Daclizumab to Treat Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia

Summary

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the drug daclizumab for treating patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a disease in which the immune system destroys platelets (blood cells involved in the clotting process). Patients with ITP have abnormal bruising and bleeding; severe disease can be life-threatening. For many patients, standard drug treatments are not effective, and many of the drugs used may have significant side effects with long-term use. Daclizumab is a genetically engineered antibody that suppresses the immune system and has been used primarily to prevent rejection in patients who have had organ transplants. Daclizumab has fewer side effects than other immune suppressant drugs. Patients with ITP 18 years of age or older who have platelet counts less than 30,000/microliter and have not responded to prednisone treatment may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, and blood tests. Participants will have a 15-minute infusion of daclizumab every 2 weeks for five doses. They will be seen by a physician at least once every 2 weeks while receiving the drug and then at weeks 12, 20, and 32 of the study. Blood will be drawn at the 4- and 8-week visits during treatment for diagnostic tests, and at each follow-up visit after treatment to assess the response to therapy. Patients who respond well to treatment will have their pre-study immunosuppressive medicines tapered gradually one at a time starting with the 1-month follow-up visit. If their platelet count falls to pre-treatment levels at any time during the tapering, the dose reduction will stop and pre-study medications will be re-started, if necessary.

Timeline

Start

2002-11

Primary completion

—

Completion

2004-12

Publications

• Background Berchtold P, Wenger M. Autoantibodies against platelet glycoproteins in autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura: their clinical significance and response to treatment. Blood. 1993 Mar 1;81(5):1246-50.
• Background He R, Reid DM, Jones CE, Shulman NR. Spectrum of Ig classes, specificities, and titers of serum antiglycoproteins in chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Blood. 1994 Feb 15;83(4):1024-32.
• Background Kiefel V, Freitag E, Kroll H, Santoso S, Mueller-Eckhardt C. Platelet autoantibodies (IgG, IgM, IgA) against glycoproteins IIb/IIIa and Ib/IX in patients with thrombocytopenia. Ann Hematol. 1996 Apr;72(4):280-5. doi: 10.1007/s002770050173.

Drugs

Indications