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Sickle Cell Pro-Inflammatory Response to Interval Training Study

Completed
Conditions
Sickle Cell Disease
Interventions
Other: Exercise Test (CIIT)
Registration Number
NCT03653676
Lead Sponsor
Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Brief Summary

Recommendations for exercise prescription currently do not exist for individuals with sickle cell anemia (SCA) despite the known impact that SCA-related complications has on physical functioning and fitness. A major barrier to increasing physical activity in SCA is the concern that the well-described inflammatory effects of exercise could precipitate or exacerbate complications such as vaso-occlusive pain or airway bronchoconstriction (i.e. exercise-induced asthma). Although the investigator's preliminary data suggest that increasing physical activity may be beneficial rather than harmful in children with SCA, the pro-inflammatory effects associated with repeated bouts of moderate to vigorous exercise remain poorly understood in this population. The long term goal is to address the safety and health impact of regular exercise in children with SCA. This proposal would help establish the safety of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise in children with SCA and importantly, will inform the design of future clinical trials focused on exercise training as a transformative strategy to improve fitness and overall well-being in this population.

Detailed Description

The investigator's plan to evaluate the effect of acute exercise and exercise intensity on circulating systemic pro-inflammatory mediators and airway bronchoconstriction in SCA. The investigators hypothesize that regular exercise at moderate to vigorous intensity is safe for children with SCA and do not precipitate SCA-related symptoms. In this multicenter study, 70 non-asthmatic children with SCA and 70 controls without SCA will first undergo a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), then be randomized to an exercise challenge by controlled intensity interval training (CIIT) at either moderate or vigorous intensity (8 exercise bouts at 50% or 70% peak workload, respectively). The Investigator's Aims are to: 1) Determine the influence of exercise intensity on the acute inflammatory response to exercise, defined by an increase in soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM) and other adhesion molecules, and 2) Define the effect of moderate to vigorous exercise on forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and acute bronchoconstriction in children with SCA. The investigators will also explore exercise- induced changes in gene and microRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, tissue oxygenation during exercise by near infrared spectroscopy as well as the role of hyperventilation in bronchoconstriction using eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation testing in a subset of participants.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
110
Inclusion Criteria
  • Provide signed and dated informed consent form
  • Willing to comply with all study procedures and be available for the duration of the study
  • Male or female, aged 10 years to 21 years old
  • Diagnosis of hemoglobin SS or S/Beta0 thalassemia confirmed by hemoglobin electrophoresis
Exclusion Criteria
  • Inability to perform CPET due to physical limitation (e.g. severe hip osteonecrosis or stroke)
  • Enrollment on chronic transfusion program
  • History of exercise-induced arrhythmia or syncope
  • Diagnosis of asthma, defined as physician diagnosis or use of daily asthma medications
  • Known exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, defined as physician diagnosis by exercise challenge test
  • History of any cardiac diagnosis precluding exercise testing, unless cleared by a cardiologist
  • Anything that would place the individual at increased risk or preclude the individual's full compliance with or completion of the study

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Subjects with SCAExercise Test (CIIT)Children and adolescents with SCA confirmed by hemoglobin analysis randomized to either moderate or vigorous intensity exercise test (CIIT)
Controls without SCAExercise Test (CIIT)Children and adolescents without SCA or sickle cell trait randomized to either moderate or vigorous intensity exercise test (CIIT)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Biomarker- VCAM-1Through study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule VCAM-1 in ng/mL

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Genomic studiesThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Gene and microRNA expression in mononuclear cells measured by fold change

Eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) spirometryThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 in % of normal predicted value) will be taken after EVH at 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes to assess exercise induced bronchoconstriction in a subset of participants.

Patient reported physical functioning - fatigueThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

NIH PROMIS questionnaire for fatigue using appropriate raw summed and T scores with higher scores indicating worse fatigue (pediatric - raw 0 to 40, T score 30.3 to 84; parent proxy - raw 0 to 40, T score 34 to 85; adult - raw 8 to 40, T score 33.1 to 77.8)

Biomarker - IL-6Through study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in interleukin-6 in pg/mL

Exercise spirometryThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 mesured in % of normal predicted value)

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) - deoxygenated hemoglobinThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) derived measurements (deoxygenated hemoglobin in the pre-frontal cortex and vastus lateralis muscle) in %

Asthma risk screening - FeNO measurementThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in ppb)

Biomarker - ICAM-1Through study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in ng/mL

Biomarker - L-selectinThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in L-selectin in ng/mL

Biomarker - E-selectinThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in E-selectin in ng/mL

Biomarker - P-selectinThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in P-selectin in ng/mL

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) - oxygenated hemoglobinThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) derived measurements (oxygenated hemoglobin in the pre-frontal cortex and vastus lateralis muscle) in %

Biomarker - PECAM-1Through study completion, approximately 2 years

Change in platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 in ng/mL

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) - total oxygen saturationThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) derived measurements (total oxygen saturation (StO2) in the pre-frontal cortex and vastus lateralis muscle) in %

Asthma risk screening - ISAAC questionnaireThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) screening questionnaire for rhinitis and eczema based on yes/no responses and point system to determine severity of condition (e.g. for rhinitis, 0 to 3 points (most severe); for eczema, 0 to 4 points (most severe)).

Asthma risk screening - Urinary LeukotrienesThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Urine leukotriene (LTE4) in pg/mg)

Patient reported physical functioning - mobilityThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

NIH PROMIS questionnaire for mobility using appropriate raw summed, scale or T scores with higher scores indicating better mobility (pediatric - raw 0 to 32, T-score 15.2 to 58.5; adult - raw 8 to 40, T-score 20.9 to 59.7; parent proxy - raw 0 to 32, scale 14 to 56)

Adverse eventsThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

Safety outcomes including number of cardiopulmonary complications, vaso-occlusive pain or other adverse events related to exercise and EVH reported as incidence (number and %).

Patient reported physical activity levelThrough study completion, approximately 2 years

NHANES physical activity questionnaire for frequency of moderate versus vigorous physical activity in number of days in typical week (range 0 to 7 days with higher number indicating more days spent in moderate or vigorous activity) and time spent in typical day (0 to \> 2 hours with higher number indicating more hours spent in moderate or vigorous activity)

Trial Locations

Locations (3)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

🇺🇸

Memphis, Tennessee, United States

University of Illinois at Chicago

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

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