CIT-HD: Study in Huntington's Disease - Full Text View

Sponsors and Collaborators:	University of Iowa National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Information provided by:	National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00271596

Purpose

This research plan proposes to conduct a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial in 36 adults with mild Huntington's disease (HD) to address the following research aims:

To determine the effect of citalopram compared to placebo in patients with early HD on executive function and other outcome variables including functional measures (health-related quality of life, work productivity, and self-reported attention), motor performance, and psychiatric status,
To study the relationship between executive function and functional status in patients with early HD after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment, and
To examine the effect of citalopram treatment on volumetric and metabolic (i.e, N-acetyl-aspartate concentration) in the neostriatum among patients with recently diagnosed Huntington's disease.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Huntington Disease Chorea	Drug: 20mg qd citalopram or placebo	Phase II

Genetics Home Reference related topics: chorea-acanthocytosis familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies familial paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia Huntington disease McLeod neuroacanthocytosis syndrome

MedlinePlus related topics: Huntington's Disease Hurricanes

Drug Information available for: Escitalopram Benzetimide Citalopram Citalopram hydrobromide Dexetimide Escitalopram oxalate Serotonin

U.S. FDA Resources

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Treatment, Randomized, Double Blind (Subject, Investigator), Placebo Control, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study
Official Title:	A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study in Huntington's Disease (CIT-HD)

Further study details as provided by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS):

Primary Outcome Measures:

executive function and other outcome variables including functional measures (health-related quality of life, work productivity, and self-reported attention), motor performance, and psychiatric status [ Time Frame: after 16 weeks of treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Estimated Enrollment:	36
Study Start Date:	November 2005
Estimated Study Completion Date:	March 2012
Estimated Primary Completion Date:	March 2012 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
1: Experimental 20mg qd citalopram or placebo	Drug: 20mg qd citalopram or placebo a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment administered over 16 weeks

Detailed Description:

Specific Aims:

To examine the effects of sixteen weeks of treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram compared to placebo on executive function in patients with early Huntington's disease (HD).
To study the relationship between executive function and functional status in patients with early HD after SSRI treatment.
To determine the effect of sixteen weeks of citalopram compared to placebo on other outcome variables including functional measures (health-related quality of life, work productivity, and self-reported attention), motor performance, and psychiatric status.
To examine the effect of citalopram treatment on volumetric and metabolic (i.e, N-Acetyl-Aspartate concentration) in the neostriatum among patients with recently diagnosed Huntington's Disease.

Main Hypotheses:

At the end of the treatment protocol (i.e., sixteen weeks), patients receiving citalopram as compared with placebo will show a significantly greater improvement on tests of executive function.
Performance on measures of executive function will be significantly associated with measures of functional status.
At the end of the treatment protocol (i.e., sixteen weeks), patients receiving citalopram as compared with placebo will show a significantly greater improvement in functional status and psychiatric ratings; motor score is not expected to change as a result of citalopram therapy.
Using structural MRI and 1H-MRS, after 16 weeks of citalopram treatment, patients with recently diagnosed Huntington's Disease will show greater changes from baseline on volumetric and metabolic (i.e., N-Acetyl-Aspartate concentration) neuroimaging measures in the neostriatum than those on placebo.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 65 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Diagnosis of HD, confirmed by genetic testing and the presence of unequivocal motor signs of HD (e.g., chorea) in combination with a positive family history of HD
Aged between 18 and 65
Ability to provide written informed consent
Mild stage HD (Shoulson and Fahn Scale Stage 1 or 2)
Mild executive dysfunction: participants will be given the Wide Range Achievement Test-4 (WRAT-4) Reading Subtest as a measure of estimated verbal IQ, as well as the UHDRS Cognitive Scale tests (Stroop Test, Verbal Fluency, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test). Patients will be included if they score at least 1 standard deviation below their WRAT-4 estimated cognitive level using age and education-corrected norms for the cognitive tests on at least 2 out of 3 of the UHDRS cognitive tests.

Exclusion Criteria:

Age greater than 65
Current major depression as defined by the Mood Module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders during psychiatric exam or current suicidal ideation.
Any unstable or severe psychiatric disease including DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, dementia, delirium, severe anxiety and/or substance abuse/dependence, as assessed by the study psychiatrist during the interview and exam.
Current use of an SSRI or other treatment for depression (e.g., use of an MAOI) or treatment with an SSRI within the past two months.
Patients who are pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant during the study.
Patients who are unable to participate in the study assessments (cognitive, functional, psychiatric and motor scales) due to cognitive, motor, or sensory impairments (i.e., significant vision or hearing deficits).
Other serious medical conditions such as cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease; head injury with loss of consciousness > 5 minutes; neurological disorder or insult other than HD.
Learning disability or other medical condition that is likely to affect cognitive function; history of symptoms indicative of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood; or a diagnosis of ADHD.

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00271596

Contacts

Contact: William H Adams, BA	319-353-4411	William-H-Adams@uiowa.edu
Contact: Nicole R Ramza, BA	319-384-9408	Nicole-Ramza@uiowa.edu

Locations

United States, Iowa
The University of Iowa	Recruiting
Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
Contact: William H Adams, BA 319-353-4411 William-H-Adams@uiowa.edu
Contact: Nicole R Ramza, BA 319-384-9408 Nicole-Ramza@uiowa.edu
Principal Investigator: Leigh J Beglinger, Ph.D.
Sub-Investigator: Jess G Fiedorowicz, M.D., M.S.

