Last reviewed · How we verify

NCT03891667

Disulfiram: A Test of Symptom Reduction Among Patients With Previously Treated Lyme Disease

Completed Phase 1, PHASE2 Results posted Last updated 9 January 2025
What this trial tests

Phase 1, PHASE2 trial testing Disulfiram in Fatigue in 11 participants. Completed in 31 March 2022.

Timeline
31 July 2019
Primary endpoint
26 November 2021
31 March 2022

Quick facts

Lead sponsorResearch Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.
PhasePhase 1, PHASE2
StatusCompleted
Study typeINTERVENTIONAL
Allocationrandomized
Designparallel
Maskingtriple
Primary purposetreatment
Enrollment11
Start date31 July 2019
Primary completion26 November 2021
Estimated completion31 March 2022
Sites1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

Conditions studied

Sponsor

Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Fatigue or Quality of Life. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) Primary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

This is a psychometrically validated self-report measure of fatigue. This measure consists of 11 items inquiring about the severity of fatigue in different situations during the past week. Scores for each item range from 1 to 7, where 1 indicates strong disagreement and 7 strong agreement. Higher scores indicate higher levels of fatigue. A responder on the FSS is an individual whose FSS total score has decreased by 0.7 its when compared baseline to week 10 (or last observation carried forward); 0.7 refers to the minimally clinical significant difference (MCID) in change over time. We report th

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram4
4 Week Disulfiram2
Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire - Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) Primary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

The Q-LES-Q - SF is a self-reported questionnaire, with 16 items evaluating overall enjoyment and satisfaction with physical health, mood, work, household and leisure activities, social and family relationships, daily functioning, sexual life, economic status, overall well-being and medications. Responses are scored on a 5-point scale, where higher scores indicate better enjoyment and satisfaction with life (possible range 14-70). Fourteen summated items create the total Q-LES-Q - SF score. Two last items, about medications and overall life satisfaction, are considered independently. Meaningfu

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram2
4 Week Disulfiram2
The Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) Physical Component Summary (PCS) Secondary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

The Short Form (36) Health Survey is a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health. The SF-36 consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in their section. The 8 scales are-vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning mental health. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale, the lower the score the more disability and the higher the score the less disability. We calculate the Physical Component Summary (PCS) (representing physical funct

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram-5.183± 4.126
4 Week Disulfiram-6.466± 5.374
General Symptom Questionnaire (GSQ-30)- Assess Multisystemic Symptom Burden Secondary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

This is a psychometrically validated 30 item self-report measure of symptom burden. The measure asks participants to rate how bothered they have been with a particular symptom over a 2-week time frame. Responses are made on 5-point Likert scale ranging from "not at all" to "very much" (scored 0-4); and the total score ranges from 0-120. Higher scores indicate more symptom severity. We report the magnitude of the score change (week 10 or last observation carried forward (LOCF)) minus the baseline score; a positive change score indicates improvement.

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram25.6± 12.402
4 Week Disulfiram6.25± 20.790
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29) Symptom Summary Score on Sleep Disturbance, Pain, Anxiety, Depression, and Low Energy/Fatigue (SPADE) Secondary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

The PROMIS-29 is a psychometrically validated 29 item self-report measure covering 7 domains. The questions are ranked on a 5-point Likert Scale. The composite score on 5 symptoms of the 7 domains is known as the SPADE summary score (sleep disturbance, pain, anxiety, depression, and low energy/fatigue); this represents the most common chronic symptoms in the general population. Each domain has 5 response options (e.g., 1=not at all to 5=very much), with scale scores ranging from 4 to 20 and higher scores indicating worse symptom severity. Using the scores from these 5 domains, we calculated th

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram6.86± 3.71
4 Week Disulfiram5.95± 5.15
The Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) Mental Component Summary (MCS) Secondary · Change will be assessed over a 10 week interval

The Short Form (36) Health Survey is a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health. The SF-36 consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in their section. The 8 scales are-vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning mental health. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale, the lower the score the more disability and the higher the score the less disability. We calculate the Mental Component Summary (MCS) (representing physical functio

GroupValue95% CI
8 Week Disulfiram-3.76± 15.437
4 Week Disulfiram-4.814± 5.486

Adverse events — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Time frame: up to 14 weeks. Reporting threshold: 0%. Adverse-event reports describe events observed during the trial — not all are caused by the drug.

