drugset / Trial / NCT03775460
Methotrexate and Prednisolone Study in Erythema Nodosum Leprosum
Active not recruiting
550 enrolled
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Alert Hospital, Ethiopia · collabBombay Leprosy Project, India · collabDr. Soetomo General Hospital · collabLeprosy Research Initiative · collabOswaldo Cruz Foundation · collabThe Leprosy Mission Bangladesh · collabThe Leprosy Mission Nepal · collabThe Leprosy Mission Trust, India · collab
RandomizedParallel-groupQuadruple-blindTreatment
Summary
Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) is a painful, debilitating complication of leprosy. Patients often require high doses of corticosteroids for prolonged periods. Thalidomide is expensive and not available in most countries. The use of corticosteroids for long periods is associated with adverse effects and mortality. It is a priority to identify alternative agents to treat ENL. Methotrexate (MTX) is a cheap, widely used medication which has been reported to be effective in ENL resistant to steroids and thalidomide.
Timeline
- Start
- 2023-01-15
- Primary completion
- 2025-09-01
- Completion
- 2025-10-01
Publications
- Background Lambert SM, Nigusse SD, Alembo DT, Walker SL, Nicholls PG, Idriss MH, Yamuah LK, Lockwood DN. Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Ciclosporin to Prednisolone in the Treatment of Erythema Nodosum Leprosum: Two Randomised, Double Blind, Controlled Pilot Studies in Ethiopia. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Feb 26;10(2):e0004149. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004149. eCollection 2016 Feb.
- Background Pocaterra L, Jain S, Reddy R, Muzaffarullah S, Torres O, Suneetha S, Lockwood DN. Clinical course of erythema nodosum leprosum: an 11-year cohort study in Hyderabad, India. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2006 May;74(5):868-79.
- Background Kumar B, Dogra S, Kaur I. Epidemiological characteristics of leprosy reactions: 15 years experience from north India. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 2004 Jun;72(2):125-33. doi: 10.1489/1544-581X(2004)0722.0.CO;2.
- Background Chandler DJ, Hansen KS, Mahato B, Darlong J, John A, Lockwood DN. Household costs of leprosy reactions (ENL) in rural India. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 Jan 15;9(1):e0003431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003431. eCollection 2015 Jan.
- Background Walker SL, Lebas E, Doni SN, Lockwood DN, Lambert SM. The mortality associated with erythema nodosum leprosum in Ethiopia: a retrospective hospital-based study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2014 Mar 13;8(3):e2690. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002690. eCollection 2014 Mar.
- Background Walker SL, Waters MF, Lockwood DN. The role of thalidomide in the management of erythema nodosum leprosum. Lepr Rev. 2007 Sep;78(3):197-215.
- Background Walker SL, Sales AM, Butlin CR, Shah M, Maghanoy A, Lambert SM, Darlong J, Rozario BJ, Pai VV, Balagon M, Doni SN, Hagge DA, Nery JAC, Neupane KD, Baral S, Sangma BA, Alembo DT, Yetaye AM, Hassan BA, Shelemo MB, Nicholls PG, Lockwood DNJ; Erythema Nodosum Leprosum International STudy Group. A leprosy clinical severity scale for erythema nodosum leprosum: An international, multicentre validation study of the ENLIST ENL Severity Scale. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Jul 3;11(7):e0005716. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005716. eCollection 2017 Jul.
- Background Wemambu SN, Turk JL, Waters MF, Rees RJ. Erythema nodosum leprosum: a clinical manifestation of the arthus phenomenon. Lancet. 1969 Nov 1;2(7627):933-5. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(69)90592-3. No abstract available.
- Background Moraes MO, Sarno EN, Almeida AS, Saraiva BC, Nery JA, Martins RC, Sampaio EP. Cytokine mRNA expression in leprosy: a possible role for interferon-gamma and interleukin-12 in reactions (RR and ENL). Scand J Immunol. 1999 Nov;50(5):541-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1999.00622.x.
- Background Kahawita IP, Lockwood DN. Towards understanding the pathology of erythema nodosum leprosum. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Apr;102(4):329-37. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.01.004. Epub 2008 Mar 3.
- Background Narayanan RB, Laal S, Sharma AK, Bhutani LK, Nath I. Differences in predominant T cell phenotypes and distribution pattern in reactional lesions of tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy. Clin Exp Immunol. 1984 Mar;55(3):623-8.
- Background Sarno EN, Grau GE, Vieira LM, Nery JA. Serum levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta during leprosy reactional states. Clin Exp Immunol. 1991 Apr;84(1):103-8.
- Background Barnes PF, Chatterjee D, Brennan PJ, Rea TH, Modlin RL. Tumor necrosis factor production in patients with leprosy. Infect Immun. 1992 Apr;60(4):1441-6. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.4.1441-1446.1992.
- Background Polycarpou A, Walker SL, Lockwood DN. A Systematic Review of Immunological Studies of Erythema Nodosum Leprosum. Front Immunol. 2017 Mar 13;8:233. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00233. eCollection 2017.
- Background Hossain D. Using methotrexate to treat patients with ENL unresponsive to steroids and clofazimine: a report on 9 patients. Lepr Rev. 2013 Mar;84(1):105-12.
- Background Kar BR, Babu R. Methotrexate in resistant ENL. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 2004 Dec;72(4):480-2. doi: 10.1489/1544-581X(2004)722.0.CO;2.
