Shingles virus in the gut linked to swallowing disorder – new trial aims to treat it
NCT ID NCT05550194
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether giving anti-viral medication to kill the shingles virus (VZV) living in the gut can improve symptoms of achalasia, a severe swallowing disorder. Researchers will enroll 40 adults with achalasia and measure changes in swallowing, pain, and weight. The goal is to see if the virus causes the disease and if treatment can help.
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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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2023
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2026
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 75 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Male and female subjects aged 18-75 years old inclusive (females of childbearing potential should be on highly effective contraceptive methods) * Fluent in English and mentally capable to provide informed consent who present to Vanderbilt University Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center for treatment of achalasia. * Based on standard clinical practice, we anticipate that patients who undergo these treatments will have been formally diagnosed with achalasia and will be fit to undergo the selected treatment intervention. * All subjects must be able to undergo timed barium swallow testing, trans-nasal intubation for high-resolution manometry probe, and therapeutic intervention of a 2-month course of valacyclovir 1g TID and two injections of Shingrix over a two-month period. Exclusion Criteria: * Unstable medical illness with ongoing diagnostic work-up and treatment. Patients with well-controlled hypertension, diabetes and a remote history of ischemic heart disease that is deemed stable, as judged by the physician-investigator can be included. * Current neurologic or cognitive impairment which would make the patient an unsuitable candidate for a research trial.
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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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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
RECRUITINGNashville, Tennessee, 37129, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- New registry tracks POEM procedure for swallowing disorder
- New study investigates why some patients get worse reflux after esophagus surgery
- Small study seeks clues to weight loss mystery in achalasia
- Could adding a balloon stretch to botox help achalasia patients swallow better?