Arginine Replacement Therapy in COVID-19
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Arginine Hydrochloride.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: COVID-19. Basic parameters: 3 years — 21 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Prospective Open-Label Pilot Study of Arginine Replacement Therapy in Children Hospitalized With COVID-19
Overview
This study aims to investigate if receiving doses of arginine (a protein in the body) will improve mitochondria function in children with COVID-19. The study will be performed at the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Arthur M. Blank Hospital. Patients will be randomized to receive one of three doses of arginine three times a day for five days or at discharge whichever comes first.
Detailed description
In the early stages of COVID-19, it was believed that children were immune or had very mild disease. Given the unfolding pandemic, children's cases are exhibiting an increasing global trend and are associated with some serious complications in addition to more long-term complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and "Long Covid". A significant number of hospitalized and critically ill pediatric patients have now been documented, in addition to a high number of emergency department (ED) visits despite previous reports suggesting rare or mild disease in children. The research team and others have shown that severe COVID-19 and MIS-C are associated with acute arginine deficiency in both adults and children. There has been increased evidence of the role of the endothelium associated with severe inflammation in COVID-19. Low plasma arginine bioavailability has been implicated in endothelial dysfunction, immune regulation, and hypercoagulation. The research team also identified high sPLA2 levels in COVID-19 and MIS-C, an observation previously made in children with Kawasaki's Disease. Subsequent studies have shown that sPLA2 is associated with the pathobiology leading to COVID-19 mortality, with enzyme levels 10-fold higher in people who died vs. mild disease and is also associated with Mito dysfunction. Not only could sPLA2 represent a prognostic indicator of disease severity, but it also represents a mechanism with potential therapeutic targets.
Information learned from the Mito activity in COVID-19 can contribute to further understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome by coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This data may help guide future treatment targets and strategies.
Interventions
- Drug Arginine Hydrochloride
Arginine will be infused based on the manufacturer's instructions (R-Gene 10, Pfizer), over 30 minutes. However, rates may be slowed to over 60 minutes for patients experiencing symptoms of flushing, nausea, vomiting, or headache at the research team's discretion. Pediatric doses will be drawn up by the pharmacy.
Primary outcome measures
- Change in mitochondrial function [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Change in amino acids [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
- Change in the arginase-1 activity/concentration [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
- Change in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC-source of arginase-1) [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
- Change in the level of cytokines (IL-6) [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
- Change on secretory phospholipase (sPLA2). [Time frame: Baseline and day 5]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Established diagnosis of COVID-19 requiring admission to the hospital for treatment of COVID-19 infection
- Age 3 years - 21 years of age
Exclusion criteria
- Severe hepatic dysfunction: ALT> 6 x Upper limit of normal
- Renal dysfunction: Creatinine > 1.5 x upper limit of normal or on dialysis
- Acute Stroke
- Pregnancy
- Allergy to arginine
- Past history of severe cardiac disease or significant cardiac surgery \[minor procedures like ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair are not an exclusion\]
- History of significant pulmonary disease \[Cystic Fibrosis, sickle cell disease (SCD)\]
- History of organ transplant
- History of metabolic or mitochondrial disease (including Diabetes)
- History of severe neurocognitive delays (severe cerebral palsy, anoxic brain injury)
- History of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt or hydrocephalus
- PI discretion that the patient is not an ideal candidate for the study
- History of HIV of immune compromise
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), Arthur M. Blank — Atlanta
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05855330 · STUDY00005572 · 2025P010543