Imaging of Lymphatic Vessels in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
- Conditions
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Interventions
- Device: MultiSpectral Imaging System
- Registration Number
- NCT05197530
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Rochester
- Brief Summary
Lymphatic transport was previously examined by these investigators using Near InfraRed Indocyanine Green fluorescence imaging (NIR-ICG) of the upper extremities. They established reliable and reproducible methodologies in RA patients. The purpose of this phase 2 pilot is to study RA disease progression and effectiveness as well as the mechanism of action of clinical interventions using established NIR-ICG methodologies in previous studies.
- Detailed Description
In preclinical studies, these investigators demonstrated that amelioration of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced arthritis with anti-TNF, but not methotrexate (MTX) therapy, correlates with normalization of ICG clearance and popliteal lymph node (PLN) contractions. In RA patients during hand flare, it was found that ICG clearance from the web spaces, and numbers of ICG+ lymphatic basilic vessels of RA hands, are significantly decreased vs. healthy controls. Based on these observations, two important questions warrant testing to assess the clinical utility of NIR-ICG biomarkers in RA hands: Does amelioration of active synovitis pre and post treatment) correlate with: 1) increased ICG clearance (primary outcome) and/or 2) recovery of basilic ICG+ vessels (secondary outcome)? To formally address these questions, a clinical pilot will be conducted of early RA patients with symptomatic disease in their hand(s), who will undergo NIR-ICG imaging at baseline, 16-weeks, and 1-year post anti-TNF therapy, and examine if NIR-ICG outcome measures predict and correlate with clinical response.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 40
Early RA
- Ability to provide written informed consent
- Subjects must be 18 years old or older
- RA subjects must fulfill 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria with a DAS28-C-Reactive Protein (CRP) >3.5
- Must have 1 year or less of disease
- Must be MTX inadequate responder (DAS28-CRP >2.6 at 4 months of therapy) OR experience a flare on MTX (self-reported and score of >25 on the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Flare questionnaire AND are starting an anti-TNF therapy.
- Must have active synovitis in one or both hands confirmed by ultrasound
Established RA
- Ability to provide written informed consent
- Subjects must be 18 years of age or older
- RA subjects must fulfill 2010 ACR criteria with a DAS-CRP >3.5
- Must have at least 10 years of disease
- Must have active synovitis in one or both hands confirmed by ultrasound
- Must be on a stable dose of DMARD (MTX, leflunomide, azulfidine, hydroxychloroquine), Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor or biologic agent for 8 weeks
All PATIENTS
- Active systemic disorders or inflammatory conditions other than RA, (i.e., chronic infections with hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV) that would confound the study results.
- Known sensitivity to iodine because of residual iodide in Indocyanine Green
- Pregnant women should not participate; pregnancy tests will not be performed
- Inability to donate blood due to poor venous access
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- SINGLE_GROUP
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Established RA (> 10 years of disease) MultiSpectral Imaging System Patients with symptomatic established RA (\>10 years) will be invited to participate in an ICG injections followed by NIR-ICG imaging and NIR-ICG imaging visit 1 week later. Total length of participation will be up to 1 week (+3 days) Early RA (<1 year of disease) MultiSpectral Imaging System In this single center study, early RA subjects (\<1 year of disease) who are MTX inadequate responders or experience a flare (see inclusion criteria for detail) on MTX and are starting an anti-TNF therapy will be invited to participate to receive ICG injections at Baseline (prior to the start of medication), week 16 and week 52. NIR-ICG imaging will be done immediately post injection and 1 week later for a total of three injection/imaging visits and three imaging visits without injections. See schedule of events for more detail. Total length of participation will be up to 53 weeks (+3days). Early RA (<1 year of disease) Indocyanine green In this single center study, early RA subjects (\<1 year of disease) who are MTX inadequate responders or experience a flare (see inclusion criteria for detail) on MTX and are starting an anti-TNF therapy will be invited to participate to receive ICG injections at Baseline (prior to the start of medication), week 16 and week 52. NIR-ICG imaging will be done immediately post injection and 1 week later for a total of three injection/imaging visits and three imaging visits without injections. See schedule of events for more detail. Total length of participation will be up to 53 weeks (+3days). Established RA (> 10 years of disease) Indocyanine green Patients with symptomatic established RA (\>10 years) will be invited to participate in an ICG injections followed by NIR-ICG imaging and NIR-ICG imaging visit 1 week later. Total length of participation will be up to 1 week (+3 days)
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Clearance 1 week post injection The change in Indocyanine Green signal intensity (arbitrary units) over time is measured by observing the fluorescence using the Multispectral Imaging System. The MSImager software analyses the signal intensity. This outcome measure will be quantified for both early RA and late RA subjects.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Lymphatic Vessels 16 weeks Using 2D still images from the NIR scanning sessions, lymphatic vessel location will be identified, and vessel numbers will be quantified. Comparisons with 2D images will be performed to identify vessel location and numbers. The images will then be superimposed upon each other in order to confirm concordance of lymphatic vessels. This outcome measure will be quantified for both early RA and late RA subjects.
Contraction Rate 16 weeks The contraction rate is measured as lymphatic vessel contractions/min in the dominant lymphatic vessel efferent to the injection site using the MultiSpectral Imaging System (MSImager) that captures real time movies. The MSImager software analyses the signal intensity to determine the contraction rate. This outcome measure will be quantified for both early RA and late RA subjects.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of Rochester
🇺🇸Rochester, New York, United States