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Growth Hormone Treatment in Patients With Aggrecan (ACAN) Deficiency

Clinical Characterization and Trial of Growth Hormone Treatment in Patients With Aggrecan (ACAN) Deficiency

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 1Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03288103
Enrollment
22
Registered
2017-09-19
Start date
2018-02-01
Completion date
2023-08-31
Last updated
2024-07-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Short Stature

Brief summary

This is an open-label, single-arm prospective pilot study to study the effects of a single dose regimen of daily growth hormone medication (Norditropin) on pre-pubertal children with Aggrecan deficiency. The growth response will be tracked over a 12 month period. A protocol extension has been approved to continue subjects on treatment for an additional 2 years.

Detailed description

This is a single center study. All participants will be recruited from the USA. The study intends to recruit pre-pubertal children for inclusion in the 1 year growth hormone treatment trial. The study also plans to collect the following detailed phenotypic data at the first study visit: height, weight, musculoskeletal evaluation, photographs, radiographs (knees, left hand), MRI of the knees. The participants will be required to return to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) for 3 study visits over the 12 month period. At the follow up visits participants will receive a routine physical/pubertal exam, joint exam, have vitals sign checked, height/weight taken, and labs drawn. A funduscopic exam will be performed to look for signs of intracranial pressure. Study participants are also required to complete phone check ins at scheduled intervals, and a locally drawn blood sample to check insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) levels approximately 3 months after treatment start date. Concomitant medications, adverse events will be recorded and updated at all study visits and phone check ins. Medication will be resupplied and shipped to the participant as needed at every point of follow up contact. If the subjects grow well enough in the first 12 months per study protocol, they are eligible to continue treatment through the study for an additional 2 years. They will continue to come to CCHMC every 6 months for follow up study visits. Study procedures will remain the same as the initial 1 year trial with the following additions: (1) local labs may need to be obtained for dose adjustment purposes, (2) repeat knee MRI may be completed for participants that are found to have early signs of joint disease on their baseline knee MRI scan. The study will enroll interested and affected relatives of the participant in the joint phenotyping protocol as well. These participants will come to CCHMC only one time to complete the phenotyping visit. This is not an outcome of the study but the information gathered from the imaging will provide insight into the effects of ACAN mutation on the joint cartilage.

Interventions

Single dose of daily growth hormone regimen. Dose will be 50 micrograms/kg/day.

Sponsors

Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
2 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. ACAN Deficiency - Patients must be heterozygous for a mutation in the ACAN gene. A mutation will be defined as: a. A heterozygous deletion of the entire gene or of \>1 complete exons of the gene b. Any truncating mutation including frameshift, nonsense, splice site mutations within 2 bases of the exon/intron boundary, and start loss variants c. Any missense mutation which meets the following criteria: i. It is absent in the Exome Aggregation Consortium Database (exac.broadinstitute.org) ii. It is predicted to be damaging by both Polyphen2 and Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant (SIFT) iii. It segregates with the short stature phenotype in the family or is a de novo mutation d. In-frame insertions or deletions of \>1 amino acid e. In-frame insertions or deletions of 1 amino acid must meet the same criteria as missense mutations. For the prediction programs, Alanine will be substituted for the deleted amino acid. f. Note - Retrospective data does not show any correlation between the type of mutation and the severity of short stature. Therefore, all mutations meeting the above criteria will be included as a single group. 2. Age - Greater than or equal to 2 years 0 days. There is no specific upper age limit, but the onset of puberty will make the patient ineligible. 3. Pre-pubertal 1. Male subjects must have a testicular volume \<4 cc as determined on physical examination by a pediatric endocrinologist at the time of the screening visit 2. Female subjects must be Tanner 1 for breast development as determined on physical examination by a pediatric endocrinologist at the time of the screening visit 4. Bone Age - The bone age as determined by the Greulich and Pyle method must be equal to or greater than the chronological age. Bone ages will be determined at the screening visit by a single centralized radiologist. 5. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) level within normal range for age and sex. 6. Ability to provide informed consent before any trial-related activities 7. Note - There is no specific height standard deviation criteria for inclusion in this study.

