Telomeres and T-cell Receptor Excision Circles (TRECs) From Peripheral Blood in Normal Subjects Over Time

Last updated: March 24, 2025
Sponsor: Université de Sherbrooke
Overall Status: Active - Enrolling

Phase

N/A

Condition

N/A

Treatment

Control

Clinical Study ID

NCT01982890
Telomeres and TREC
  • Ages 18-85
  • All Genders
  • Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Summary

The Investigators have established a cohort of patients with recent-onset inflammatory arthritis called Early Undifferentiated PolyArthritis (EUPA). This cohort was established to define novel biomarkers of poor outcomes. We want to study telomere length and T-cell Receptor Excision Circles (TREC) numbers in peripheral blood as new biomarkers.

This cohort of normal controls was established to be able to define the stability over short periods of time of telomere length and TREC numbers in normal individuals, in order to compare with arthritis patients.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy-for-age subjects, as defined by Absence of acute infectious, traumatic or immunologic disease; Absence of severe chronic diseases Age and sex concordant with the stratification of patients from a longitudinal cohort of early inflammatory arthritis (EUPA)

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

History of cancer (except a single episode of non-melanocytic skin cancer) Severe cardiovascular disease (i.e. difficult to control or requiring multiple drugs) Chronic infection Inflammatory arthritis Severe high blood pressure or diabetes (i.e. difficult to control or requiring multiple drugs) Any severe disease affecting function or difficult to control or requiring multiple drugs

Study Design

Total Participants: 200
Treatment Group(s): 1
Primary Treatment: Control
Phase:
Study Start date:
January 04, 2005
Estimated Completion Date:
December 31, 2026

Study Description

It is difficult to establish early on the prognosis of patients with recent-onset polyarthritis. We want to know if we can use the length of telomeres in peripheral blood cells at baseline as a novel prognostic marker.

In order to be able to interpret our observations in arthritis patients over time, we need to compare these results with those observed in normal human controls adjusted for gender and for age groups.

These patients are first screened for the presence of acute or chronic severe diseases (cancer, cardiovascular, articular, et...). They then have genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood at Baseline and at 3 months interval for a year than annually for a total duration of 5 years. A complete blood count is collected at each blood draw. At each blood draw, the appearance of acute or chronic diseases is noted.

Connect with a study center

  • Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke

    Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 5N4
    Canada

    Site Not Available

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