant Singh, MD
principal investigator · University of Michigan
Kinza Tareen, MD
principal investigator · University of Michigan

Oversight

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

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