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Effect of Levosulpiride on Retinal Alterations in Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema

Registration Number
NCT03161652
Lead Sponsor
Carmen Clapp
Brief Summary

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of levosulpiride to improve retinal alterations due to diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy

Detailed Description

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME) are the primary cause of irreversible blindness and visual impairment in working-age adults. Nearly 80% of patients with diabetes will experience some degree of DR and DME 15-20 years after diagnosis. Altered blood parameters (glucose, lipids, and pressure) influence disease development and progression; however, the combined values of these parameters account for only 10% of the risk of DR. Laser therapy is effective for preserving sight but is poor for reversing visual loss. Anti-angiogenic therapies are effective and less destructive but require frequent intravitreal delivery, which raises the risk of infection and ocular complications. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of DR and DME should include other modifiable factors. Data from preclinical studies support a protective role for the serum levels of the hormone prolactin. The trial investigates a new specific therapy for DR and DME based on elevating the circulating levels of prolactin with the prokynetic, dopamine D2 receptor blocker, levosulpiride. It is a prospective, randomized clinical study in patients with DR and DME in which ophthalmologic and health parameters evaluated before and after starting the study medication will determine the efficacy and safety of treatment.

Patient registries: Patients are enrolled at the time of a routine health care service. The caregiver and patient together, in a standardized uniform manner for every patient, will collect the data. Data collection procedures are clearly described and include protocols, policies, and the formatted listing of all the data elements, their full definitions and validation rules. All personnel involved in data collection are qualified registry trained. The same physicians, laboratory technicians, and graduate students will evaluate and collect the data from all patients. An individual fully knowledgeable of all protocols, policies, procedures, and definitions in the registry will be designated as Accountable for Data Quality. This individual (coordinator) should ensure that all collected data are complete, accurate, and valid. Data logically inconsistent will be confronted to information in external database. Data collected on formatted paper forms are entered into a computer and electronic registries carefully reviewed by a third party to identify missing data, invalid or erroneous entries, and inconsistent data. Any data review activity and remediation efforts will be documented. Amelioration of data problems may include querying the personnel uploading the data, the coordinator, the interviewer, or the patient. The proposed sample size and study duration are the minimum required and are based on biological models of DR and on clinical experience evaluating primary data associated with the study. These parameters may have to be modified to accommodate the sample size required to obtain clinically important differences and their statistical evaluation, access to eligible patients, lack of adherence to therapy at specific calendar dates (holidays), etc. Statistical methods include those evaluating continuous and categorical variables, incidence and prevalence, the association between a risk factor and outcome, and the relative contribution of confounding factors.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
120
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age equal or greater than 40 years but no older than 69 years
  • Male and female subjects with mild and moderate diabetic macular edema (DME), non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR), and with proliferative DR undergoing medically prescribed vitrectomy.
  • Signing informed consent
  • Without ocular complications: severe myopia (> 6 diopters), ocular media opacity, retinal detachment, etc.
  • Without previous ocular treatments: ocular surgeries, retinal laser photocoagulation, intravitreal administration of antiangiogenic agents (delivered < 6 months before enrollment).
  • Prolactin serum levels ≤ 20 ng/ml
  • With normal or mild loss of kidney function (glomerular filtration rate >60 ml/min) for groups with DME and DR without vitrectomy.
  • With mild to severe loss of kidney function (glomerular filtration rate >30 ml/min) for groups with DR undergoing vitrectomy.
  • Without contraindications for the use of levosulpiride (Parkinson disease, epilepsy, breast cancer, alcoholism, hypokalemia).
  • Without hyperprolactinemia inducing conditions: Pathologies (hypothyrodism, hepatic dysfunction, prolactinomas); Medication (antipsychotics, antidepressants, prokinetics, other)
Exclusion Criteria
  • Not meeting inclusion criteria.
  • Adverse and intolerable drug effects.
  • Not complying with study medication
  • Inability to continue in-hospital appointments.
  • Missing outcome data
  • Hesitation to continue with study medication
  • Relocation to another state or country
  • Voluntary withdrawal of consent