Exclusion criteria

1. Prior treatment with any of the following therapies: A. Growth hormone B. Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-I) C. Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) analog D. Aromatase Inhibitor E. Oxandrolone 2. History of any type of malignancy 3. Growth plate fusion - Defined as a bone age via the Greulich and Pyle method of 13 years in females and 15 years in males 4. Chronic medical condition known to affect growth including but not limited to: A. Cystic fibrosis B. Diabetes C. Inflammatory Bowel Disease D. Celiac Disease E. Asthma requiring a daily inhaled steroid dose \> 400 micrograms of inhaled budesonide per day or equivalent F. Taking daily oral glucocorticoids for any reason G. Note - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treated with a stimulant and treated hypothyroidism with a normal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) will not exclude the subject from participating in the trial. 5. (BMI) \<5th percentile (CDC growth charts) 6. Any clinically significant abnormality on screening laboratory tests as determined by the principal investigator. 7. Known or suspected allergy to trial medication, excipients, or related products. 8. Contraindications to study medications, worded specifically as stated in the product's prescribing information. 9. The receipt of any investigational drug within 90 days prior to this trial.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Height Standard Deviation ScoreAnnually through three years of treatmentHeight Standard Deviation Score is the standard deviation above or below the mean the height is for age and gender. Values were obtained by plotting heights on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. An increase in Height Standard Deviation Score correlates with increase in height. Results are reported for 10 patients treated with recombinant human growth hormone.
Height Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)Annually through three years of treatmentA participants calculated height velocity derived from height measurements taken over a period of 36 months (baseline visit to 36 month visit). Only those in the treatment arm were treated with growth hormone and observed for response.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteochondritis DissecansBaselineEvidence of osteochondritis dissecans on MRI (in those who could cooperate to perform such unsedated between the ages of 6 years-old and 20 years-old) or radiograph examination of affected participant's knees.
Number of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - OsteoarthritisBaselineEvidence of early joint pathology evident (osteoarthritis) on MRI (in those who could cooperate to perform such unsedated between the ages of 6 years-old and 20 years-old) or radiograph examination of affected participant's knees, performed in those who were age appropriate and would cooperate.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Pre-assignment details

Total number of participants enrolled was 22, including 12 pediatric participants, and 10 adult participants. Only 10 of the pediatric patients were eligible to participate in the treatment arm of the study.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Treatment Group
Patients with Aggrecan (ACAN) deficiency who have been treatment with human growth hormone (rHGH) for 3 years. All patients who participated in the treatment group also participated in the phenotype arm of the study.
10
Phenotype Only Group
First degree relatives of patients in the treatment group who also have Aggrecan (ACAN) deficiency but did not participate in the treatment trial. Includes child and adult relatives. In total there are 22 participants in the phenotype arm, and 10 of those are also in the treatment arm.
12
Total22

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicTreatment GroupPhenotype Only GroupTotal
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
10 Participants2 Participants12 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
0 Participants10 Participants10 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
1 Participants0 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
9 Participants11 Participants20 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
10 participants12 participants22 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
6 Participants6 Participants12 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
4 Participants6 Participants10 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 100 / 12
other
Total, other adverse events
10 / 100 / 12
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 100 / 12

Outcome results

Primary

Height Standard Deviation Score

Height Standard Deviation Score is the standard deviation above or below the mean the height is for age and gender. Values were obtained by plotting heights on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. An increase in Height Standard Deviation Score correlates with increase in height. Results are reported for 10 patients treated with recombinant human growth hormone.

Time frame: Annually through three years of treatment

Population: 10 pre-pubertal children with Aggrecan deficiency

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Standard Deviation ScoreYear 1-1.57 standard deviation score
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Standard Deviation ScoreYear 2-1.19 standard deviation score
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Standard Deviation ScoreYear 3-1.09 standard deviation score
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Standard Deviation ScoreBaseline-2.52 standard deviation score
Primary

Height Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)

A participants calculated height velocity derived from height measurements taken over a period of 36 months (baseline visit to 36 month visit). Only those in the treatment arm were treated with growth hormone and observed for response.

Time frame: Annually through three years of treatment

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)Baseline5.2 cm/year
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)Year 18.3 cm/year
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)Year 27.7 cm/year
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyHeight Velocity After Three Years of Treatment With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)Year 36.8 cm/year
Secondary

Number of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteoarthritis

Evidence of early joint pathology evident (osteoarthritis) on MRI (in those who could cooperate to perform such unsedated between the ages of 6 years-old and 20 years-old) or radiograph examination of affected participant's knees, performed in those who were age appropriate and would cooperate.

Time frame: Baseline

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyNumber of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteoarthritis0 participants
Adult Phenotype GroupNumber of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteoarthritis8 participants
Secondary

Number of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteochondritis Dissecans

Evidence of osteochondritis dissecans on MRI (in those who could cooperate to perform such unsedated between the ages of 6 years-old and 20 years-old) or radiograph examination of affected participant's knees.

Time frame: Baseline

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Growth Hormone Treatment for Participants With ACAN DeficiencyNumber of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteochondritis Dissecans3 participants
Adult Phenotype GroupNumber of Participants With Clinical Features of ACAN Deficiency - Osteochondritis Dissecans1 participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026