Doxycycline Treatment to Prevent Progressive Coronary Artery Dilation in Children With Kawasaki Disease
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-11-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Kawasaki disease (KD) affects infants and young children causing inflammation of the skin and
blood vessels including the coronary arteries of the heart. Despite the currently available
therapy, about one third of children develop enlargement of the coronary arteries that can
lead to serious complications such as coronary artery stenosis, heart attack and even death.
Kawasaki disease is the most common heart disease in children in the USA and it is especially
common among the children of Hawaii. Every year, 50-90 children are diagnosed with KD in
Hawaii and unfortunately there is no medication available to successfully prevent coronary
artery damage in a subset of cases.
During the first few weeks of the illness, cells of the immune system attack the coronary
arteries and release a special substance (MMP) that is responsible for the coronary artery
enlargement. There is a common antibiotic, doxycycline that can specifically block the action
of this special substance (MMP). Research done on animals with KD showed that doxycycline was
able to block this special substance and prevent enlargement of coronary arteries. Research
in adults with enlargement of the main artery in their abdomen also showed that doxycycline
may improve the outcome. Based on these studies doxycycline may be a promising therapy for
children with KD, who develop enlargement of the coronary arteries.
The investigators' proposed research study will assess the usefulness of doxycycline in
preventing the progressive enlargement of coronary arteries in children with KD. The
investigators plan to perform a small (pilot) study to evaluate how good is doxycycline in
preventing coronary artery enlargement. The investigators will treat 50 children with KD and
enlarged coronary arteries for three weeks with doxycycline and assess the change in coronary
arteries as well as the blood levels of the special substance (MMP). If doxycycline proves to
be beneficial in this small study, the investigators are going to design a large research
study involving multiple institutions on Hawaii and the mainland and will recruit more
children to be certain about the value of the proposed treatment. The investigators' proposal
may change the treatment protocol of KD and could present a possible treatment for children
with enlarged coronary arteries preventing potentially devastating consequences.