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
DR lactose pillDR lactose pillPatients with non-proliferative DR will be randomized to take a lactose pill (placebo)
DR, vitrectomy lactose pillDR vitrectomy lactose pillPatients with proliferative DR (undergoing medically prescribed vitrectomy 7 days after starting the study) will be randomized to take a lactose pill (placebo).
DME plus ranibizumab levosulpirideDME plus ranibizumab levosulpiridePatients with DME that will receive intravitreal antiangiogenic therapy with ranibizumab will be randomized to take levosulpiride
DR levosulpirideDR levosulpiridePatients with non-proliferative DR will be randomized to take levosulpiride
DME levosulpirideDME levosulpiridePatients with DME will be randomized to take levosulpiride.
DR, vitrectomy levosulpirideDR vitrectomy levosulpiridePatients with proliferative DR (undergoing medically prescribed vitrectomy 7 days after starting the study) will be randomized to take levosulpiride.
DME lactose pillDME lactose pillPatients with DME will be randomized to take a lactose pill (placebo).
DME plus ranibizumab lactose pillDME plus ranibizumab lactose pillPatients with DME that will receive intravitreal antiangiogenic therapy with ranibizumab will be randomized to take a lactose pill (placebo)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Prolactin vitreous levels2 minutes (duration of vitreous withdrawal during medically prescribed vitrectomy)

ng/ml levels of prolactin quantified in vitreous samples using the IMMULITE 2000 XPi immunoassay system

Retinal microaneurisms, leakage area, cotton-wool spots, venous beading, microvascular and vascular abnormalitiesPupils are dilated (eye drops) for 10 to 15 minutes and fundus images recorded before and at different times (0.5 to 5 minutes) after fluorescein injection.

Location, intensity, and source of above alterations evaluated by fundus fluorescein angiography imaging qualitative and quantitative analysis of hyper-fluorescent or hypo-fluorescent regions.

Visual acuity5 minutes

Number of letters recognized in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart test after correcting for any refractive error (myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism)

Retinal thicknessPupils are dilated (eye drops) for 10 to 15 minutes and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images recorded during 5 minutes.

Retinal thickness is evaluated by non-invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging via qualitative and quantitative analyses. For qualitative analyses, OCT images approaching the histological level of retinal morphology are interpreted based on normal and diseased features (hyper-reflective or hypo-reflective lesions, shadowing, and anatomical changes). Quantitative analysis evaluates retinal reflective signals and their correlation with retinal morphology by computer image-processing algorithms (retinal thickness map, volume, area, 1, 3, and 6 mm ETDRS circle diameters).

Prolactin serum levels1-2 minutes (duration of blood withdrawal)

ng/ml levels of prolactin quantified in serum samples using the IMMULITE 2000 XPi immunoassay system

Vasoinhibin vitreous levels2 minutes (duration of vitreous withdrawal during medically prescribed vitrectomy)

Optical density values of vasoinhibins obtained by the immunoprecipitation-Western blot analysis of vitreous samples

Retinal hard exudates and hemorrhagesPupils are dilated (eye drops) for 10 to 15 minutes and fundus images recorded during 5 minutes

Number, size, and location of retinal hard exudates and hemorrhages evaluated by indirect ophthalmoscopy

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Pyruvic glutamic transaminase (TGP) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) serum levels1-2 minutes (duration of blood withdrawal)

U/L (TGP) and uU/mL (TSH) quantified in serum samples by the Bioclin Kinetic Transaminase ALT (TGP) Kit and the automatic quimioluminescent evaluator (TSH)

Blood glycated hemoglobin and creatinine serum levels1-2 minutes (duration of blood withdrawal)

Glycated hemoglobin (evaluated by boronate affinity chromatography) and creatinine (evaluated by the Jaffe reaction) levels are expressed as % and mg/dL, respectively.

Blood pressure5 minutes

Systolic and diastolic values in mmHg

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Instituto de la Retina del Bajio SC (INDEREB)

🇲🇽

Querétaro City, Queretaro, Mexico

Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmologia (IMO)

🇲🇽

Queretaro, Mexico

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