Safety of Estrogens in Lupus: Hormone Replacement Therapy
Premarin and Provera
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
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Treatment Study
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Summary
Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus - National Assessment (SELENA) is a study to test whether postmenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus) can safely use the hormone estrogen. In this part of the study, we will look at the effects of estrogen replacement therapy on the activity and severity of disease in women with SLE. This study tests the effect of exogenous female hormones on disease activity and severity in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Physicians generally do not prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to women with SLE because of the widely held view that such treatment can activate SLE. This practice is based on the greater incidence of SLE in women than in men, biologic abnormalities of estrogen metabolism, murine models of lupus, several anecdotes of patients having disease flares while receiving exogenous hormones, and a single retrospective study in patients with preexisting renal disease. By contrast, recent retrospective studies suggest that the rate of flare is not significantly increased in patients taking HRT. We will examine, in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the effect of hormonal replacement with conjugated estrogens on disease activity in postmenopausal women with SLE. We will recruit patients from clinics and private practices that include over 4,000 women with SLE, most belonging to minority groups. We will give patients hormones for 1 year. NOTE: This trial has been terminated as of August 2002 upon recommendation of the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), based on the findings of the WHI Trial. Study subjects have discontinued study drug but will continue followup visits to study doctors through May 2003
Protocol
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.
Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.
In this study, all participants receive the same treatment. This approach is often used to evaluate the effects of a single intervention without comparing it to another.
Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Parallel assignment: Participants are split into separate groups, each receiving a different treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.
Neither participants nor researchers know who is receiving which treatment. This is the most rigorous way to reduce bias, ensuring that expectations do not influence the results.
Other Ways to Mask Information
Open-label: Everyone knows which treatment is being given.
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.
Eligibility
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.Conditions
Criteria
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