Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT03598842

Tuberculosis - Learning the Impact of Nutrition

The proposed work is based on the finding that one-third of the world is infected with the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and only 10% of these individuals develop TB. The study aims to identify factors that drive progression to disease and study signals (markers of the immune response) that detect who will progress to active TB and why this happens. Armed with these markers, the study will address how malnutrition and worms alter this signal profile to cause active TB. The work will be conducted in India, where there are 2.8 million TB cases each year - more than any other country - and where the government has committed to eliminating TB by 2035. Data suggest that malnutrition and parasites increase risk of TB disease so the investigators will feed malnourished household contacts and have those with parasites receive medication to treat these. Using this infrastructure, the investigators will evaluate the immunologic impact of feeding on TB pathogenesis. An additional aim is to understand the role of parasitic worms with the goal of determining the utility of low-cost ($.02 per dose) worm treatment as part of TB control efforts. Risk of developing TB will be evaluated for 120 household contacts of TB patients in the setting of their malnutrition and parasites. There are four study arms comprised of thirty participants each -- malnourished with parasite infection, malnourished with no parasite infection, well-nourished with parasite infection, and well-nourished with no parasite infection. Correlates of risk of disease will be assessed using blood messenger RNA/micro RNA (mRNA/miRNA) sequencing and T cell immune markers. The TB LION study will confirm that malnutrition and worms increase the risk of active TB and will provide the basis for effective interventions that could change the face of the TB pandemic and have a profound impact on the health of people worldwide. Participants in this study will be household contacts of tuberculosis index cases. The index cases in this study do not participate in the study once a household contact is established. All interventions and follow up are only being conducted within the household contact cohort. All intervention supplies, treatments, and biologics will be purchased internationally.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Tuberculosis Actinomycetales Infections Bacterial Infections Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections Helminth Infection Helminthiasis Infections Malnutrition Mycobacterium Infections Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Parasitic Diseases Trematode Infections

Age range

18 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research

Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, India

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Household Contacts

  • Household contact that has been housemate of eligible index case for at least the last month (See index case criteria below).
  • HIV seronegative
  • Willing to be tested for pregnancy if married
  • Age 18-60 years
  • Willingness by the patient to attend scheduled follow-up visits and undergo study assessments
  • Able to provide informed consent
  • Intervention inclusion: On average, one meal consumed at home per day.

Exclusion criteria

Household Contacts

  • In the team's judgement, individual is not expected to survive for 12 months
  • HIV infection or not willing to undergo HIV testing (if no documented HIV test)
  • Pregnant at enrollment
  • Known diabetes mellitus or evidence of diabetes on hemoglobin A1C (HA1C)
  • Xpert positive among those able to produce sputum
  • TB symptoms (night sweats, weight loss, cough) - Only if sputum positive
  • Any history of TB disease during their lifetime
  • We will retrospectively exclude household contacts of presumed TB cases whose cultures do not confirm Mtb or who are Xpert negative.
  • Evidence of kwashiorkor (pitting edema of foot or lower leg) those with BMI <16
  • Abnormal K, Mg, Phos in those with BMI <16

Inclusion criteria

Index Case

  • Sputum Ziehl-Neelsen stain positive for acid-fast bacillus (AFB) ≥1+
  • Culture or Xpert positive for Mtb; those who are smear+ but ultimately Xpert or culture negative, will be included until their culture results return at which time they will retrospectively be removed from the study.
  • No history of TB treatment (i.e., no history of partial or complete treatment for a previous TB episode)
  • Has at least 1 household contact with whom they have shared a house during the previous one month
  • Agrees to have household contact notified about study

Exclusion criteria

Index Case

  • Pregnant at enrollment
  • No Xpert or culture confirmation and unable to provide sputum sample
  • No household contacts who share room
  • Known Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) case
  • BMI <14 kg/m2
  • Abnormal K, Mg, Phos in those with BMI 14 - 16
  • Lower extremity edema/kwashiorkor those with BMI 14-16
  • Reported neuropathy in lower extremities (may result from thiamine deficiency)

Treatment and study plan

Nutritional Supplementation Meal

Dietary Supplement

Study participants will be given a nutritional supplementation for 6 months. The supplementation consists of a vegan meal plan.

