Trial Review

Registering a new trial?

To achieve prospective registration, we recommend submitting your trial for registration at the same time as ethics submission.

The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been endorsed by the ANZCTR. Before participating in a study, talk to your health care provider and refer to this information for consumers
Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12614000500651
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
16/04/2014
Date registered
12/05/2014
Date last updated
13/09/2018
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Identifying deficient colonic bacterial fermentation in patients with ulcerative colitis in remission
Scientific title
Colonic bacterial fermentation profiles in patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) following high vs low indigestible carbohydrate diets: biomarkers and implications for future therapies
Secondary ID [1] 284134 0
Nil known
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Ulcerative colitis 291218 0
Condition category
Condition code
Oral and Gastrointestinal 291562 291562 0 0
Inflammatory bowel disease
Diet and Nutrition 291563 291563 0 0
Other diet and nutrition disorders

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Individuals with ulcerative colitis in remission will be supplied with two diets differing in high or low amounts of indigestible carbohydrates over a 12-hour period. The diets will consist of only two meals, an evening meal the night before and a breakfast meal the morning of ingesting the pH-motility device. The evening meal will comprise of legumes, grains and starchy vegetables varying in indigestible carbohydrates whereas the breakfast meal will consist of a muesli bar. The HIGH arm will contain 10g fermentable carbohydrate per meal.

Compliance to the study diets will be assessed by food diaries, return of food containers and breath hydrogen tests. For the rest of the study period, participants will be following their usual diets.

Following the first dietary arm, there will be a 3-day washout period before participants cross over to the other study diet.
Intervention code [1] 288830 0
Treatment: Other
Comparator / control treatment
The control diet will be the low indigestible carbohydrate diet and as mentioned in the intervention description, will be provided in 2 meals over a 12-hour period prior to ingesting the pH-motility device. The indigestible carbohydrate content in the LOW indigestible carbohydrate arm will be <2g per meal.
Control group
Dose comparison

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 291520 0
The amount of fibre that is utilised or fermented (broken down by bacteria) in the large bowel will be analysed by measuring the stool content of starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP).
Timepoint [1] 291520 0
The primary outcome will only be measured at baseline (prior to administering the interventional diets) and then used to categorise the subjects into good fibre utilisers or poor fibre utilisers for comparisons with the secondary outcomes.
Secondary outcome [1] 306952 0
Intraluminal pH profiles of the large intestine will be calculated over time using a wireless pH-motility device that records pH data as it travels from the right to the left side of the colon.
Timepoint [1] 306952 0
Gastrointestinal pH will be measured in the time period following ingestion of the morning meal on the first dietary arm until the device is passed from the gastrointestinal tract and then again 3 days later, after ingesting the morning meal of the 2nd dietary arm.
Secondary outcome [2] 308177 0
The passage rate of fibre through the large intestine will also be measured by the wireless pH-motility device.
Timepoint [2] 308177 0
Passage rate of fibre through the colon will be measured from the time period immediately following ingestion of the morning meal on the first dietary arm until the device is passed from the gastrointestinal tract and then again 3 days later, during the 2nd dietary arm.

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
(1) Individuals with ulcerative colitis in remission
- on stable medical or drug therapy for > 1 month

OR

(2) Healthy volunteers

Both groups must be aged 18-75 years old and have not taken any antibiotics in preceding 3 months
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
75 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
- Individuals with Crohn's disease, indeterminate colitis or have undergone surgical removal of partial or all of the colon
or
- individuals taking topical rectal therapies in preceding three months
or
- those taking medications affecting bowel function in preceding four weeks
or
- women who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people administering the treatment/s
The people assessing the outcomes
The people analysing the results/data
Intervention assignment
Crossover
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/06/2014
Actual
10/09/2014
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
12/12/2016
Actual
14/11/2016
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
22/12/2016
Actual
1/12/2016
Sample size
Target
30
Accrual to date
Final
28
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
VIC
Recruitment hospital [1] 2340 0
The Alfred - Prahran

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 289102 0
Commercial sector/Industry
Name [1] 289102 0
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Country [1] 289102 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Monash University
Address
Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School, Monash University
The Alfred Centre
Level 6, 99 Commercial Rd,
Prahran 3004 VIC
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 287766 0
Hospital
Name [1] 287766 0
Department of Gastroenterology, The Alfred Hospital
Address [1] 287766 0
Level 1, The Alfred, 99 Commercial Rd, Prahran 3004 VIC
Country [1] 287766 0
Australia

