An interventional study of Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix) and Topical vehicle lotion (Lubriderm) in Hyperalgesia, Pain Perception and Central Nervous System Sensitization, sponsored by University of Guelph. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-04.
Sponsored by University of Guelph · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Temporal summation (TS) and offset analgesia (OA) are widely used psychophysical endpoints in pain research that index different components of central nociceptive processing. While crossover designs are commonly used in experimental pain studies to reduce between-participant variability, the design-stability of these endpoints under repeated testing during experimental sensitisation is not well characterised. This study compared the design-stability of mechanical TS (Sumscore) and offset analgesia magnitude (OffA) in a two-period, vehicle-controlled crossover trial of capsaicin-evoked secondary hyperalgesia in healthy adults. The primary aim was methodological: to determine whether session-order effects differ between TS and OffA when these are used as outcome measures in two-period crossover designs of capsaicin-induced central sensitisation. Topical capsaicin was used as a reversible experimental intervention to create a controlled, transient state of secondary hyperalgesia rather than as a therapeutic intervention. The study informs endpoint selection in future quantitative sensory testing (QST) crossover trials.
This was a single-site, two-period, vehicle-controlled, allocation- and formulation-blinded, randomised crossover study conducted at the Department of Human Health Science, University of Guelph, Canada. Sixteen healthy adult volunteers (10 female, 6 male; mean age 21.9 years) were recruited between May 2024 and April 2025. Participants were randomised in a 1:1 intended allocation to one of two sequences: capsaicin-first then vehicle (Sequence A-to-B) or vehicle-first then capsaicin (Sequence B-to-A); actual allocation was 6:10. The allocation sequence was computer-generated by a research assistant not involved in outcome collection. Sessions were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix; Hi-Tech Pharmacal) was applied as a 5 mL dose to a 5 x 10 cm target area on the lateral elbow and to bilateral C5-C6 cervicothoracic dermatomes. The comparator was an equivalent 5 mL volume of inert vehicle lotion (Lubriderm; Johnson \& Johnson) applied identically; creams were matched for colour and texture and prepared by a research assistant in unlabelled containers. Mechanical temporal summation (Sumscore; 256 mN pinprick, 16 stimuli at 1 Hz) and thermal offset analgesia (OA; 32-46°C stepped-stimulus protocol with three thermal hold durations of 5, 10, and 15 s) were assessed at baseline and at 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention. Continuous pain ratings during thermal stimulation were captured via CoVAS. Primary outcomes (Sumscore and the duration-averaged baseline-normalised OffA) were analysed using REML linear mixed-effects models with fixed effects for Intervention, Time, Intervention x Time, Period, and Sequence, with random intercepts for Participant; sex was included as a pre-specified covariate. Within-session temporal stability was assessed using ICC(2,1). A combined Measure x Intervention x Period model tested for differential design-sensitivity between TS and OffA. The study was approved by the University of Guelph Research Ethics Board (REB #19-06-003).
166 studies on the registry are indexed under Hyperalgesia; 14 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 16 is below the median of 50 across 142 interventional studies indexed under Hyperalgesia.
Browse Hyperalgesia studies →University of Guelph is the lead sponsor of 70 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.
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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.
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Participants received topical 0.075% capsaicin (Zostrix) cream (5 mL) in Period 1, followed by topical inert (Lubriderm) vehicle (5 mL) in Period 2. Periods were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. n = 6.
Drug: Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix) · Other: Topical vehicle lotion (Lubriderm)
Participants received topical inert (Lubriderm) vehicle (5 mL) in Period 1, followed by topical 0.075% capsaicin (Zostrix) cream (5 mL) in Period 2. Periods were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. n = 10.
Drug: Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix) · Other: Topical vehicle lotion (Lubriderm)
5 mL of 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix; Hi-Tech Pharmacal, Amityville, NY, USA) applied to a 5 x 10 cm target region on the lateral elbow and to bilateral C5-C6 cervicothoracic dermatomes (total 15 mL). The cream was massaged into the skin by a gloved investigator until no residue was visible. Used as an experimental probe to evoke transient, reversible secondary hyperalgesia; not under therapeutic evaluation.
5 mL of inert vehicle lotion (Lubriderm; Johnson \& Johnson, Montgomery, NJ, USA) applied to the same dermatomes as the capsaicin condition (total 15 mL), using the identical preparation and massage technique. Matched to the capsaicin cream for colour and texture.
Mechanical temporal summation (Sumscore)
Sumscore is a summed pinprick temporal-summation response computed from a train of 16 repeated 256 mN pinprick stimuli delivered perpendicularly to the skin at 1 Hz, paced by a metronome. Pain ratings (NPRS 0-10) immediately after each stimulus were summed (Clouse et al., 2021). The primary Sumscore endpoint was pre-specified as the average of the lateral and inferior testing sites at the lateral elbow, expressed as a baseline-normalised ratio.
Time frame: Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)
Offset analgesia magnitude (OffA)
OffA was measured during a three-phase stepped-stimulus thermal protocol (32-45-46-45-32°C; T1/T2/T3 phases) using a 32 x 32 mm Peltier contact thermode (TSA-II NeuroSensory Analyzer, Medoc AMS). Continuous pain ratings were collected via CoVAS (0-100) at 10 Hz. OA magnitude was quantified as peak minus nadir CoVAS during the 46°C hold and the subsequent 45°C phase. The primary OffA endpoint was pre-specified as the duration-averaged value across three thermal hold durations (5, 10, and 15 s at 46°C), expressed as a baseline-normalised ratio.
Time frame: Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)
Within-session temporal stability (ICC(2,1)) of Sumscore and OffA
Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1); Shrout and Fleiss, 1979) computed across the four post-intervention time points (10, 20, 30, 40 min) within each intervention condition, separately for Sumscore and OffA. Reported with bias-corrected bootstrap 95% confidence intervals.
Time frame: 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention
Differential design-sensitivity (Measure × Intervention × Period interaction)
A combined linear mixed-effects model using within-measure z-scored outcomes tested whether the period-adjusted intervention estimate differed between TS and OffA. Three-way Measure x Intervention x Period interaction tested via Wald F-tests with residual degrees of freedom.
Time frame: 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention, across two crossover periods separated by a minimum 1-week washout.
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data (IPD) and statistical analysis code will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request, subject to a data-use agreement and institutional ethics/data-sharing requirements. Materials required to reproduce the intervention and assessment protocol are described in the published Methods and Supplementary Materials.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form, Analytic code
Time frame: On request following publication of the primary manuscript.
Access criteria: Reasonable request to the corresponding author for non-commercial research use, subject to a data-use agreement consistent with University of Guelph data-sharing policy.
Ran from May 2024 to primary completion in Apr 2025, 11 months.
Of 27 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Hyperalgesia, half reached primary completion within 11 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 4 and three quarters within 32. This study's 11 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 27 studies reached it within 11 months; a quarter within 4 and three quarters within 32.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Guelph