AzTrials
AzTrials

Crohn's DiseaseNCT00138879

Citrulline: A Plasmatic Marker to Assess and Monitor Small Bowel Crohn's Disease Patients

An observational study of Crohn's Disease and Short Bowel Syndrome, run by St Mark's Hospital Foundation at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Citrulline is an amino acid produced in the intestine and in the liver, but the liver does not contribute significantly to circulating citrulline concentrations. The intestine is thus the only organ that normally releases significant amounts of citrulline into the blood. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 80 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
How many people
54 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
May 2003to Jun 2005
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 80 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Crohn's disease (CD) with massive small bowel resection at least 24 months previously (< 50cm remaining)
  • Crohn's disease with small bowel resection at least 24 months previously (50-150cm remaining)
  • CD with no resection
  • Mesenteric infarction with massive resection > 24 months previously (< 50cm remaining)
  • Mesenteric infarction with massive resection > 24 months previously (50-150cm remaining); coeliac disease.
  • Healthy volunteers.
  • Body mass index within the normal range

Who cannot join

  • Patients with surgical resection of stomach, duodenum or pancreas; or upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bypass.
  • Oral feeding > 1.0-fold the estimated basal metabolic rate as assessed using Harris and Benedict equations.
  • Patients with fistulating Crohn's disease
  • Patients on steroids
  • Patients with other important disease, which may interfere with the study (especially diabetes and renal impairment). Alcoholism, drug abuse or any other circumstances, which may compromise the patient's ability to comply with the study requirements.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Corticosteroid use or octreotide during, or in, the month before the study.
  • Use of glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP2), growth hormone (GH) or glutamine or triglycerides.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • St Mark's Hospital

    London, Middlesex, HA1 3JX

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Plasma Citrulline Level: A Simple, Sensitive Method to Assess and Monitor Small Bowel Absorptive Function in Patients With Crohn's Disease?

Citrulline is an amino acid produced in the intestine and in the liver, but the liver does not contribute significantly to circulating citrulline concentrations. The intestine is thus the only organ that normally releases significant amounts of citrulline into the blood. The investigators have designed a study looking at the value of measuring plasma citrulline concentration in patients with Crohn's disease and short bowel or normal intestinal length. Measuring the plasma citrulline concentration in short bowel patients may help to distinguish between patients who need permanent parenteral feeding from patients with just transient intestinal dysfunction. It may also help the investigators in understanding the small bowel intestinal length remaining and the absorptive integrity. In patients with normal intestinal length and Crohn's disease, it may be a reliable marker of small bowel damage and could be applied to establish therapeutic improvements. It has been demonstrated to strongly correlate (inversely) with severity on intestinal biopsies.

The investigators hypothesise that the plasma citrulline concentration is a marker for small bowel absorptive integrity and an appropriate surrogate for functional length of the small intestine.

Controlled data do not yet exist to establish the place of plasma citrulline in the assessment of small bowel function in man.

Read the detailed description

Preliminary studies reported that plasma citrulline concentrations may be a reliable biochemical marker for intestinal dysfunction and absorptive enterocyte mass. The relationship between citrulline concentration and intestinal function has been supported in other studies including those examining rejection in small bowel allografts. Concentrations of citrulline are dramatically reduced in cases of mucosal damage (e.g. moderate graft rejection or viral enteritis) and strongly correlate (inversely) with severity on biopsy. Plasma citrulline concentration is lower also in patients with villous atrophy (24±13 μmol/L) than in healthy subjects (40±10 μmol/L) and patients with anorexia nervosa (39±9).

A citrulline threshold of 20 µmol/L apparently permitted the classification of short bowel syndrome patients into either transient or permanent intestinal failure categories, with 92% sensitivity, 90% specificity, and 95% positive and 86% negative predictive values, respectively. Experimental studies have been carried out also in assessing the value of citrulline as a marker for severity of small bowel epithelial damage from radiation. The plasma citrulline was shown to be a simple, non-invasive and sensitive assay to monitor and quantify radiation-induced small bowel damage in mice and humans. Otherwise, the literature on citrulline as a potential marker of intestinal and nutritional integrity is young and data for specific conditions come only from single centres; there are limited data on normal ranges. More crucially, however, there has been no attempt to clarify the effect of inflammation on citrulline homeostasis. To date there is no information in respect of patients with intestinal failure in whom there has been no resection.

We hypothesise that plasma citrulline concentration reflects small bowel absorptive capacity and correlates to the functional intestinal length independently from inflammation.

Comparisons: To exclude the possibility that citrulline merely reflects inflammation, control groups (six subjects each) with short bowel syndrome without inflammation (mesenteric infarct) (negative control); and those with inflammation but no anatomical loss (active coeliac disease) (positive controls); will be studied as well as healthy volunteers.

The study is designed to utilise patients from the positive and negative control groups to permit a correlation of plasma citrulline with intestinal length and with a "gold standard" assessment of intestinal function as judged from the patients need for nutritional intervention (from normal diet to dependence on home parenteral nutrition).

Plasma citrulline will be determined by Reverse-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RF-HPLC) after an overnight fast. Albumin and Routine biochemical assessment will also be performed. Gastrointestinal permeability will be determined from the double sugar test using rhamnose and lactulose, and functional absorptive capacity will be estimated by D-Xylose absorption rate.

Analysis will allow for paired comparison between patients and between groups. Differences in the clinical performance of the various parameters will be determined. The study has adequate statistical power.

