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Safety and Efficacy of Plasma Transfusion From Exercise-trained Donors in Patients With Early Alzheimer's Disease

Phase 2
Recruiting
Conditions
Alzheimer Disease
Interventions
Drug: ExPlas
Drug: Octaplasma
Drug: Saline
Registration Number
NCT05068830
Lead Sponsor
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Brief Summary

Introduction Given that exercise training reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), induces changes in the blood composition and has widespread systemic benefits, it is reasonable to hypothesize that exercised plasma may have rejuvenative properties. The main objective is to test safety and tolerability of transfusing exercised plasma (ExPlas) from young, healthy, fit adults to patients with early AD. The study is a pilot for a future efficacy study. The key secondary objectives are examining the effect of plasma transfusions on cognitive function, fitness level, vascular risk profile, assessment of cerebral blood flow and hippocampal volume, quality of life, functional connectivity assessed by resting state functional MRI and biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

Methods and analysis ExPlas is a double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical single center trial. Patients aged 50-75 years with diagnosis mild cognitive impairment or early AD will be recruited from two Norwegian hospitals. ExPlas is plasma drawn by plasmapheresis once a month for 4 months, from a total of 30 donors (aged 18-40, BMI ≤27 kg/m2 and VO2max \>50 mL/kg/min). All units will be virus inactivated by the Intercept method in accordance with procedures at St. Olavs Hospital. Comparison with isotonic saline allows differentiation from a non-blood product. The main study consists of 6 rounds of examinations in addition to 12 plasma transfusions divided over three 4-weeks periods during study year-1. Follow-up examinations after 2 and 5 years after baseline is also planned.

Ethics and dissemination Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants and participation is voluntary. All participants have a next of kin who will follow them throughout the study and represent the patient's interest. The study is approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK 2018/702) and the Norwegian Medicines Agency (EudraCT No. 2018-000148-24).

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Exercised plasma (ExPlas)ExPlasDosage: 200 mL at every time point Dosage form: Solution for intravenous infusion Frequency of administration: 12 ExPlas transfusions during the time span of one year (weekly transfusions in 3 four-week periods)
OctaplasmaOctaplasmaDosage: 200 mL at every time point Dosage form: Solution for intravenous infusion Frequency of administration: 12 Octaplasma transfusions during the time span of one year (weekly transfusions in 3 four-week periods)
SalineSalineDosage: 200 mL at every time point Dosage form: Solution for intravenous infusion Frequency of administration: 12 saline infusions during the time span of one year (weekly transfusions in 3 four-week periods)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of patients with adverse events1 year

as a measure for safety and tolerability of the treatment

Number of subjects who comply with the research protocol1 year

as a measure for feasibility

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL)1, 2, and 5 years

Change in The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL). The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL) evaluates the person's ability to perform complex everyday activities. The score ranges from 8-31. Higher scores indicate lower functional level.

6 minutes' walk test1, 2, and 5 years

Change in 6 minutes' walk-test

Trail-Making test A and B1, 2, and 5 years

Change in performance in Trail-Making test A and B. The Trail Making Tests are scored by how long it takes to complete the tests. Norms for completion time variate with age and educational level. Longer completion time indicates impaired visual attention, processing speed and executive function.

Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT)-FAS1, 2, and 5 years

Change in scores in Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT)-FAS. Scoring is based on how many words the person produces within 1 minute. The minimum score is 0, and there is no maximum score. Higher scores indicate better verbal fluency. Scoring norms are based on the persons age and education level.

CERAD-test1, 2 and 5 years

Change in performance in the CERAD (The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) Ten word Test. CERAD Word List consists of three test parts; immediate recall, delayed recall and recognition. The scoring range for immediate recall is 0-30, for delayed recall 0-10 and for recognition 0-20. Higher scores indicate better learning performance, memory performance and recognition performance.

Clock Drawing Test1, 2, and 5 years

Change in scores in the Clock Drawing Test. The Clock Drawing Test has a scoring range 0-5. Higher scores indicate normal cognitive function. Lower scores \<4 may indicate cognitive impairment, spatial dysfunction or neglect.

Functional MRI1, 2, and 5 years

Change in/Reduced hippocampal atrophy and preservation of functional connectivity assessed by resting state functional MRI. A secondary aim is to identify any effect of treatment group on MRI markers of both neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disease.

Echocardiography - Cardiac volumes - Left ventricular and diastolic volume.1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in cardiac volumes - left ventricular and diastolic volume (mL).

Echocardiography - Functional indices - Ventricular velocity1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in functional indices - ventricular velocity (cm/s).

Echocardiography - Cardiac dimensions - Left ventricular end diastolic diameter1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in cardiac dimensions - left ventricular end diastolic diameter (mm).

Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Global score and Sum of Boxes1, 2, and 5 years

Change in Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Global score and Sum of Boxes. Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) is a clinical scale for the staging of dementia. The Global Score ranges dementia severity from 0-3. The Sum of Boxes ranges dementia severity from 0-18. Higher scores indicate more severe disease.

Echocardiography - Functional indices - Right ventricular strain1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in functional indices - right ventricular strain (%).

MMSE1, 2, and 5 years

Change in the Mini-Mental State Examination Score. An MMSE score of ≥20 is criteria for inclusion. Higher scores \>28 indicate normal cognitive function. Scores in the middle range 25-27 may indicate cognitive impairment. Lower scores \<24 indicate cognitive impairment.

Visual Object and Space Perception (VOSP) Silhouettes1, 2, and 5 years

Change in scores in Visual Object and Space Perception (VOSP) Silhouettes. Visual Object and Space Perception (VOSP) Silhouettes has a scoring range 0-30. Higher scores \> 20 indicate normal visuospatial function, and lower scores \< 20 indicate visuospatial dysfunction.

SF-361, 2, and 5 years

Quality of Life SF-36 Questionnaire. Computer-based scoring services for the SF-36v2 are available through QualityMetric™ or its licensed certified vendors.

Biomarker profile in blood1, 2, and 5 years

Change in biomarkers in blood (APOE). As there exist no single ideal biomarker of AD this endpoint is partly exploratory. Biological material will be stored for future analysis in the search for new biomarkers.

Biomarker profile in cerebrospinal fluid1, 2, and 5 years

Change in biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (Amyloid Beta 1-42, Amyloid Beta 1-40, phosphor tau and total tau). As there exist no single ideal biomarker of AD this endpoint is partly exploratory. Biological material will be stored for future analysis in the search for new biomarkers.

Echocardiography - Cardiac dimensions - Right ventricular dimension1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in cardiac dimensions - right ventricular dimension (mm).

Echocardiography - Functional indices - Left ventricular strain1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in functional indices - left ventricular strain (%).

Echocardiography - Functional indices - Left ventricular stiffness1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in functional indices - left ventricular stiffness.

Echocardiography - Cardiac volumes - Right ventricular volume1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in cardiac volumes. Right ventricular volume (mL).

Echocardiography - Functional indices - Ejection fraction1, 2, and 5 years

Changes in functional indices - ejection fraction (%).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St Olavs Hospital

🇳🇴

Trondheim, Norway

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