Higher-dose rifampin to help adults with tuberculous meningitis by measuring drug levels
Official title: High Dose Oral Rifampicin to Improve Survival from Adult Tuberculous Meningitis: a pharmacokinetic substudy (HARVEST-PK)
Funded at Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum I.o. · NIH-11394772 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Adults with tuberculous meningitis receive higher-dose rifampin while researchers measure drug levels in blood and spinal fluid to link dosing with survival and brain injury, including people living with HIV.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum I.o. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nijmegen, Netherlands) |
| Project start | January 22, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $560,902 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI177101-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11394772 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis who are being treated at participating HARVEST trial hospitals and can provide blood and spinal fluid samples, including people living with HIV.
✕Less likely to help
People without tuberculous meningitis, those with drug-resistant TB not covered by the trial regimens, or patients not treated at participating sites are unlikely to benefit directly from enrollment.
What this research studies
If you have tuberculous meningitis and join this work, doctors will give standard or higher doses of rifampin and collect blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples to measure drug levels. The team will also measure markers of brain injury and inflammation to see how drug exposure relates to recovery or harm. They will look at subgroups such as people living with HIV and very sick patients to see if dosing should be different for them. The project will check interactions between higher rifampin doses and antiretroviral medicines in people with HIV.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could identify rifampin dosing that reaches the brain and lowers death or disability from tuberculous meningitis.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier small pharmacokinetic studies and pilot trials showed higher rifampin increases blood and CSF drug levels and suggested possible outcome benefits, but large definitive survival results are still lacking.
Where this research is happening
-
Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum I.o.
Nijmegen, Netherlands Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Te Brake, Lindsey — Stichting Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum I.o.
- Study coordinator: Te Brake, Lindsey
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Personalized Immunomodulatory Therapy for HIV-related Cryptococcal Meningitis
A patient-focused study investigates a personalized treatment approach to improve outcomes for people with HIV who develop cryptococcal meningitis.
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Improving Diagnostics and Neurocognitive Outcomes in HIV/AIDS-related Meningitis
A study in Uganda aims to use faster, better tests and a new antifungal to help people with HIV who develop meningitis.
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TB meningitis diagnostic test compare and cost study in sub-Saharan Africa
Researchers are testing a new CSF urine-based test (SILVAMP TB LAM) to improve diagnosis of TB meningitis in people with HIV, to help speed treatment and reduce death in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Minimally Invasive Sampling to Improve HIV-Associated M meningitis Diagnosis in Africa
A research study is testing easier, less invasive ways to diagnose meningitis in people living with HIV, with a focus on making diagnosis faster and more accurate in Africa and the US.
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Understanding brain injury in kids with tuberculous meningitis (iThemba)
A study in children with TB meningitis in South Africa will look at how inflammation and blood-clotting factors relate to brain injury and infarcts.
-
Serological clues to survival in HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis
This grant looks for antibody signals in the blood that could predict who survives cryptococcal meningitis in people with HIV.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.