Keywords
Citrulline, Parenteral Nutrition, functioning intestinal mass, small bowel permeability and absorption, Granulomatous Enteritis
Medical subject headings
Crohn Disease, Short Bowel Syndrome, Malabsorption Syndromes, Celiac Disease, Hyperphagia

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted30 Aug 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startMay 2003
  3. Study completionJun 2005

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
54 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00138879
Sponsor's protocol ID
EC3155
Status last verified
Aug 2005
First submitted
29 Aug 2005
Last updated
15 Dec 2005
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Blijlevens NM, Lutgens LC, Schattenberg AV, Donnelly JP. Citrulline: a potentially simple quantitative marker of intestinal epithelial damage following myeloablative therapy. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2004 Aug;34(3):193-6. doi: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1704563.

    PubMed 15170165
  • Lutgens LC, Deutz NE, Gueulette J, Cleutjens JP, Berger MP, Wouters BG, von Meyenfeldt MF, Lambin P. Citrulline: a physiologic marker enabling quantitation and monitoring of epithelial radiation-induced small bowel damage. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2003 Nov 15;57(4):1067-74. doi: 10.1016/s0360-3016(03)00781-8.

    PubMed 14575838
  • Pappas PA, Tzakis AG, Saudubray JM, Gaynor JJ, Carreno MR, Huijing F, Kleiner G, Rabier D, Kato T, Levi DM, Nishida S, Gelman B, Thompson JF, Mittal N, Ruiz P. Trends in serum citrulline and acute rejection among recipients of small bowel transplants. Transplant Proc. 2004 Mar;36(2):345-7. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2003.12.007.

    PubMed 15050154
  • Selvaggi G, Weppler D, Tzakis A. Liver and gastrointestinal transplantation at the University of Miami. Clin Transpl. 2003:255-66.

    PubMed 15387117
  • Pappas PA, G Tzakis A, Gaynor JJ, Carreno MR, Ruiz P, Huijing F, Kleiner G, Rabier D, Kato T, Levi DM, Nishida S, Gelman B, Thompson JF, Mittal N, Saudubray JM. An analysis of the association between serum citrulline and acute rejection among 26 recipients of intestinal transplant. Am J Transplant. 2004 Jul;4(7):1124-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2004.00469.x.

    PubMed 15196071
  • Pappas PA, Saudubray JM, Tzakis AG, Rabier D, Carreno MR, Gomez-Marin O, Huijing F, Gelman B, Levi DM, Nery JR, Kato T, Mittal N, Nishida S, Thompson JF, Ruiz P. Serum citrulline as a marker of acute cellular rejection for intestinal transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2002 May;34(3):915-7. doi: 10.1016/s0041-1345(02)02668-4. No abstract available.

    PubMed 12034237
  • Crenn P, Vahedi K, Lavergne-Slove A, Cynober L, Matuchansky C, Messing B. Plasma citrulline: A marker of enterocyte mass in villous atrophy-associated small bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2003 May;124(5):1210-9. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5085(03)00170-7.

    PubMed 12730862
  • Crenn P, Coudray-Lucas C, Thuillier F, Cynober L, Messing B. Postabsorptive plasma citrulline concentration is a marker of absorptive enterocyte mass and intestinal failure in humans. Gastroenterology. 2000 Dec;119(6):1496-505. doi: 10.1053/gast.2000.20227.

    PubMed 11113071
  • Windmueller HG, Spaeth AE. Source and fate of circulating citrulline. Am J Physiol. 1981 Dec;241(6):E473-80. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1981.241.6.E473.

    PubMed 7325229
  • Nightingale JM, Bartram CI, Lennard-Jones JE. Length of residual small bowel after partial resection: correlation between radiographic and surgical measurements. Gastrointest Radiol. 1991 Fall;16(4):305-6. doi: 10.1007/BF01887374.

    PubMed 1936771
  • D'Antiga L, Dhawan A, Davenport M, Mieli-Vergani G, Bjarnason I. Intestinal absorption and permeability in paediatric short-bowel syndrome: a pilot study. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1999 Nov;29(5):588-93. doi: 10.1097/00005176-199911000-00021.

    PubMed 10554128
  • Detsky AS, McLaughlin JR, Baker JP, Johnston N, Whittaker S, Mendelson RA, Jeejeebhoy KN. What is subjective global assessment of nutritional status? JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1987 Jan-Feb;11(1):8-13. doi: 10.1177/014860718701100108.

    PubMed 3820522
  • Zhang WZ, Kaye DM. Simultaneous determination of arginine and seven metabolites in plasma by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with a time-controlled ortho-phthaldialdehyde precolumn derivatization. Anal Biochem. 2004 Mar 1;326(1):87-92. doi: 10.1016/j.ab.2003.11.006.

    PubMed 14769339
  • Sherwood RA. Amino acid measurement by high-performance liquid chromatography using electrochemical detection. J Neurosci Methods. 1990 Sep;34(1-3):17-22. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(90)90037-g.

    PubMed 2259239
  • Sherwood RA, Titheradge AC, Richards DA. Measurement of plasma and urine amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection using phenylisothiocyanate derivatization. J Chromatogr. 1990 Jun 29;528(2):293-303. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(00)82388-9.

    PubMed 2384569

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Crohn's Disease and Short Bowel Syndrome, run by St Mark's Hospital Foundation at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Dec 2005. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00138879, which also lists 15 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Dec 2005.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in