Low Dose Naltrexone for Chronic Pain From Arthritis
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Arthritis, Osteoarthritis (OA), Psoriasis, Rheumatoid Arthritis |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Dermatology / Plastic Surgery, Rheumatology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | Any |
| Updated: | 3/24/2019 |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2019 |
| Contact: | Paul A Monach, MD PhD |
| Email: | Paul.Monach@va.gov |
| Phone: | (857) 364-6662 |
Low Dose Naltrexone for Chronic Pain in Osteoarthritis and Inflammatory Arthritis
Over 100 million Americans report chronic pain. Veterans are disproportionately affected for
multiple reasons, including injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment for
chronic pain is a priority research area for the VA. One of the most common causes of chronic
pain is osteoarthritis (OA). OA is attributable to "wear and tear," but reasons for pain are
complex. Inflammatory arthritis (IA) includes multiple severe diseases that affect 2-3% of
persons and require treatment with immune-suppressive drugs to prevent joint destruction.
Pain often persists despite effective treatment. Pain in arthritis results from multiple
sources: inflammation, perception of pain in the joint, and interpretation of pain by the
brain. Unfortunately, management of pain in arthritis remains a challenge. Low dose
naltrexone is a widely used but unproven "alternative" approach to chronic pain. It is
attractive for study because it is safe and is proposed to work on all three pathways that
contribute to pain. A small but high-quality clinical trial is needed to determine whether to
invest in definitive studies.
multiple reasons, including injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment for
chronic pain is a priority research area for the VA. One of the most common causes of chronic
pain is osteoarthritis (OA). OA is attributable to "wear and tear," but reasons for pain are
complex. Inflammatory arthritis (IA) includes multiple severe diseases that affect 2-3% of
persons and require treatment with immune-suppressive drugs to prevent joint destruction.
Pain often persists despite effective treatment. Pain in arthritis results from multiple
sources: inflammation, perception of pain in the joint, and interpretation of pain by the
brain. Unfortunately, management of pain in arthritis remains a challenge. Low dose
naltrexone is a widely used but unproven "alternative" approach to chronic pain. It is
attractive for study because it is safe and is proposed to work on all three pathways that
contribute to pain. A small but high-quality clinical trial is needed to determine whether to
invest in definitive studies.
Chronic pain affects over 100 million Americans, and arthritis is the most common cause.
Existing treatments for chronic arthritic pain are only mildly effective, and risks of
medications used to treat pain are numerous and continue to be discovered. Treatment of
chronic is a high priority research area for VA CSR&D.
Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that is FDA approved in an oral daily dose of 50 mg to
prevent recidivism in alcoholics. At much lower doses of 4 - 4.5 mg daily, however, it has
been shown in small, blinded, randomized trials to improve pain in fibromyalgia,
gastrointestinal symptoms in Crohn's disease, and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. The
only other published data are case reports in complex regional pain syndrome, low back pain,
and scleroderma. However, advocacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) by internet-based MDs and
patients is high, and since LDN can be prescribed off-label, its use greatly exceeds what is
justified by evidence. The drug can be prescribed only via compounding pharmacies, so its use
costs a patient ~$40/month.
Among the many unproven treatments that are widely used, LDN is of particular interest
because results of surveys of patients are particularly impressive, because it is quite safe,
and because its benefit is plausible pharmacologically. There is evidence both for modulation
of central pain-processing pathways and for down-regulation of inflammatory pathways in
microglia. Considering the diversity of conditions proposed to benefit from LDN and the
unequivocal need for better approaches to pain relief in chronic conditions, high-quality
clinical trials are needed in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions. This small
but placebo-controlled study, powered to detect an effect size as small as that seen with
NSAIDs or the most beneficial non-pharmacologic approaches, is proposed as a prerequisite for
considering a pivotal trial through the VA Cooperative Studies Program.
The proposed study is a randomized, double-blinded, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial in
adults with osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis and persistent pain. Sixty patients will
be enrolled for 16 weeks, during which they will receive LDN for 8 weeks and placebo for 8
weeks. Widely accepted patient-reported outcome measures will be used. The co-primary
endpoints are reduction in pain severity or pain's interference with function during 8 weeks
of LDN compared to 8 weeks placebo, using the Brief Pain Inventory. Other patient-reported
data will be used both as secondary outcomes and as covariates in analyzing determinants of
response to treatment.
