The purpose of this study is to determine whether a treatment with 3 months of bosentan associated to standard therapy might be superior to glucocorticoids alone in term of failure free survival at 12 months
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in individuals over the age of 50. It is characterized by inflammation of large vessels, including the aorta and its main branches. Patients experience headaches, scalp tenderness, joint pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, and fever. More rarely, unilateral or bilateral visual acuity is impaired. At the biological level, an increase in inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), is observed. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are the cornerstone of GCA treatment and are usually administered for 12 to 18 months to prevent relapse, sometimes longer. However, most patients develop significant adverse effects associated with GCs, including hypertension, arterial disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and infections. As a result, various strategies targeting the inflammatory process have been developed to reduce GC use. For example, methotrexate has been shown to be a modestly effective GC-sparing treatment. A 12-month course of tocilizumab (TCZ), an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist, has also been shown to induce and maintain remission of GCA, with a significant GC-sparing effect. However, only 45% of patients remained in long-term remission after discontinuing tocilizumab. In patients with GCA, in addition to lymphocyte (white blood cell) activation, the investigator observed increased proliferative properties of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), obtained from temporal artery biopsies at the time of diagnosis. This proliferation and migration of VSMCs are promoted by endothelin-1 (ET-1), a molecule expressed in the walls of diseased arteries. Thus, ET-1 contributes to vessel lumen narrowing and complete obstruction. It was found that plasma ET-1 concentrations were higher in patients with visual ischemic complications. Additionally, an association was found between endothelin expression in temporal artery biopsies at baseline and therapeutic response at month six. Bosentan has been marketed since 2002 for the management of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. This vasodilating drug is an endothelin (ET-1) receptor antagonist. The investigator hypothesize that a 3-month course of treatment with bosentan, an endothelin receptor antagonist, combined with standard therapy, could be more effective than glucocorticoids (GCs) alone, reducing the risk of relapse and the current adverse effects, thereby improving relapse-free survival at 12 months.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
40
Bosentan : 62.5 mg twice a day for 4 weeks and 125 mg twice a day during 9 weeks (treatment length 3 months)
prespecified GC tapering schedule
Unité de Recherche Clinique, Entrepôts de données et Pharmacologie GHU Paris Centre
Paris, France
Failure free survival at Week 52
A failure is defined by the occurrence of a relapse or the impossibility to decrease Glucocorticoids according to the predefined scheduled Glucocorticoids scheme.
Time frame: 12 months ( Week 52)
Proportion of new ischemic event
Time frame: 12 months (Week 52)
Proportion of patients in remission without prednisone
Proportion of patients in remission without prednisone
Time frame: 12 months (Week 52)
Proportion of patients in remission with prednisone ≤5 mg/day
Time frame: 12 months (Week 52)
Cumulative dose of prednisone
Time frame: 12 months (Week 52)
Proportion of patient in remission
Proportion of patient in remission
Time frame: 2 years
Proportion of patients relapsing
Proportion of patients relapsing
Time frame: year 1 to year 2
Proportion of patients receiving Glucocorticoids
Time frame: 2 years
Quality of life measured by the "Health Assessment Questionnaire" (HAQ)
HAQ (Health Assessment Questionnaire) is a functional disability tool specific to rheumatoid arthritis. The assessment covers the past week and 8 domains of physical activity. For each area of activity, 2 to 3 items are described. Each item can be modified with aids. Only items with a specified response or aid are taken into account. Scores range from 0 (no impact) to 3 (maximum impact).
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Time frame: at Week 26 and Week 52
Quality of life measured by the "Short Form 36 Questionnaire" (SF36)
To score the SF-36, scales are standardized with a scoring algorithm or by the SF-36 (v2) scoring software to obtain a score ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate better health status, and a mean score of 50 has been articulated as a normative value for all scales
Time frame: at Week 26 and Week 52
Frequency and type of side effects
Frequency and type of side effects
Time frame: within 1 year after inclusion
Exploratory criteria
Compare the remodeling cytokines (pentraxin 3, osteoprotegerin, osteopontin, osteocalcin, thrombomodulin, HGF, endothelin, IL-6, TGF-β MMP-3)
Time frame: At the beginning of the study and in both groups at Week 13 and Week 52