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Can we Use Estrogen-containing Therapy to Improve Pain in Women After Menopause With Hand Osteoarthritis?

Hand Osteoarthritis: Investigating Pain Effects in a Randomised Placebo-controlled Feasibility Study of an Estrogen-containing Therapy

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04036929
Acronym
HOPE-e
Enrollment
28
Registered
2019-07-30
Start date
2019-05-09
Completion date
2021-12-10
Last updated
2022-04-21

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

Conditions

Hand Osteoarthritis

Keywords

Osteoarthritis, Hand, Hormone, Pain, Estrogen

Brief summary

Post-menopausal women aged 40-65 with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis are invited to take part in this feasibility study. The study's aim is to investigate whether it is acceptable to women with painful hand OA to take an estrogen-containing therapy, and what is the best way of collecting some of the information in order to facilitate planning a full size trial. The investigator's long-term aim is to find out whether giving estrogen-containing therapy to women after the menopause improves hand OA symptoms.

Interventions

DRUGEstrogen-bazedoxifene

Conjugated estrogens 0.45 mg-bazedoxifene acetate 20 mg.

DRUGPlacebo oral tablet

Placebo oral tablet

Sponsors

National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom
CollaboratorOTHER_GOV
Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
University of Oxford
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
40 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Able to give informed written consent * Female, aged 40-65 years old * In those with an intact uterus: At least 12 months of spontaneous amenorrhea (without any menstrual bleeding in last 12 months) and last menstrual period not more than 10 years ago * In those who have undergone hysterectomy or are/were using an intrauterine contraceptive device with progesterone local therapy (such as Mirena): Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) ≥30 milli-International Units per millilitre (mIU/ml) on screening blood test AND a history of menopausal symptoms in the last 1 to 10 years, in keeping with appropriate timing of menopausal status * Hand pain, aching or stiffness on most days in the last 3 months * At least 2, painful hand joints of any type (interphalangeal joints (IPJ) or base of thumbs) * Fulfils American College of Rheumatology clinical diagnostic criteria for hand OA (3 or more of following): 1. Hard tissue enlargement of 2 or more of the following joints: 2nd or 3rd distal interphalangeal joints (DIPJ), 2nd or 3rd proximal interphalangeal joints (PIPJ), first carpometacarpal joints (CMCJ) 2. Hard tissue enlargement of 2 or more of the DIPJs 3. Less than 3 swollen metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJ) 4. Deformity of at least one of the joints listed in first point OR, for those with base of thumb osteoarthritis only not fulfilling these criteria, has clinical symptoms and examination findings consistent with base of thumb osteoarthritis. * Hand pain has not responded adequately to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence core guidance for management of OA, including the use of paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) gel, except where there is contraindication or intolerance * Average hand pain is reported as typically more than 4 out of 10 in severity, or average hand pain in the last 7 days of 4/10 or more on a visual analogue scale * In the Investigator's opinion, is able and willing to comply with all study requirements

Exclusion criteria

* Other cause of hand pain, including inflammatory arthritis, connective tissue disorder, chronic pain or alternative clinical diagnosis such as tenosynovitis or carpal tunnel syndrome * Pregnancy or breast feeding, or risk of this during study * Use of one or more prohibited treatments within specified timeframe, or not willing to avoid treatment for the duration of the study: * Oral contraceptive pill, or systemic HRT within the last 6 months (Use of an intrauterine contraceptive device with progesterone local therapy (Mirena) or vaginal topical estrogen use (known low systemic absorption) are not exclusions to participation) * Anti-estrogen medication within the last 6 months * Oral, intramuscular or intraarticular steroid within the last 3 months * Intraarticular hyaluronan to a hand joint within the last 6 months * Initiation of new oral analgesia within the last 4 weeks * Initiation of glucosamine, chondroitin, hand exercises or other relevant non- pharmacological therapy within the last 6 weeks * Hand surgery within the last 6 months, or planned within the next 6 months * Medications likely to increase hepatic metabolism of study medication, including: * St. John's Wort * Anti-convulsants (phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, lamotrigine) * Some anti-infectives (rifampicin, rifabutin, nevirapine, efavirenz, ritonavir and nelfinavir) * Presence of one or more medical contraindications to the use of systemic hormonal replacement therapy: * In those aged 40-45 years, FSH \<30 mIU/ml on screening blood test, i.e. non- confirmatory of menopausal status * Any history of breast, endometrial, ovarian or skin cancer * Any other history of other cancer within 5 years (except treated Basal Cell Carcinoma, BCC) * Relevant breast issue on routine national breast screening in prior 3 years * Undiagnosed genital bleeding, or untreated endometrial hyperplasia, active uterine fibroids or endometriosis * Active or past history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) (including deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and retinal vein thrombosis), or at high risk of VTE (such as known thrombophilic disorders (such as Protein C, S or anti-thrombin deficiency) or presence of a strong family history of VTE). Women with a first degree relative with a history of VTE, or other strong family history of VTE at the Investigators' discretion. * Active or past history of arterial thrombo-embolic disease (such as myocardial infarction, angina or stroke) or strong family history of stroke) * Clinically significant immobility * Migraine or active epilepsy * Uncontrolled hypertension (or diastolic pressure greater than 90 mmHg or systolic pressure greater than 145 mmHg at screening visit) * Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or uncontrolled hypertriglyceridaemia * Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30 * Active malabsorption syndrome or clinically significant small bowel disease * Acute liver disease, clinically significant abnormal liver function, active gallbladder disease or porphyria * Clinically significant renal impairment * Intolerance to lactose, fructose or glucose (including galactose intolerance, lactase deficiency, fructose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption or sucrase- isomaltase insufficiency) * Known sensitivity to either conjugated equine estrogens, bazedoxifene or the combination * Any other significant or uncontrolled disease or disorder which, in the opinion of the Investigator, may either put the participants at risk because of participation in the study, or may influence the result of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study * Participants who have participated in another research trial involving an investigational product in the past 8 weeks

