Conditions: Spinal Cord Injury
Keywords: cardiovascular risk
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Enrollment: 18
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The overall study objectives are to examine whether:

1. Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) having elevated body mass are at greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk for fasting and postprandial lipidemia, glycemia, and vascular inflammation than persons with SCI having 'normal' body mass, and
2. An inexpensive, low-risk, widely-available pharmacotherapy safely reduces CVD risks associated with fasting and postprandial lipidemia, glycemia, and vascular inflammation.

Detailed description:
To test Study Objective 1, 'overweight' and 'non-overweight' persons with SCI will be compared at baseline for fasting and postprandial responses. For Study Objective 2, all persons tested for Study Objective 1 will undergo randomization to either 1 month of Salsalate (4.0 g/day) or placebo. An untreated wash-in (1 month) will precede treatment (1 month), and a washout cross-over period (1 month) will follow. The last month will test effects of drug-placebo not examined in month 2. Fasting and postprandial responses will be tested at each time point. Intention-to-treat clinical standards ("…as randomized, so analyzed…") and 'last observation carried forward' clinical methods will be adopted.

Participants with tetraplegia are sought, as they have fewer exercise options than those with paraplegia and are at greater risk for sedentary lifestyle resulting in CVD, CVD risks, and obesity.

Arms:
arm 1: Placebo twice a day for 30 days. Then Salsalate 2gr BID for 30 days. arm 2: Salsalate 2grams twice a day for 30 days. Then Placebo for 30 days.

Interventions: intervention 1: Salsalate 2grams twice a day for 30 days. Then Placebo for 30 days intervention 2: Placebo twice a day for 30 days. Then Salsalate 2gr BID for 30 days.
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Participants will undergo randomization to either 1 month of Salsalate (4.0 g/day) or placebo. An untreated wash-in (1 month) will precede treatment (1 month), and a washout cross-over period (1 month) will follow. After the wash-in month participants will receive either Salsalate or the placebo. The last month will test effects of drug-placebo not examined in month 2 intervention 2: Participants will undergo randomization to either 1 month of Salsalate (4.0 g/day) or placebo. An untreated wash-in (1 month) will precede treatment (1 month), and a washout cross-over period (1 month) will follow. After the wash-in month participants will receive either Salsalate or the placebo. The last month will test effects of drug-placebo not examined in month 2.

Protocol document: