Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22563468›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2012

Ghrelin treatment of cachectic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Keisuke Miki, Ryoji Maekura, Noritoshi Nagaya, Masamitsu Nakazato, Hiroshi Kimura, Shinsuke Murakami, Shunsuke Ohnishi, Toru Hiraga, Mari Miki, Seigo Kitada and 7 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Multimodal interventions for cachexia management.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
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  17. Understanding cachexia and its impact on lung cancer and beyond.Chinese medical journal pulmonary and critical care medicine · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Keisuke MikiDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Hospital Organization Toneyama National Hospital, Toyonaka, Japan. mikisuke@toneyama.go.jp
Ryoji Maekura
Noritoshi Nagaya
Masamitsu Nakazato
Hiroshi Kimura
Shinsuke Murakami
Shunsuke Ohnishi
Toru Hiraga
Mari Miki
Seigo Kitada
Kenji Yoshimura
Yoshitaka Tateishi
Yasuji Arimura
Nobuhiro Matsumoto
Masanori Yoshikawa
Kenichi Yamahara
Kenji Kangawa
Toneyama National Hospital · JPNational Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center · JPNara Medical University · JPUniversity of Miyazaki · JPNational Hospital Organization · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPulmonary cachexia is common in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), culminating in exercise intolerance and a poor prognosis. Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide with GH-independent effects. The efficacy and safety of adding ghrelin to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in cachectic COPD patients were investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL

findingsIn a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 33 cachectic COPD patients were randomly assigned PR with intravenous ghrelin (2 µg/kg) or placebo twice daily for 3 weeks in hospital. The primary outcomes were changes in 6-min walk distance (6-MWD) and the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score. Secondary outcomes included changes in the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale, and respiratory muscle strength. At pre-treatment, serum GH levels were increased from baseline levels by a single dose of ghrelin (mean change, +46.5 ng/ml; between-group p<0.0001), the effect of which continued during the 3-week treatment. In the ghrelin group, the mean change from pre-treatment in 6-MWD was improved at Week 3 (+40 m, within-group p = 0.033) and was maintained at Week 7 (+47 m, within-group p = 0.017), although the difference between ghrelin and placebo was not significant. At Week 7, the mean changes in SGRQ symptoms (between-group p = 0.026), in MRC (between-group p = 0.030), and in maximal expiratory pressure (MEP; between-group p = 0.015) were better in the ghrelin group than in the placebo group. Additionally, repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant time course effects of ghrelin versus placebo in SGRQ symptoms (p = 0.049) and MEP (p = 0.021). Ghrelin treatment was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In cachectic COPD patients, with the safety profile, ghrelin administration provided improvements in symptoms and respiratory strength, despite the lack of a significant between-group difference in 6-MWD.

trial registrationUMIN Clinical Trial Registry C000000061.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCachexiaCombined Modality TherapyDepressionDouble-Blind MethodDrug Administration ScheduleFemaleGhrelinHumansMaleMiddle AgedPneumoniaPulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveQuality of LifeRespiratory Function TestsGhrelin

Identifiers

PMID22563468
PMCPMC3341383
OpenAlexW2005864976

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.