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility: Rates of eligible participant identification, rates of recruitment/randomisation from different sources, retention ratesFrom the date of recruitment opening until the date of recruitment closing, 1 year
Feasibility: Frequency of adverse events related to the active study medicationThrough study completion, 7 months
Feasibility: Bang's Blinding Index (likelihood of unblinding)Week 24Self-complete questionnaire which assesses likelihood that participant or Investigator have become unblinded
Feasibility: Monitoring study medication compliance (via diaries)From randomisation to end of treatment at Week 24Participants will be asked to record any missed doses of study medication on a paper diary which will be provided at each visit. We will ask participants to bring the diary to each study visit and any missed doses will be recorded in the Case Report Form.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain and function: EQ-5D-5LCollected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Validated measurement of quality of life across five dimensions and their associated levels of severity on a 1 (no problems) to 5 (extreme problems) scale.
Menopause symptoms: The Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL)Collected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Validated measurement of menopausal symptoms and their associated degree of severity; 30 items in a Likert-scale format. Items are rated as present or not present and if present how bothersome, on a 0 (not bothersome) to 6 (extremely bothersome) scale. The interventional version is being used here, which includes an additional 3 questions relevant to Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) use which has been used in a trials setting.
Menopause symptoms: Greene Climacteric ScaleCollected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24A 21-item validated questionnaire that measures a variety of menopausal symptoms on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = not at all to 3 = extremely), plus one sexual function probe.
Joint appearance: Cosmesis score of Michigan Hand Questionnaire (4 questions, questions 28-31)Collected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Subdomain of hand-specific outcomes instrument that measures outcomes of patients with conditions of, or injury to, the hand or wrist.
Pain and function: Average hand pain over last 14 days (NRS 0-10)Collected at: Baseline, Week 4, Week 12, Week 24Numerical Rating Scale 0-to-10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is pain as bad as you can imagine
Joint appearance: Photographic recording of swollen hand jointsCollected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Standardised digital photography of hands
Joint function: Jamar grip strength - average of 3 measurementsCollected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Handgrip strength will be measured in kilograms to the nearest hundred grams in both hands using a Jamar dynamometer. Both hands will be alternately assessed three times and the average score recorded.
End of Treatment questionnaire (study-specific)Week 24A study specific end of treatment questionnaire will be designed to include items on acceptability.
Joint appearance: Investigator-recorded tender and swollen joint countsCollected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Investigator examination of tender and swollen hand joints, binary recording (1 swollen, 0 not swollen).
Pain and function: Remote pain-rating prior to a visit (NRS 0-10)Collected at: Baseline, Week 4, Week 12, Week 24Numerical Rating Scale 0-to-10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is pain as bad as you can imagine
Pain and function: Prevalence of joint pain elsewhere (pain manikin)Collected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Prevalence of joint pain elsewhere in the 4 weeks preceding the study visit
Pain and function: Functional Index for Hand OA (FIHOA)Collected at: Baseline, Week 12, Week 24Validated measurement of hand OA-related functional impairment. It includes 10 questions scored according to a 4-grade scale. The score ranges from 0 (no functional impairment) to 30 points (maximal impairment).

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 13, 2026