Brain Imaging Study on Biomarkers for Fibromyalgia

NCT ID: NCT03910010

Last Updated: 2024-08-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

35 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-02-01

Study Completion Date

2035-01-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Drugs used for managing Fibromyalgia pain have not proven to be effective and pain continues to cost Canadians $60 billion a year without truly helping those who suffer. The study proposes to investigate the factors related to a person that can enhance or reduce the effectiveness of pain treatments in people suffering with Fibromyalgia pain. Treatment response to painkillers in a person may be related to their brain, social, and psychological makeup. The investigators aim to study these factors to identify and develop feasible and robust indicators based on a person's biological makeup (also called biomarkers). These biomarkers will allow doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies for a particular disease will work in which groups of people. These measures will offer new opportunities for improving treatment such as by tailoring treatment to meet the specific needs of each patient based on his/her biological and psychological makeup. Towards the specific aim, data will first be collected in several experimental domains for studying treatment expectations (cognitive, psychosocial, brain-related). These 'experimental' data will be compared between Fibromyalgia (FM) and healthy participants to yield new understanding of the factors that govern treatment response. At the end of experimental data collection, the investigators will collect data in the 'clinical' domain. Hence, at the end of the experimental sessions, a subset of FM participants will receive a mock drug (placebo disguised as an approved pain treatment) and another subset will provide pain ratings only and hence serve as a waiting list control for the placebo trial. Data will be studied in steps to understand factors that mediate treatment outcomes and finally the investigators will use advanced computational tools used for big data analysis and aim to identify factors that can be used as biomarkers and precision medicine tools.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Fibromyalgia

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Experimental: placebos

Fibromyalgia participants will enter in an optional placebo trial. This phase of the study will test the clinical usefulness of the biomarkers. We will measure how expectation of starting a new treatment reduces 'clinical back pain' in each participant. Positive treatment expectations will be induced by giving them capsules containing inert material and telling them that the capsules contain an effective drug that has been approved for treating Chronic Back Pain. They will be requested to take two capsules four times a day and report their pain on paper forms organized as a calendar or on REDCap.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Placebos

Intervention Type DRUG

Positive treatment expectations will be induced by giving participants capsules containing inert material and telling them that the capsules contain an effective drug that has been approved for treating Chronic Pain. They will be requested to take two capsules four times a day and report their pain on paper forms organized as a calendar or on REDCap.

Waitlist

Fibromyalgia participants will not be given any placebo and will be requested to report their pain on paper forms organized as a calendar or on REDCap.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Healthy Controls

Healthy control participants will complete the main part of the study, but will not be asked to take a placebo or be placed on a waitlist.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Placebos

Positive treatment expectations will be induced by giving participants capsules containing inert material and telling them that the capsules contain an effective drug that has been approved for treating Chronic Pain. They will be requested to take two capsules four times a day and report their pain on paper forms organized as a calendar or on REDCap.

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

1. 18-75 years of age
2. Right-handed
3. Meet the classification criteria of chronic low back pain (having low back pain for more than 6 months).
4. At least 4/10 clinical pain on the Brief Pain Inventory Scale on average during the two weeks prior to enrollment
5. Comfortable completing (reading and writing) questionnaires and tasks with English language instructions


1. 18 - 75 years of age
2. Right-handed
3. Comfortable completing (reading and writing) questionnaires and tasks with English language instructions

Exclusion Criteria

1. History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that may interfere with participation in the study or cause heightened potential for adverse outcome. For example: asthma or claustrophobia
2. Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning. For example:

cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, fear of closed spaces, pregnancy


1. Acute or chronic pain
2. History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the investigator's judgment and by asking the participant about their comfort level and ability, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome. For example: asthma or claustrophobia
3. Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning. For example:

cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, fear of closed spaces, pregnancy.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Nova Scotia Health Authority

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Nova Scotia Health Authority

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Canada

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Javeria A Hashmi, PhD

Role: CONTACT

902-473-4603

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

5748

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Neurophysiology of Fibromyalgia
NCT06006130 UNKNOWN NA
Pain Quality Study
NCT01321190 COMPLETED