8 Week Disulfiram
Serious: 1/5 (20%)
Deaths: 0/5
4 Week Disulfiram
Serious: 1/4 (25%)
Deaths: 0/4

Serious adverse events (2 terms)

ReactionSystem8 Week Disulfiram4 Week Disulfiram
ER visitImmune system disorders
Short-term hospitalizationHepatobiliary disorders
Other adverse events (11 terms — click to expand)

ReactionSystem8 Week Disulfiram4 Week Disulfiram
Mild-moderately elevated liver function testsHepatobiliary disorders
Moderate to severe sore throat/throat hoarsenessGeneral disorders
Moderate to severe hypersomnia/sleepinessGeneral disorders
Mildly elevated serum creatinineRenal and urinary disorders
Moderate headacheGeneral disorders
Moderate tinnitusEar and labyrinth disorders
Moderate shooting painNervous system disorders
Moderate neuromotor weaknessMusculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Moderate photosensitivityEye disorders
Moderate dizzinessGeneral disorders
Moderate temperature fluctuationsGeneral disorders

Most-reported serious reactions: ER visit, Short-term hospitalization.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03891667 adverse events section.

Sponsor's own description

Approximately 10-20% of patients experience ongoing symptoms despite having received standard antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease. Possible explanations for persistent symptoms include persistent infection and/or post-infectious causes. Recent in vitro studies indicate that disulfiram is effective at killing both the actively replicating and the more quiescent persister forms of Borrelia burgdorferi, the microbe that causes Lyme Disease. In this study, the investigators are examining the safety of disulfiram among patients with post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms. The investigators are also conducting a preliminary investigation regarding the relative benefit of 4 vs 8 weeks of treatment with disulfiram.

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

  1. The revival of dithiocarbamates: from pesticides to innovative medical treatments.
    Kaul L, Süss R, Zannettino A, Richter K. · · 2021 · cited 34× · PMID 33598645 · DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102092
  2. Repurposing Disulfiram (Tetraethylthiuram Disulfide) as a Potential Drug Candidate against <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> In Vitro and In Vivo.
    Potula HSK, Shahryari J, Inayathullah M, Malkovskiy AV, et al · · 2020 · cited 23× · PMID 32971817 · DOI 10.3390/antibiotics9090633
  3. Molecular Mechanisms in Pathophysiology of Mucopolysaccharidosis and Prospects for Innovative Therapy.
    Ago Y, Rintz E, Musini KS, Ma Z, et al · · 2024 · cited 18× · PMID 38256186 · DOI 10.3390/ijms25021113
  4. Disulfiram: A Repurposed Drug in Preclinical and Clinical Development for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases.
    Custodio MM, Sparks J, Long TE. · · 2022 · cited 14× · PMID 35782673 · DOI 10.2174/2211352520666220104104747
  5. Potential Patient-Reported Toxicities With Disulfiram Treatment in Late Disseminated Lyme Disease.
    Trautmann A, Gascan H, Ghozzi R. · · 2020 · cited 8× · PMID 32373619 · DOI 10.3389/fmed.2020.00133
  6. A pilot study of disulfiram for individuals with persistent symptoms despite prior antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease.
    Kuvaldina M, Preston J, McClellan D, Pavlicova M, et al · · 2025 · cited 1× · PMID 40265182 · DOI 10.3389/fmed.2025.1549324
  7. Off-label and repurposed use of disulfiram beyond alcohol dependence: A systematic review of clinical and preclinical evidence.
    Benkő BM, De Brito Parreirinha NS, Sebe I, Zelkó R. · · 2026 · PMID 42058920 · DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115441
  8. Development of Low-Dose Disulfiram Rectal Suppository Intended for Application in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.
    Benkő BM, Szabó BI, Kádár S, Szabó E, et al · · 2025 · PMID 40733058 · DOI 10.3390/pharmaceutics17070849

Verify or expand the search:

Other trials of Disulfiram

Trials testing the same drug.

Other recruiting trials for Fatigue

Currently open trials in the same condition.

Other Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. trials

Trials by the same sponsor.

Verify against primary sources

Data sources for this page

Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT03891667.

Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing