Pemafibrate for Symptomatic ICAS RCT

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether pemafibrate can help prevent worsening of intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) in patients who have symptomatic ICAS and high triglycerides (TG) levels after ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Does pemafibrate lower the chance that ICAS gets worse over 12 months? 2. Does pemafibrate improve TG levels and other vascular risk markers? 3. What are the effects of pemafibrate on vascular events, functional outcomes, and safety over 12 months? Researchers will compare a pemafibrate group with a non-pemafibrate group to see whether pemafibrate helps prevent progression of ICAS. This is an open-label, randomized, parallel-group trial. That means participants are assigned by chance to 1 of 2 groups, and both the researchers and participants know which group was assigned. Participants in both groups will continue to receive standard stroke care, including antithrombotic therapy and management of vascular risk factors such as blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking. Participants may be eligible if they are 18 years or older, have clinically stable ischemic stroke or TIA, have 50% to 99% stenosis in a symptomatic intracranial artery on contrast-enhanced CT angiography (CTA), and have elevated fasting (\>=150 mg/dL) or non-fasting (\>=175 mg/dL) TG levels. Some people will not be eligible, such as those with ICAS due to non-atherosclerotic arterial disease, severe extracranial carotid stenosis, recent intravenous thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy, planned revascularization, contraindications to pemafibrate or iodinated contrast media, dialysis, or pregnancy. Participants will: * Be randomly assigned to a pemafibrate group or a non-pemafibrate group * Take pemafibrate for 12 months if assigned to the pemafibrate group, with possible dose adjustment based on TG levels and kidney function * Have blood tests and clinical assessments at baseline and during follow-up * Undergo brain CTA at study entry and again at 12 months * Undergo brain MRI/MRA and vascular tests such as ankle brachial index, cardio ankle vascular index, and pulse wave velocity according to the study schedule * Be followed for vascular events, functional outcome, and adverse events for 1 year

Timeline

Start

2026-05-26

Primary completion

2028-03-31

Completion

2028-12-31

Publications

• Background Wong KS, Lam WW, Liang E, Huang YN, Chan YL, Kay R. Variability of magnetic resonance angiography and computed tomography angiography in grading middle cerebral artery stenosis. Stroke. 1996 Jun;27(6):1084-7. doi: 10.1161/01.str.27.6.1084.
• Background Kwon SU, Hong KS, Kang DW, Park JM, Lee JH, Cho YJ, Yu KH, Koo JS, Wong KS, Lee SH, Lee KB, Kim DE, Jeong SW, Bae HJ, Lee BC, Han MK, Rha JH, Kim HY, Mok VC, Lee YS, Kim GM, Suwanwela NC, Yun SC, Nah HW, Kim JS. Efficacy and safety of combination antiplatelet therapies in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. Stroke. 2011 Oct;42(10):2883-90. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.609370. Epub 2011 Jul 28.
• Background Kwon SU, Cho YJ, Koo JS, Bae HJ, Lee YS, Hong KS, Lee JH, Kim JS. Cilostazol prevents the progression of the symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis: the multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled trial of cilostazol in symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis. Stroke. 2005 Apr;36(4):782-6. doi: 10.1161/01.STR.0000157667.06542.b7. Epub 2005 Mar 3.
• Background Chimowitz MI, Lynn MJ, Howlett-Smith H, Stern BJ, Hertzberg VS, Frankel MR, Levine SR, Chaturvedi S, Kasner SE, Benesch CG, Sila CA, Jovin TG, Romano JG; Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease Trial Investigators. Comparison of warfarin and aspirin for symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis. N Engl J Med. 2005 Mar 31;352(13):1305-16. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa043033.

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