Rifaximin for Chronic Immune Activation in People With HIV
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01866826. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
A Double Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Study Examining the Effects of a Non-Absorbable (Rifaximin) Antibiotic on the Chronic Immune Activation Observed In HIV-infected Subjects
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Background: * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment can control the amount of virus in the blood, but it does not provide a cure. The reasons why HIV treatment does not cure the infection are not well understood. HIV persists in blood cells for years, even if people receive treatment for it. In addition, HIV infection leads to an activated immune system, which can cause other problems. * One theory for why HIV infection causes immune activation involves the intestinal tract. HIV infects immune cells the intestine soon after infection and damages their immune barrier. This damage lets bacteria cross into the bloodstream, leading to ongoing inflammation. Even when a person with HIV feels well, this chronic inflammation may affect the immune system. Researchers want to see if the antibiotic Rifaximin can reduce this inflammation. Rifaximin is designed to stay inside the digestive system, so it affects only bacteria in the intestines. Objectives: \- To see if Rifaximin can reduce bacteria-related inflammation in people with HIV. Eligibility: \- Individuals at least 18 years of age who have HIV infection and are taking medications to treat it. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical exam, blood test, and medical history. * Participants will take either Rifaximin or a placebo for 4 weeks. They will have no medication for 4 to 6 weeks, and then take the other drug for 4 more weeks. * During the study, participants will have frequent blood and urine tests. They will also provide stool samples. Liver and kidney function tests will be performed. HIV viral load (the amount of virus in the blood) will also be studied. * Participants will have a final follow-up visit after an additional 4 weeks. * Two additional tests are optional for study participants: * Two blood draws: one on the third day after starting Rifaximin, and one on the third day after starting the placebo. * Up to three colonoscopies of the lower intestine and biopsies of the intestine. These studies will collect samples of the intestinal tract to look at the effects of Rifaximin in the study.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01866826
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 1, Phase 2
- Enrollment
- 46 participants
Conditions and interventions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Jan 17, 2013
- Primary completion
- Jun 29, 2016
- Completion
- Feb 27, 2018
- Last update posted
- Feb 25, 2020
2013 – 2018
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 3
- U.S. states
- 2
- U.S. cities
- 2
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Reed National Medical Center | Bethesda | Maryland | 20301 | — |
| National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike | Bethesda | Maryland | 20892 | — |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15213 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01866826, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Feb 25, 2020 · Synced Sep 24, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01866826 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.