Purpose

In this study investigators propose to address the following hypotheses: 1) Reduction in dietary sodium will decrease inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 2) Reduction in dietary sodium will decrease blood pressure in patients with RA. 3) Reduction in dietary sodium will decrease tissue sodium in patients with RA.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 80 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Male and female patients older than 18 years who are willing to participate. 2. Satisfy the ACR criteria for the diagnosis of RA. 3. Have stable disease activity as evidenced by no clinically meaningful change in immunomodulating or corticosteroid therapy in the past 1 month. 4. Have moderate disease activity as reflected by a minimum of 3 swollen and tender joints.

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Pregnancy 2. Receiving dialysis 3. Organ or bone marrow transplant 4. Taking diuretics, uncontrolled hypertension (>160/100 mmHg), or cardiac failure requiring treatment. 5. Severe edema (as judged by the investigator) 6. Diabetes mellitus treated with an insulin pump 7. Major surgery within the previous 3 months 8. Severe co-morbid conditions such as active cancer likely to compromise study participation 9. Unwillingness, or other inability, to cooperate 10. Contraindication to MRI 11. Presence of a condition that could make 24-hour blood pressure monitoring difficult: atrial fibrillation, inability to operate machine, receiving anticoagulants, presence of a condition that in the opinion of the investigator may be exacerbated by blood pressure cuff inflation (e.g., lymphedema).

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Crossover Assignment
Intervention Model Description
This will be a random-order, 2 period crossover study with washout
Primary Purpose
Other
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
Participants and nutrition staff will know when participants are on a high salt or low salt diet. Outcomes Assessor will be kept blinded. Participants will be told not to inform outcomes assessor what diet they are on.

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Other
low salt diet
low-sodium diet (50mmol/24hours x 8 weeks ) Subjects will choose a rotation of low-sodium meals from a predetermined list from a commercial vendor (Mom's Meals) that will be used to provide 2 meals (lunch and dinner)/day that the vendor will deliver at approximately 7 day intervals. Staff of the Vanderbilt Diet,Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core determine breakfast and snacks appropriate for theHS andLS diets and provide instructions to subjects.
  • Other: salt
    Participants will randomly eat a high salt diet for 8 weeks and a low salt diet for 8 weeks
Other
high salt diet
high-sodium diet (200mmol/24hours x 8weeks) Subjects will choose a rotation of low-sodium meals from a predetermined list from a commercial vendor (Mom's Meals) that will be used to provide 2 meals (lunch and dinner)/day that the vendor will deliver at approximately 7 day intervals. Staff of the Vanderbilt Diet,Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core determine breakfast and snacks appropriate for theHS andLS diets and provide instructions to subjects.
  • Other: salt
    Participants will randomly eat a high salt diet for 8 weeks and a low salt diet for 8 weeks

Recruiting Locations

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee 37232
Contact:
Annette Oeser
615-322-3778
annette.oeser@Vumc.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Contact

Charles M Stein, MBChB
615-936-3420
mike.stein@vumc.org

Detailed Description

The study is a random-order, 2 period crossover study with washout. Participants will be randomly assigned to be on the high-sodium diet (200mmol/24hours x 8weeks) or low-sodium diet (50mmol/24hours x 8 weeks ) with crossover separated by 4-week washout period. Investigators will allow a 7-day window on the diet (i.e., to facilitate scheduling the diet can be between 7-9 weeks), and investigators will allow a 1-week window for the washout (i.e., washout can be 3-5 weeks). Investigators will measure changes in inflammation (as measured by DAS28 (using tender and swollen joint count, disease activity and sedimentation rate)), blood pressure measured over a 24 hour period, and tissue sodium (using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)). If a relatively simple dietary modification has a clinically important effect on inflammation and blood pressure regulation in vivo in patients with RA, this will have far-reaching implications for the treatment of RA and prevention of Cardiovascular disease in this population.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.