4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of the study is to determine in vitro effects on mitochondrial function of selected chemical agents in human cells, and assess the capability of a cell-permeable succinate prodrug to attenuate toxic effects The project aims at repurposing this recent pharmaceutical discovery, currently being developed for treatment of toxic exposure, for an expanded indication to treat chemically induced mitochondrial toxicity.
The goal of this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial is to test the effect of 12 weeks of orally administered MitoQ (mitoquinol mesylate) supplementation on cognition in 50 people with early phase schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (E-SSD) who have mitochondrial dysfunction (called high risk, or HR). Cognitive impairments in SSD can cause significant disability. Yet, there are no effective treatments for cognitive impairments in SSD. It has been shown that alterations in a certain type of brain cell (parvalbumin interneurons, or PVI) underlie cognitive deficits in SSD. These PVI, which fire at a fast rate, utilize high amounts of energy from the mitochondria and are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress. MitoQ is an antioxidant. Research has shown that, in mice, MitoQ can reduce oxidative stress in the mitochondria. The main question that this clinical trial aims to answer is: • Does MitoQ supplementation, compared to placebo, improve cognition in HR patients? Secondary questions that this clinical trial aims to answer are the following: Does MitoQ supplementation, compared to placebo: * Improve positive and negative symptoms of SSD in HR patients? * Improve functioning in HR patients? * Improve/normalize blood markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in HR patients? The investigators will enroll 100 individuals with E-SSD. These enrolled participants will participate in an initial screening visit to determine if they qualify for the actual clinical trial. At the screening visit, the investigators will ask about psychiatric history to determine diagnosis; ask about medical history; do a physical exam; collect blood and urine samples; do a pregnancy test; and ask participants to bring in their current medications in their original packaging so it is known what they are taking. After the screening visit, the investigators will invite 50 HR patients (identified with a blood test) to continue with the clinical trial. Participants who qualify for the clinical trial will be asked to: * Take a supplement (MitoQ or placebo) once per day for 12 weeks in addition to their usual medications. * Come in for a study visit every 4 weeks over the 16-week study period. At these study visits, the investigators will do a physical exam; ask about symptoms and side effects; take blood and urine samples; and ask questions about general health and well-being, quality of life, mental health, emotional health, and mood. At visits 1 (baseline) and 4 (12 weeks), participants will also take a cognitive assessment.
While preliminary data show that oral nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation increases myocardial levels of oxidized nicotine-adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels in mice, there has been no direct evidence that suggests oral NR increases NAD+ levels or improves mitochondrial function in human hearts. This Pilot Study is designed to obtain feasibility data for a planned, larger study testing the hypothesis that oral NR supplementation will increase myocardial NAD+ levels and improve cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function in participants with advanced heart failure planned for elective left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. To demonstrate safety and feasibility of NR in this patient population, the investigators propose to enroll 5 participants planned for LVAD implantation in a Pilot Study of NR in which participants will receive NR, up-titrated over 3 days to a final NR dose of 1000mg twice daily. Blood and myocardial tissue analyses collected previously from age- and gender-matched LVAD recipients will serve as controls.
Increased comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), are emerging problems in HIV infection but the mechanisms are unclear. Understanding how antiretrovirals can minimize morbidity in treated HIV infection is a research priority. Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are included in all HIV treatment regimens. Tenofovir (TFV) disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been associated with an increased risk of nephrotoxicity and bone disease compared with other NRTIs. Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is an oral prodrug of TFV, but is more stable in plasma as compared with TDF and lower plasma levels of TFV are thought to lead to the favorable safety profile of TAF. Mitochondrial dysfunction has a key role in HIV pathogenesis and may be the common denominator that drives pathogenesis of several comorbidities. Despite the better safety profile of newer (such as TDF) compared to older NRTIs, there are concerns for the potential for longer term toxicity of NRTIs since the exact cellular effects of NRTIs remain unclear. It is unknown whether a four-fold increase in intracellular drug levels seen in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with TAF may increase toxicity in mitochondria. Better understanding of these effects could provide insights into mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis and selection of NRTIs that improve morbidity in chronic HIV infection. Hypothesis: Despite higher intracellular levels, TAF has minimal mitochondrial toxicity compared to TDF in vivo. This research will explore the relative mitochondrial toxicity of newer NRTIs (TAF, TDF) as a possible mechanism for differential NTRI-related toxicities. These data will allow selection of NRTIs that may improve morbidity in chronic treated HIV infection. Towards this aim, the investigators will use a robust experimental approach to study NRTI-related mitochondrial dysfunction using novel methods, human cell lines and PBMC. Our specific aims are: Aim 1: To evaluate the relative in vitro effects of TAF and TDF compared to an older NRTI (ddC) on 5 independent measures of mitochondrial function in the human cell line HepG2 and PBMC. Aim 2: To explore in vivo whether there is increased mitochondrial dysfunction with the use of TAF vs. TDF in chronic treated HIV infection. The investigators anticipate that the proposed experimental approach will set the basis for future large scale studies to directly compare subtle potential mitochondrial toxicities of newer NRTIs in large HIV cohorts.