DNA Methylation in PMR
ConditionPolymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)
Trial statusNot yet recruiting
Trial phaseNot listed
Trial typeObservational
Biological sexAll
Age50-89
SponsorDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
About this trial
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) is treated with corticosteroids; however, long-term treatment is not feasible due to side effects. Withdrawal of corticosteroids causes a subset of patients to relapse, and there is no current way to understand what underlies this. Our research team has preliminary data from a small clinical study that indicates that different immune effector dynamics during the tapering of steroids correlate with relapse. This was achieved using the DNA methylation-specific immune cell profiling methods that Dr. Christensen has pioneered. What is proposed is a larger prospective study of 50 PMR patients to validate differences in CD4 and CD8 memory cells as a predictor of relapse. Finally, we also focus on the Glucocorticoid Methylation Index (GCMI), which is a collection of 28 CpG islands that are methylated in response to corticosteroids. This will allow our team to determine the predictive power of the GCMI for PMR.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
CRP: <1.0 mg/dL (some labs report in mg/L → normal is usually <3 mg/L)
Men ≥50 years: 0-20 mm/hr
Women ≥50 years: 0-30 mm/hr Have a PMR diagnosis Able to provide written consent
Disqualifiers
History of concomitant Giant cell arteritis (GCA) any other rheumatological disorders like lupus, arthritis (psoriatic, osteo), scleroderma, sjogrens Active malignancy- presence of tumor by imaging or labs Infection- infection can cause increased levels of innate immune cells making it difficult to differentiate between disease and infection recent surgery- within the past 6 months
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Not listed
Trial groups
50 Participants
are grouped into 2 trial groupsLocations
Sponsors and collaborators
Source ClinicalTrials.gov