Existing treatments for chronic arthritic pain are only mildly effective, and risks of
medications used to treat pain are numerous and continue to be discovered. Treatment of
chronic is a high priority research area for VA CSR&D.
Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that is FDA approved in an oral daily dose of 50 mg to
prevent recidivism in alcoholics. At much lower doses of 4 - 4.5 mg daily, however, it has
been shown in small, blinded, randomized trials to improve pain in fibromyalgia,
gastrointestinal symptoms in Crohn's disease, and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. The
only other published data are case reports in complex regional pain syndrome, low back pain,
and scleroderma. However, advocacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) by internet-based MDs and
patients is high, and since LDN can be prescribed off-label, its use greatly exceeds what is
justified by evidence. The drug can be prescribed only via compounding pharmacies, so its use
costs a patient ~$40/month.
Among the many unproven treatments that are widely used, LDN is of particular interest
because results of surveys of patients are particularly impressive, because it is quite safe,
and because its benefit is plausible pharmacologically. There is evidence both for modulation
of central pain-processing pathways and for down-regulation of inflammatory pathways in
microglia. Considering the diversity of conditions proposed to benefit from LDN and the
unequivocal need for better approaches to pain relief in chronic conditions, high-quality
clinical trials are needed in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions. This small
but placebo-controlled study, powered to detect an effect size as small as that seen with
NSAIDs or the most beneficial non-pharmacologic approaches, is proposed as a prerequisite for
considering a pivotal trial through the VA Cooperative Studies Program.
The proposed study is a randomized, double-blinded, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial in
adults with osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis and persistent pain. Sixty patients will
be enrolled for 16 weeks, during which they will receive LDN for 8 weeks and placebo for 8
weeks. Widely accepted patient-reported outcome measures will be used. The co-primary
endpoints are reduction in pain severity or pain's interference with function during 8 weeks
of LDN compared to 8 weeks placebo, using the Brief Pain Inventory. Other patient-reported
data will be used both as secondary outcomes and as covariates in analyzing determinants of
response to treatment.
Inclusion Criteria:
Patients must meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible for enrollment:
- Veteran or otherwise eligible for VA benefits, able to travel to VA Boston
- One or more of the following chronic conditions:
- osteoarthritis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- non-axial spondyloarthritis
- Average daily pain interference with function (average of the 7 parts of question 9 on
the Brief Pain Inventory) rated at least 4 on a scale of 0-10, and no higher than 9
- No change in medication in the past 8 weeks made with the expectation of improving
pain
- No plan to start another medication or a non-pharmacologic treatment regimen likely to
affect pain during the next 16 weeks
- Age at least 18
- Registered for medical care in the VA Boston Healthcare System
- Capable of informed consent, and willingness to comply with study procedures,
including receipt of weekly phone calls from the study coordinator
Exclusion Criteria:
Any of the following requires exclusion from participation:
- Current use of opioids including tramadol
- Pregnant, breast feeding, or unwilling to engage in contraceptive practices if
sexually active and capable of conceiving
- Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or poorly controlled depression or anxiety
- Previous use of low-dose naltrexone
- Back pain described by the patient as greater in severity than arthritic pain in a
non-axial location
- Significant kidney disease, defined as glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min
- Liver cirrhosis. There is no specific screening procedure to exclude cirrhosis.
- Painful peripheral neuropathy. There is no specific screening procedure.
- Plan to have surgery during the next 16 weeks
- Inconsistency in self-reporting at the screening visit. BPI, PainDETECT, WOMAC, and
PROMIS-29 all contain 0-10 scales of average pain intensity, although the times listed
vary from 1-4 weeks. The severity reported on these three scales cannot differ by more
than 1.
- Other qualitative circumstances that the investigator feels would make the patient a
poor candidate for this clinical trial, such as an unstable social situation or
unreliable transportation
We found this trial at
1
site
Boston, Massachusetts 02130
Principal Investigator: Paul A. Monach, MD PhD
Phone: 857-364-6662
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