Could a common arthritis drug calm heart inflammation?
NCT ID NCT06868381
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early trial tests whether baricitinib, an immune-calming drug already used for arthritis, can reduce heart inflammation in people with cardiac sarcoidosis. Ten adults will take the drug for 16 weeks alongside their usual steroid-sparing medication. Researchers will use PET scans to see if the inflammation in the heart gets better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- baricitinib (a drug that calms the immune system)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new treatment option for cardiac sarcoidosis, potentially reducing heart inflammation without high-dose steroids.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase trial with only 10 people, so results may not apply to everyone. Baricitinib can also increase infection risk and other side effects.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Key Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis based on one of the following pathways: * Histological Diagnosis * Myocardial or extracardiac biopsy demonstrating non-caseating granuloma with no alternative cause identified AND * Abnormal FDG uptake on cardiac PET-CT conducted within six weeks of Screening, in a pattern consistent with active cardiac sarcoidosis AND * Exclusion of other causes for cardiac manifestations * Clinical Diagnosis * One or more of the following is present: * Steroid +/- immunosuppressant responsive cardiomyopathy or heart block * Unexplained reduced LVEF (\< 40%) and/or segmental wall motion abnormalities not related to coronary artery disease or another defined cause * Unexplained sustained (spontaneous or induced) VT * Mobitz type II 2nd degree heart block or 3rd degree heart block * CT chest and/or FDG PET-CT showing features consistent with pulmonary sarcoidosis and/or hilar lymphadenopathy AND * Abnormal FDG uptake on cardiac PET-CT conducted within 6 weeks of Screening, in a pattern consistent with active cardiac sarcoidosis AND * Exclusion of other causes for cardiac manifestations * Active cardiac sarcoidosis based on abnormal FDG uptake on cardiac PET-CT conducted within six weeks of Screening, in a pattern consistent with active cardiac sarcoidosis * No current treatment with immunosuppressive medications other than a steroid-sparing medication (including methotrexate, leflunomide, azathioprine, or mycophenolate mofetil), and/or prednisone (or equivalent) at a dose of ≤ 20mg daily at Baseline Key Exclusion Criteria: * Receipt of a non-biologic DMARD or immunosuppressive agent other than methotrexate, leflunomide, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, hydroxychloroquine, or glucocorticoids within 28 days prior to screening * Receipt of a bDMARD or tsDMARD, including non-depleting B-cell-directed therapy (eg, belimumab), T cell costimulatory blockade (eg, abatacept), TNF-alpha inhibition (eg, infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, certolizumab pegol), interleukin-6 inhibition (eg, tocilizumab, sarilumab), interleukin-1 inhibition (eg, anakinra), JAK inhibition (eg, tofacitinib, upadacitinib, baricitinib), or other biologic immunomodulatory agent within 28 days prior to screening * Receipt of any biologic B cell-depleting therapy (eg, rituximab, ocrelizumab, obinutuzumab, ofatumumab, inebilizumab) in the 6 months prior to screening; receipt of such a B cell-depleting agent in the period 6-12 months prior to screening is exclusionary unless B cell counts have returned to ≥ LLN * History of venous thromboembolism (VTE) or an increased risk for VTE * Current smoking * Estimated glomerular filtration rate \< 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD) equation * Blood tests at screening that meet any of the following criteria: * Hemoglobin \< 7.5 g/dL * Neutrophils \< 1000/mm3 * Absolute lymphocyte count \< 500/mm3 * Platelets \< 100 x 109/L * Subjects with the following abnormal liver function tests: * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \> 2x ULN * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \> 2x ULN * Total bilirubin (TBL) \> 2x ULN unless AST, ALT, and hemoglobin are within central laboratory normal range and the patient has a known history of Gilbert syndrome * Active, clinically significant infection at the time of Screening * Active malignancy or history of malignancy that was active within the last 5 years, except as follows: * In situ carcinoma of the cervix following apparently curative therapy \> 12 months prior to screening, * Cutaneous basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma following apparently curative therapy, or * Prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy with curative intent \> 3 years prior to screening and without known recurrence or current treatment
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Stanford University
Palo Alto, California, 94304-2210, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Folate tracer lights up inflamed hearts in PET scan study
- A glowing dye could expose hidden heart scarring
- Can a weekly injection calm heart inflammation in sarcoidosis?
- Major study aims to uncover hidden heart disease and test steroid treatment
- New PET tracer aims to reveal hidden immune activity in tumors and arteries
- Could a simple blood test replace heart scans for sarcoidosis?