Active clinical trials for "Giant Cell Arteritis"

Two recent RCTs showed the ability of tocilizumab to induce and maintain remission of giant cell arteritis. Both studies used the dosing schemes for Rheumatoid Arthritis (i.e. 8mg/kg bodyweight i.v. in 4-weekly intervals and 162mg weekly s.c., respectively). In both trials glucocorticoids (GC) were initially administrated at medium to high doses with subsequent rapid reduction and discontinuation over 24 weeks. In case of relapse, GC doses were re-increased. The results of both studies suggest that GC could be reduced more rapidly. This would further reduce GC-induced adverse effects. Thus, the investigators propose to perform an open label single arm study to assess the efficacy of ultra-short co-medication with GC, using Simon's minimax two-stage design.

The aim of this national pragmatic observational study is to investigate whether the use of new diagnostic imaging modalities facilitates disease stratification that can potentially predict treatment response, relapse risk and complications and hence guide management strategies to improve disease control and reduce disease and treatment related damage.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) are diseases that cause swelling of the arteries in the head, neck, upper body, and arms. TAK specifically affects the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, and its branches. Therapies are available to improve the symptoms of GCA and TAK, but relapse often occurs, and better treatments are needed. Abatacept is a drug that interacts with certain cells in the body that are involved with GCA and TAK. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of abatacept in treating GCA and TAK and preventing disease relapse.

Hypothesis: In giant cell arteritis (GCA), a short initial treatment with anti-TNF may allow a faster decrease of steroids dosage and therefore avoid some of the adverse events of steroids.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of mavrilimumab (KPL-301) versus placebo, co-administered with a 26-week corticosteroid taper, for maintaining sustained remission for 26 weeks in subjects with new onset or relapsing/refractory giant cell arteritis (GCA).

This is a multicenter, interventional, open-label, long-term extension study of Study WA28119 (NCT01791153) to evaluate the long-term safety of SC tocilizumab in participants with GCA who subsequently have flare or persisting disease activity. A maximum of 11 participants from six centers in France that participated in the WA28119 study will be enrolled. The entire study duration is anticipated to be approximately 160 weeks.

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of baricitinib in the treatment of giant cell arteritis. All participants will be taking prednisone at the start of the study. The prednisone will be reduced according to a standardized tapering schedule while participants continue to take one tablet of baricitinib daily for 52 weeks.

This is a fifteen-month open label, Phase IIa clinical trial is being conducted to assess the tolerability, safety and efficacy of a medication called Tocilizumab (Actemra®) in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) antagonist, etanercept, on the early clinical course of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). PMR is a common inflammatory disease with an unknown etiology that is characterized by aching, tender, and stiff proximal muscle. Some evidence suggests that TNF plays a central role in the pathophysiology of PMR. The preferred treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) is adequate for most patients, but a subset of patients have a more prolonged, relapsing disease course. These patients require treatment with GCs for 1 to 2 years. GC related adverse events are frequent during treatment.

The objective of this observational prospective cohort study is to assess if: temporal artery stiffness measurement by applanation tonometry may help predict a final diagnosis of new-onset GCA In patients with a diagnosis of GCA, identify if temporal artery stiffness measured by applanation tonometry improves with treatment.