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 290889 0
Alfred Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 290889 0
Ethics and Research Governance Office
Ground Floor, Linay Pavilion
55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004

OR
Ethics and Research Governance Office
The Alfred
PO Box 315
Prahran VIC 3181
Ethics committee country [1] 290889 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 290889 0
03/04/2014
Approval date [1] 290889 0
06/06/2014
Ethics approval number [1] 290889 0
121/14
Ethics committee name [2] 294009 0
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC)
Ethics committee address [2] 294009 0
Monash University Clayton
Ethics committee country [2] 294009 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [2] 294009 0
27/06/2014
Approval date [2] 294009 0
15/07/2014
Ethics approval number [2] 294009 0
CF14/2107 - 20140001086

Summary
Brief summary
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterised by inflammation in the lining of the large bowel. Recent studies of the bacterial populations that normally reside in the large bowel (gut microbiota) have shown abnormalities (i.e., dysbiosis) in the faeces of patients with UC. Our research group has found evidence that the ability of the gut microbiota to ferment carbohydrates may be markedly defective and this cannot be corrected by simply providing more dietary fibre. Such fermentation is an important function of the microbiota as it delivers breakdown products that include short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate to the lining cells of the colon. Butyrate is the major source of nutrition for those cells and also has anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour-producing effects. This observation has potentially large implications for how we manage UC. If it is true, then manipulation of the bacteria and of the specific carbohydrate substrates they see by, for example, dietary manipulation of the types of carbohydrates they eat might have therapeutic benefit. Furthermore, such fermentation lowers acidity (pH) in the bowel and this lowering is utilised for the activation of some drugs commonly used in UC (e.g. mesalazine). Defective fermentation might lead to poor activation of those drugs and lack of effectiveness.

The major problem with studying fermentation in the large bowel is that most occurs in the proximal part of the large bowel – i.e., the part furthest away from the anus - and we have only been able to study it indirectly. Using swallowed capsule technology that transmits information to a transmitter worn by the patient (as used by the ‘pill-camera’), a new wireless pH-motility device, has been developed. This device is able to capture measurements for transit (speed of passage through the gut) and pH in real time and in a non-invasive manner as it travels along the entire gut. It is the pH measurement that provides our first way of examining fermentation in the intact colon.

We propose to measure the pH profiles in the gut of 10 healthy volunteers and of 20 patients with UC who do not have active disease after both a large and a minimal load of indigestible, fermentable carbohydrates. This will be achieved by controlled food intake over the 12 hours prior to the capsule being swallowed. This will give us a range of pH profiles related to high and low levels of fermentation in the gut. We will then be able to determine if the fermentation capability of patients with UC is truly deficient. The pH-motility device will also permit us to examine transit through the regions of the gut and provide mechanistic information on the role of gut transit in any abnormalities found. We anticipate variation in responses of patients (but not in healthy volunteers). In order to be able to identify patients with abnormal fermentation, we will also collect, prior to the investigations with a wireless pH-motility device, dietary intake information and faeces to determine if these indices provide the correlations with the pH profile.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 46406 0
Prof Peter Gibson
Address 46406 0
Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School
Level 6 The Alfred Centre
99 Commercial Rd
Prahran 3004 VIC
Country 46406 0
Australia
Phone 46406 0
+61399030271
Fax 46406 0
Email 46406 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 46407 0
CK Yao
Address 46407 0
Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School
Level 6 The Alfred Centre
99 Commercial Rd
Prahran 3004 VIC
Country 46407 0
Australia
Phone 46407 0
+61399030270
Fax 46407 0
Email 46407 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 46408 0
CK Yao
Address 46408 0
Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School
Level 6 The Alfred Centre
99 Commercial Rd
Prahran 3004 VIC
Country 46408 0
Australia
Phone 46408 0
+61399030270
Fax 46408 0
Email 46408 0
[email protected]

No information has been provided regarding IPD availability


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
SourceTitleYear of PublicationDOI
EmbaseEffects of fiber intake on intestinal pH, transit, and predicted oral mesalamine delivery in patients with ulcerative colitis.2021https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgh.15311
N.B. These documents automatically identified may not have been verified by the study sponsor.