ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT07592858PAVERSUpdated May 18, 2026

Use of Bile Acid Binding Resins to Decrease PFAS Levels Via Colesevalem in Veterans Study

A Phase 2 interventional study of Colesevelam and Placebo in PFAS, Environmental Exposures and Occupational Exposure to Chemicals, sponsored by University of Rhode Island. Not yet recruiting at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 25 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-18.

Primary conditionHypercholesterolemiaRegistry: HyperlipidemiasReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Hyperlipidemias — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Hypercholesterolemia
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Hypercholesterolemia, a narrower term within Hyperlipidemias.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by University of Rhode Island · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
25 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this study is to test the efficacy and feasibility of Colesevelam administration (50% of the recommended dose) to reduce serum PFAS concentration in the Veteran population who have serum PFAS levels that exceed the National Academies Science criteria (PFASsix > 20 ng/ml) using a double blind-placebo controlled study. Based on PFAS prevalence in serum samples, we anticipate recruiting up to n=500 Veterans to meet the goal of n=50 study participants to receive intervention or placebo. The primary outcome will be initial and final PFAS content in serum (total and 7 individual PFAS). The secondary outcome will be initial and final serum biomarkers related to lipid metabolism. As an exploratory aspect to the proposal, we will also measure fecal PFAS, bile acids, and microbial diversity to examine associations between PFAS content and bile acid levels and microbiome. Fecal PFAS, bile acid content, and microbiome may also be measured.

Read the detailed description

This double-blind randomized controlled trial has a extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets qd) for 12 weeks to lower total serum PFAS levels in individuals with >20 ng/ml PFAS. After 12 weeks, participants assigned to placebo will have an opportunity to participate in the intervention of 12 weeks. Participants on the intervention will remain on the intervention for another 24 weeks.

02

Conditions studied

  • PFAS
  • Environmental Exposures
  • Occupational Exposure to Chemicals
  • Military Exposure
  • Burn Pit Exposure
  • Forever Chemicals
  • Hyperlipidemias, Hypercholesterolemia, Mixed Dyslipidemia
  • Hyperlipidemia (E.G., Hypercholesterolemia)

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • PFAS
  • Military exposure
  • Forever chemicals
  • Colesevelam
03

In context

Hypercholesterolemia Reclassified

1,175 studies on the registry are indexed under Hypercholesterolemia; 93 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 110 across 975 interventional studies indexed under Hypercholesterolemia.

Browse Hypercholesterolemia studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Rhode Island is the lead sponsor of 34 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

Compared within Hypercholesterolemia, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Hyperlipidemias. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
25 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

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

  • Male or female Veterans aged 25- 65 who have serum PFAS >20 ng/ml exceeding National Academy of Science guidance.
  • Written will be obtained.
  • Outpatient.
  • Agreeable to participate in sharable data and biorepository.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion:

  • Under the age of 25 years
  • Unable or unwilling to sign the statement and HIPAA Authorization form
  • Females who are pregnant (confirmed by urine pregnancy test), nursing or planned pregnancy within study period.
  • Patients with hypertriglyceridemia, vitamin deficient patients, hyperthyroidism and diabetic, pancreatitis and intestinal and bowel obstruction
  • Be receiving any drug other than Colesevelam or participating in any other investigational study.
  • Significant medical illnesses that may limit the subject's ability to complete follow-up visits, in the opinion of the investigator.
  • Be receiving any non-standard protocol or other non-standard treatment that could affect interpretation of the study results.
  • Those with significant cardiovascular disease including treatment with inotropes.
  • Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the Investigator would compromise the safety of the patient or the quality of the data.
  • Active substance abuse if this, in the opinion of the investigator, will interfere with the subject's ability to adhere to the study protocol.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

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.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Colesevelam

    Oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets daily) for 12 weeks

    Drug: Colesevelam

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Oral placebo (3 x 250 mg once daily) for 12 weeks

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • A double-blind randomized controlled trial with an extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam (3 x 625 mg tablets daily) for 12 weeks

  • DrugPlacebo

    A double-blind randomized controlled trial with an extended open phase to test the use of oral Colesevelam

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. PFAS content

    Reduction PFAS content in serum (total and 7 individual PFAS).

    Time frame: 24 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Serum biomarkers

    The secondary outcome will be initial and final serum biomarkers related to lipid metabolism.

    Time frame: 24 weeks

Other outcomes

  1. Exploratory

    As an exploratory aspect to the proposal, we will also measure fecal PFAS, bile acids, and microbial diversity to examine associations between PFAS content and bile acid levels and microbiome.

    Time frame: 24 weeks

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • Robley Rex VA Medical Center
    Louisville, Kentucky 40245, United States
  • VA Maine Healthcare System
    Augusta, Maine 04330, United States
  • VA Maine Healthcare System
    Augusta, Maine 04330, United States
    • Rodney Sparks, MD · ContactRodney.Sparks@va.gov · (207) 623-8411
    • Vanessa Knipping, MSACN · ContactVanessa.knipping@va.gov · (207) 623-8411
    • Rodney Sparks, MD · Principal investigator
    • Angela Slitt, PhD · Sub investigator
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Jul 2026; primary completion for Apr 2029, 33 months later.

Of 48 phase 2 interventional studies under Hypercholesterolemia, half reached primary completion within 10 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 18. This study's planned 33 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 11, 2026
First posted
May 18, 2026
StartEst.
Jul 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Apr 30, 2029
CompletionEst.
Sep 29, 2029
Last update
May 18, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 18, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07592858
Lead sponsor
University of Rhode Island
Collaborators
Louisville VA Medical Center, University of Louisville, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 18, 2026
Start date
Jul 1, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Apr 30, 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 29, 2029 (estimated)
Last update
May 18, 2026

Study contacts

Angela Slitt, PhD
Contact
angela_slitt@uri.edu
4018745020
Angela Slitt, PhD
principal investigator · The University of Rhode Island

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Colesevelam

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