Stress relief: could a simple hormone boost ease fatigue in PMR/GCA patients?
NCT ID NCT05435781
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether taking extra hydrocortisone during times of mild to moderate stress (physical or mental) can improve health-related quality of life, especially fatigue, in people with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) or giant cell arteritis (GCA) who are on long-term, low-dose prednisolone. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either hydrocortisone or a placebo during stressful periods and will report their symptoms via a smartphone app. The goal is to see if this approach helps manage fatigue and other stress-related symptoms.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 250 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2022
- Expected to finish
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Mar 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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50 years and older
- 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.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 50 years * Women must be postmenopausal (FSH is measured at the screening visit) * A diagnosis of PMR/GCA, or both conditions combined. * Treatment with prednisolone ≥12 weeks * Ongoing prednisolone treatment, with current daily prednisolone dose \> 0 mg and ≤5 mg. The dose must have been ≤5 mg for minimum 2 weeks at the time of the screening visit. Exclusion Criteria: * Known primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency * Known Cushing's Syndrome * Known allergy towards study medication ingredients * Severe comorbidity: Heart failure (New York Heart Association class IV); Kidney failure with an estimated glomerular filtration rate \<30 mL/min (Chronic kidney disease stage 4-5); Liver disease in the form of cirrhosis; Active cancer; Known severe immune deficiency; A history of psychiatric disease requiring treatment by a psychiatric department (for affective disorders only if within the last year before study entry) * Alcohol consumption \>21 units per week * Planned major surgery during the study period at study entry. * Use of drugs that interfere with cortisol metabolism/measurements: Systemic oestrogen treatment (discontinued \< 1 month before inclusion), Treatment with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors or inducers, Use of other glucocorticoid formulations (Inhaled corticosteroids, intraarticular or intramuscular injections, steroid creams European steroid group IV-V used in the genital area. Note: Permitted glucocorticoid formulations: Eye-drops, nasal spray, glucocorticoid creams European steroid group I-III, and European steroid group IV-V used in the non-genital area only.) * Inability to provide written informed consent.
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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
3 sites. 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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Department of Endocrinology, Aarhus University Hospital
RECRUITINGAarhus, Denmark
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Department of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital
RECRUITINGOdense, Denmark
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Department of Medical Endocrinology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet
RECRUITINGCopenhagen, 2100, Denmark
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a Timed-Release hydrocortisone pill match the Body's overnight hormone rhythm?
- Can a modified hydrocortisone mimic the Body's natural cortisol rhythm?
- Could a spoonful of yoghurt replace awkward tongue dosing for a lifesaving steroid?
- Can a steroid Add-On make cushing syndrome treatment safer?