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Patient Self-administration of Cortisol for Cortisol-responding Disorders in Men and Women Over the Age of 17

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Rheumatic Diseases
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT03558971
Lead Sponsor
Helen Foundation
Brief Summary

Participants diagnosed as having fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis are to be brought to a minimum symptom state using a 3-week period during which they are to ingest modest doses of cortisol tablets with weekly lowered tapered doses. Thereafter, the participants are to be taught to self-administer cortisol tablets on the as-needed basis to maintain the minimum symptom state. For this, they are to ingest a smaller-dosage, 5-day tapered regimen of cortisol tablets to quench each reoccurring exacerbation of the disease at its earliest stage. Participants are limited to using less than the safe use limit of cortisol per month and are required to include a minimum of 10 days per month during which no cortisol was ingested.

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVE: To define why and demonstrate how patient self-administration of cortisol with stress management eliminates chronic inflammation pain within fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

METHODS: One thousand seventeen hundred and twenty (1,720) participants with chronic inflammation-containing diseases, were brought to a minimum symptom state using daily-administered cortisol tablets. Thereafter, participants used 5-day, small-dosage cortisol regimens to quench subsequent disorder exacerbations to maintain the minimum symptom state. Stressors as emotional traumas, infections, allergies, and injuries were minimized to reduce cortisol consumption and participant discomfort. This protocol is compliant with current United States Food and Drug Administration recommendations for cortisol use applied to corticosteroid-responding disorders.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2430
Inclusion Criteria

Clinical diagnoses of fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis -

Exclusion Criteria

Congestive heart failure, stomach ulceration, unstable diabetes, and bipolar disorder

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Patient self-administration of cortisolCortisolIntervention is patient self-administration of cortisol.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Participant evaluation of disease symptom intensityParticipants determine Total Scores 7 days prior to cortisol initiation to obtain the average baseline Total Score. Participant Total Score change is plotted daily vs. time for study. Outcome: Total Score at 24 weeks vs. baseline.

Participants evaluate 50 symptoms for intensity using the 0 to 10 scale. 0 represents no disease intensity and 10 represents extreme maximum symptom intensity with the intermediate numbers defined as Mild I, Mild II, Mild III, Moderate I, Moderate II, Moderate III, Severe I, Severe II, Severe III for 2 through 9, respectively. The participant-determined disease intensity numbers of the 50 symptoms are added to obtain Total Score for each day.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Helen Foundation Clinic

🇺🇸

Apache Junction, Arizona, United States

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