Symptoms and General Pathology

All Conditions

Necrosis

All Drugs and Chemicals

Reproductive Control Agents

Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Antirheumatic Agents

Analgesics

Gastrointestinal Agents

Glucocorticoids

Mifepristone

Etanercept

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal

Analgesics, Non-Narcotic

Immunosuppressive Agents

Immunologic Factors

Contraceptive Agents

Contraceptives, Oral

Contraceptive Agents, Female

Contraceptives, Postcoital

Hormones

Hormone Antagonists

Contraceptive Agents, Hormonal

All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 1 will receive one week of mifepristone at 300 mg daily.

All participants will receive etanercept 50 mg weekly for 12 weeks. After completion of the etanercept course, participants will be randomized between two Arms of mifepristone. Participants randomized to Arm 2 will receive one week of mifepristone at 600 mg (2x300 mg) daily.

Amanpreet Cheema, PhD

Nancy Klimas, MD

Gulf War Illness is a condition that affects multiple major organ systems, resulting in a diverse array of symptoms that include debilitating fatigue, memory and cognition difficulties, headaches, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, and musculoskeletal/joint pain. This phase I single-site, open-label two-arm study will assess the safety and mechanistic efficacy of a sequential etanercept-mifepristone intervention for Gulf War Illness. The results of this phase I study will be compared to those from an existing short-duration study to identify the optimal duration and dosage for use in a future phase II study.

This is a study in male Veterans 45-70 years of age who meet the modified Kansas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for GWI (Gulf War Illness) and have high physiologic stress. This phase I single-site, open-label, two-arm study will focus on optimizing the dosage of a sequential etanercept-mifepristone intervention for GWI. Twenty participants will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 13, 16 and 24 weeks. The investigators will use systems biology methods to perform computational modelling of physiological responses to supervised maximal exercise challenge studies on a fitness bicycle at baseline and 24 weeks. These analyses will assess the impact of the treatment on homeostatic networks: the changes in levels of physiological parameters and the changes in inter-correlations among the measured parameters (e.g., cytokines), cross-sectionally and over time. Participants will also undergo subjective assessments of functional health, symptom severity, pain, fatigue, and cognition at baseline, 6, 12, 13, 16, and 24 weeks. Participants will be observed through the treatment period and for 3 months after completion to assess immediate effects and durability of the response.

The results of this phase I study will be compared to those from an existing short-duration study to identify the optimal duration and dosage for use in a future phase II study.

TNF and Glucocorticoid Antagonist for GWI Associated Multi-symptom Disease Homeostasis Reset

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and Glucocorticoid Antagonist for Gulf War Illness (GWI)-Associated Multi-symptom Disease Homeostasis Reset

The plan is to release primary results from the study to ClinicalTrials.gov. Data are the property of Nova Southeastern University, but data and publication thereof will not be unduly withheld. Those interested in E/M data should reach out to Nancy Klimas (PI) for more information.

Safety is assessed by the incidence and severity of adverse events, by relation to the study intervention.

Mechanistic effects on biomarker network dynamics are measured by the change in median summary score for network-level distance between the Gulf War Illness biomarker profile at rest and model-predicted stable (healthy) states. These summary scores have a minimum value of zero and reflect the overall difference between the multidimensional relationships of the immune, autonomic, and neuroendocrine systems of ill participants at rest, relative to predicted values for stable (healthy) states. The analysis will be completed using the results of physical measures and biomarker assays performed on blood draws taken at rest prior to exercise challenges at baseline and 16 weeks. These include a Gulf War Illness-specific nanostring gene expression platform, an 18-multiplex cytokine assay, flow cytometry, neuropeptide, sex and stress hormone panels, and physical autonomic measures. Decreases in summary scores between baseline and 24 weeks indicate a better outcome.

The degree of correction of the homeostatic network toward normal is measured by the median summary score for network-level differences in connectivity of biomarker networks at multiple times during dynamic exercise challenges. These summary scores have a minimum value of zero and reflect overall changes within the immune, autonomic, and neuroendocrine systems during exercise, relative to predicted values for stable (healthy) states. The analysis will use the results of physical measures and blood draws taken before, during, and after exercise challenges at baseline and 24 weeks. The biomarker assays and physical measures include a Gulf War Illness-specific nanostring gene expression platform, an 18-multiplex cytokine assay, flow cytometry, neuropeptide, sex and stress hormone panels, and physical autonomic measures at multiple times during each exercise challenge and 24 hours afterward. Decreases in summary scores between baseline and 16 weeks indicate a better outcome.

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