Multivitamin

Dietary Supplement

Study participants will be given a daily multivitamin to take for 6 months.

Anti-parasitic medications

Drug

Study participants will be given anti-parasitic medications per Indian guidelines such as albendazole, ivermectin, metronidazole, or other medications to treat their parasitic infection.

Other names: albendazole, ivermectin, metronidazole

Primary outcomes

  1. Immune response

    Time frame: Visit 1

    Interferon Gamma-peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from malnourished and well-nourished household contacts (HHC) will be labeled with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and then stimulated with early secreted antigen target-6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein-10 (CFP-10) peptide libraries. After 72 hours, supernatants will be harvested and the cells analyzed by flow cytometry to monitor proliferating cells. As CFSE concentrations in a cell are halved with every cell division, each generation of cells appears as a distinct peak on the flow cytometry histogram providing a proliferative index. Supernatants will be evaluated by multiplex ELISA.

  2. Immune response

    Time frame: Visit 2 (approximately 7 days after visit 1)

    Interferon Gamma - PBMC from malnourished and well-nourished HHC will be labeled with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and then stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 peptide libraries. After 72 hours, supernatants will be harvested and the cells analyzed by flow cytometry to monitor proliferating cells. As CFSE concentrations in a cell are halved with every cell division, each generation of cells appears as a distinct peak on the flow cytometry histogram providing a proliferative index. Supernatants will be evaluated by multiplex ELISA.

  3. Immune response

    Time frame: Visit 5 (3 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Interferon Gamma - PBMC from malnourished and well-nourished HHC will be labeled with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and then stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 peptide libraries. After 72 hours, supernatants will be harvested and the cells analyzed by flow cytometry to monitor proliferating cells. As CFSE concentrations in a cell are halved with every cell division, each generation of cells appears as a distinct peak on the flow cytometry histogram providing a proliferative index. Supernatants will be evaluated by multiplex ELISA.

  4. Immune Response

    Time frame: Visit 6 (6 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Interferon Gamma - PBMC from malnourished and well-nourished HHC will be labeled with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and then stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 peptide libraries. After 72 hours, supernatants will be harvested and the cells analyzed by flow cytometry to monitor proliferating cells. As CFSE concentrations in a cell are halved with every cell division, each generation of cells appears as a distinct peak on the flow cytometry histogram providing a proliferative index. Supernatants will be evaluated by multiplex ELISA.

  5. Immune Response

    Time frame: Visit 7 (12 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Interferon Gamma - PBMC from malnourished and well-nourished HHC will be labeled with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and then stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 peptide libraries. After 72 hours, supernatants will be harvested and the cells analyzed by flow cytometry to monitor proliferating cells. As CFSE concentrations in a cell are halved with every cell division, each generation of cells appears as a distinct peak on the flow cytometry histogram providing a proliferative index. Supernatants will be evaluated by multiplex ELISA.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Anthropometric measurement

    Time frame: Visit 1

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

  2. Anthropometric measurement

    Time frame: Visit 5 (3 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

  3. Anthropometric measurement

    Time frame: Visit 6 (6 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

  4. Anthropometric measurements

    Time frame: Visit 7 (12 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

  5. Anthropometric measurements

    Time frame: Visit 8 (18 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

  6. Anthropometric measurements

    Time frame: Visit 9 (24 months after parasite treatment / intervention initiation)

    Body Mass Index - (BMI; weight/height in kg/m2). Measurements will be taken in triplicate. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a stadiometer (or knee height, ulnar length or arm span [demispan] for those persons unable to stand fully erect); body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Boston Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Registry information

Official study title

Tuberculosis- Learning the Impact of Nutrition

Acronym: TB-LION

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Jul 26, 2018
Registry last updated
Jan 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.