- Background Rahul N, Sanjay KS, Singh S. Effectiveness of Methotrexate in prednisolone and thalidomide resistant cases of Type 2 lepra reaction: report on three cases. Lepr Rev. 2015 Dec;86(4):379-82. No abstract available.
- Background Sousa AL, Fava VM, Sampaio LH, Martelli CM, Costa MB, Mira MT, Stefani MM. Genetic and immunological evidence implicates interleukin 6 as a susceptibility gene for leprosy type 2 reaction. J Infect Dis. 2012 May 1;205(9):1417-24. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jis208. Epub 2012 Mar 29.
- Background Shannon E, Noveck R, Sandoval F, Kamath B, Kearney M. Thalidomide suppressed interleukin-6 but not tumor necrosis factor-alpha in volunteers with experimental endotoxemia. Transl Res. 2007 Nov;150(5):275-80. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2007.05.003. Epub 2007 Jun 26.
- Background Rajappa M, Rathika S, Munisamy M, Chandrashekar L, Thappa DM. Effect of treatment with methotrexate and coal tar on adipokine levels and indices of insulin resistance and sensitivity in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015 Jan;29(1):69-76. doi: 10.1111/jdv.12451. Epub 2014 Mar 25.
- Background Martiniuk F, Giovinazzo J, Tan AU, Shahidullah R, Haslett P, Kaplan G, Levis WR. Lessons of leprosy: the emergence of TH17 cytokines during type II reactions (ENL) is teaching us about T-cell plasticity. J Drugs Dermatol. 2012 May;11(5):626-30.
- Background Li Y, Jiang L, Zhang S, Yin L, Ma L, He D, Shen J. Methotrexate attenuates the Th17/IL-17 levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals and RA patients. Rheumatol Int. 2012 Aug;32(8):2415-22. doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-1867-1. Epub 2011 Jun 21.
- Background Reinhold-Keller E, de Groot K. Use of methotrexate in ANCA-associated vasculitides. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2010 Sep-Oct;28(5 Suppl 61):S178-82. Epub 2010 Oct 28.
- Background Marzano AV, Ishak RS, Saibeni S, Crosti C, Meroni PL, Cugno M. Autoinflammatory skin disorders in inflammatory bowel diseases, pyoderma gangrenosum and Sweet's syndrome: a comprehensive review and disease classification criteria. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2013 Oct;45(2):202-10. doi: 10.1007/s12016-012-8351-x.
- Background Davatchi F, Shams H, Shahram F, Nadji A, Chams-Davatchi C, Sadeghi Abdollahi B, Faezi T, Akhlaghi M, Ashofteh F. Methotrexate in ocular manifestations of Behcet's disease: a longitudinal study up to 15 years. Int J Rheum Dis. 2013 Oct;16(5):568-77. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12139. Epub 2013 Jul 4.
- Background Warren RB, Griffiths CE. The potential of pharmacogenetics in optimizing the use of methotrexate for psoriasis. Br J Dermatol. 2005 Nov;153(5):869-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2005.06880.x.
- Background Warren RB, Griffiths CE. Systemic therapies for psoriasis: methotrexate, retinoids, and cyclosporine. Clin Dermatol. 2008 Sep-Oct;26(5):438-47. doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.11.006.
- Background Dalrymple JM, Stamp LK, O'Donnell JL, Chapman PT, Zhang M, Barclay ML. Pharmacokinetics of oral methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Nov;58(11):3299-308. doi: 10.1002/art.24034.
- Background Kaur I, Dogra S, Narang T, De D. Comparative efficacy of thalidomide and prednisolone in the treatment of moderate to severe erythema nodosum leprosum: a randomized study. Australas J Dermatol. 2009 Aug;50(3):181-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-0960.2009.00534.x.
- Background Warren RB, Weatherhead SC, Smith CH, Exton LS, Mohd Mustapa MF, Kirby B, Yesudian PD. British Association of Dermatologists' guidelines for the safe and effective prescribing of methotrexate for skin disease 2016. Br J Dermatol. 2016 Jul;175(1):23-44. doi: 10.1111/bjd.14816. No abstract available.
- Background World Health Organization. WHO Expert Committee on Leprosy. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2012;(968):1-61, 1 p following 61.
- Background Warren RB, Mrowietz U, von Kiedrowski R, Niesmann J, Wilsmann-Theis D, Ghoreschi K, Zschocke I, Falk TM, Blodorn-Schlicht N, Reich K. An intensified dosing schedule of subcutaneous methotrexate in patients with moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis (METOP): a 52 week, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2017 Feb 4;389(10068):528-537. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32127-4. Epub 2016 Dec 22.
- Background Reich K, Langley RG, Papp KA, Ortonne JP, Unnebrink K, Kaul M, Valdes JM. A 52-week trial comparing briakinumab with methotrexate in patients with psoriasis. N Engl J Med. 2011 Oct 27;365(17):1586-96. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1010858.
- Gayoso Cantero D, Fernandez-Gonzalez P, Chamorro-Tojeiro S, Quereda C, Tato M, Berna-Rico E, Naharro-Rodriguez J, Perez-Molina JA. Clinical, therapeutic, and stigma-related challenges in leprosy and the emerging role of apremilast in managing leprosy reactions. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2025 Nov-Dec;68:102918. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2025.102918. Epub 2025 Oct 13.
Drugs
| Evaluation | Drug | Modality | Dose | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Methotrexate | Small molecule | 15 mg | Oral |
| Subject | Methotrexate | Small molecule | 20 mg | Oral |
| Background | Prednisolone | Other / unclassified | 40 mg | — |