Pharmacology Space Kit (PSK) - Dried Blood Spot for Caffeine Pharmacokinetics Under Microgravity Conditions

NCT ID: NCT06431984

Last Updated: 2025-09-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-03-27
• Study Completion Date: 2024-04-03

Brief Summary

The PSK study is preliminary to the study of drug metabolism in space flight conditions. The investigators propose to use simplified blood sampling methods that can be applied in microgravity. This method is based on the use of capillary blood, obtained using an automatic lancet for diabetics, the blood droplet then being deposited on specific blotting paper, and then studied in the laboratory. In 2022, the investigators validated the transfer of artificial blood in parabolic flight conditions, as well as the validity of cardiovascular drug dosage.

The objective of the 2023 study is to validate the collection and transfer of capillary blood, on themselves, by healthy volunteers with little training, for the blood dosage of caffeine after intake of standard doses of alimentary caffeine.

The primary objective is a feasibility of 90% of sampling in microgravity, compared with 95% on ground. Secondary objectives are the pharmacokinetic of different forms of caffeine, according to genetic background and other modifiers of CYP1A2.

Detailed Description

The investigators propose to use simplified blood sampling methods that can be applied in microgravity. This method is based on the use of capillary blood, obtained using an automatic lancet for diabetics, the blood droplet then being deposited on specific blotting paper, and then studied in the laboratory.

The objective of the study is to validate the collection and transfer of capillary blood from finger prick test, performed on themselves, by healthy volunteers after a short training, for the blood dosage of caffeine. Dietary caffeine will be used, issued from standardized espresso, tea or dark chocolate.

Caffeine is a universally used food substance and is metabolised by a pathway common to many drugs (CYP 1A2). The aim is to show that it is possible to collect blood in this way, and to carry out assays of caffeine. Secondary objectives are to assess the kinetics of caffeine metabolism through the metabolic ratio (AUC paraxanthine/AUC caffeine), and to correlate these kinetics with genetic variations in CYP 1A2 activity.

Participants are healthy volunteers already selected to take part in the parabolic flight campaign.

A success rate of 95% for ground sampling, and 90% for in-flight sampling is assumed as satisfactory. If 5 volunteer participants during the 3 days of flying carry out 2 in-flight samplings, this results in 30 in-flight samplings. If the other 25 flying volunteers take only one in-flight sample, means 25 in-flight samples (total 55). On the ground, the 30 volunteers will take 90 samples, for a total of 145 minimum samples. An equivalence threshold for a maximum 20% difference between flight and ground conditions is considered. For a difference of 10, 15 and 20%, the power is 34, 79 and 97% respectively. It can therefore conclude that the difference between the two sampling conditions is not clinically significant.

Conditions

Drug Mechanism; Metabolism Medication Toxicity; Space Motion Sickness

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Healthy subjects

Participants are healthy volunteers selected by the investigating team. The size of the study is limited by the number of individuals authorised to board the aircraft.

The flying participants in the experiment will be the aircraft crew, i.e. volunteers from the research teams taking part in the parabolic flight.

Healthy volunteers over the age of majority will be included in the study.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

prick test

Intervention Type: DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

self-sampling of capillary blood using the finger prick test method

Interventions

prick test

self-sampling of capillary blood using the finger prick test method

Intervention Type: DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Be affiliated to a social security scheme or benefit from such a scheme.
• Have obtained a medical certificate stating that they are fit for parabolic flights.
• Be aged between 18 and 70
• Be in good health: no chronic treatment that could interact with the metabolism of caffeine, no progressive disease
• Must not have any contraindications to taking caffeine (30 to 100 mg). Volunteers will also be asked not to consume caffeine (coffee, chocolate, energy drinks, tea, cola, etc.) in the 24 hours preceding the experiment.

Exclusion Criteria

• Be the subject of a legal protection measure (safeguard of justice, curatorship or guardianship)
• suffer from haematophobia (irrational fear of blood)
• Have a current infectious disease, particularly viral
• Have an active chronic illness
• Have a high usual intake of caffeine (>4 espressos, >4 cups of tea, >100g dark chocolate per day)
• Total intolerance to all forms of caffeine
• Smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day
• Have weaned themselves off smoking for less than a month
• Have a history of severe Raynaud's phenomenon
• Have a history of naupathy
• Suffering from naupathy during a flight

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 70 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

AIRBUS A 310 - Zero-G

Mérignac, , France

Countries

France

References

Derobertmasure A, Toh LS, Verstuyft C, Lukic S, De Sousa Carvalho C, Couronne R, Beauvalet M, Chhun S, Boutouyrie P. Feasibility of dried blood spot collection for caffeine pharmacokinetic studies in microgravity: Insights from parabolic flight campaigns. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2024 Oct 29. doi: 10.1111/bcp.16320. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 39473131 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

2022-A02794-39

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

C22-80

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id