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Iowa

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Investigators

Principal Investigator:	Leigh J Beglinger, Ph.D.	The University of Iowa Psychiatry Department
Principal Investigator:	Jess G Fiedorowicz, M.D., M.S.	University of Iowa Psychiatry Department

More Information

The University of Iowa's Huntington's Disease Center of Excellence This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Publications:

Aylward EH, Anderson NB, Bylsma FW, Wagster MV, Barta PE, Sherr M, Feeney J, Davis A, Rosenblatt A, Pearlson GD, Ross CA. Frontal lobe volume in patients with Huntington's disease. Neurology. 1998 Jan;50(1):252-8.

Bauer A, Zilles K, Matusch A, Holzmann C, Riess O, von Horsten S. Regional and subtype selective changes of neurotransmitter receptor density in a rat transgenic for the Huntington's disease mutation. J Neurochem. 2005 Aug;94(3):639-50. Erratum in: J Neurochem. 2005 Aug;94(4):1167.

Bonelli RM, Wenning GK, Kapfhammer HP. Huntington's disease: present treatments and future therapeutic modalities. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2004 Mar;19(2):51-62. Review.

Como PG, Rubin AJ, O'Brien CF, Lawler K, Hickey C, Rubin AE, Henderson R, McDermott MP, McDermott M, Steinberg K, Shoulson I. A controlled trial of fluoxetine in nondepressed patients with Huntington's disease. Mov Disord. 1997 May;12(3):397-401.

Duan W, Guo Z, Jiang H, Ladenheim B, Xu X, Cadet JL, Mattson MP. Paroxetine retards disease onset and progression in Huntingtin mutant mice. Ann Neurol. 2004 Apr;55(4):590-4.

Fennema-Notestine C, Archibald SL, Jacobson MW, Corey-Bloom J, Paulsen JS, Peavy GM, Gamst AC, Hamilton JM, Salmon DP, Jernigan TL. In vivo evidence of cerebellar atrophy and cerebral white matter loss in Huntington disease. Neurology. 2004 Sep 28;63(6):989-95.

Kish SJ, Shannak K, Hornykiewicz O. Elevated serotonin and reduced dopamine in subregionally divided Huntington's disease striatum. Ann Neurol. 1987 Sep;22(3):386-9.

Menza M, Marin H, Kaufman K, Mark M, Lauritano M. Citalopram treatment of depression in Parkinson's disease: the impact on anxiety, disability, and cognition. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2004 Summer;16(3):315-9.

Murman DL, Giordani B, Mellow AM, Johanns JR, Little RJ, Hariharan M, Foster NL. Cognitive, behavioral, and motor effects of the NMDA antagonist ketamine in Huntington's disease. Neurology. 1997 Jul;49(1):153-61.

Naarding P, Kremer HP, Zitman FG. Huntington's disease: a review of the literature on prevalence and treatment of neuropsychiatric phenomena. Eur Psychiatry. 2001 Dec;16(8):439-45. Review.

Patel SV, Tariot PN, Asnis J. L-Deprenyl augmentation of fluoxetine in a patient with Huntington's disease. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 1996 Mar;8(1):23-6.

Ranen NG, Lipsey JR, Treisman G, Ross CA. Sertraline in the treatment of severe aggressiveness in Huntington's disease. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1996 Summer;8(3):338-40.

Reynolds GP, Dalton CF, Tillery CL, Mangiarini L, Davies SW, Bates GP. Brain neurotransmitter deficits in mice transgenic for the Huntington's disease mutation. J Neurochem. 1999 Apr;72(4):1773-6.

Reynolds GP, Pearson SJ. Decreased glutamic acid and increased 5-hydroxytryptamine in Huntington's disease brain. Neurosci Lett. 1987 Jul 22;78(2):233-8.

Rosas HD, Koroshetz WJ, Chen YI, Skeuse C, Vangel M, Cudkowicz ME, Caplan K, Marek K, Seidman LJ, Makris N, Jenkins BG, Goldstein JM. Evidence for more widespread cerebral pathology in early HD: an MRI-based morphometric analysis. Neurology. 2003 May 27;60(10):1615-20.

Shoulson I, Goldblatt D, Charlton M, Joynt RJ. Huntington's disease: treatment with muscimol, a GABA-mimetic drug. Ann Neurol. 1978 Sep;4(3):279-84.

Yohrling IV GJ, Jiang GC, DeJohn MM, Robertson DJ, Vrana KE, Cha JH. Inhibition of tryptophan hydroxylase activity and decreased 5-HT1A receptor binding in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. J Neurochem. 2002 Sep;82(6):1416-23.

Responsible Party:	University of Iowa ( Leigh Beglinger, Ph.D. )
Study ID Numbers:	200509746, 5K23NS055733-02
Study First Received:	December 30, 2005
Last Updated:	September 5, 2008
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00271596
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS):

Huntington Disease
Citalopram
Celexa

Chorea
Attention
Focus

Study placed in the following topic categories:

Ganglion Cysts
Huntington disease
Basal Ganglia Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Brain Diseases
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Citalopram
Dyskinesias
Serotonin
Cognition Disorders
Chorea

Signs and Symptoms
Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic, Cognitive Disorders
Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Mental Disorders
Movement Disorders
Neurologic Manifestations
Dexetimide
Dementia
Huntington Disease
Delirium

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors
Neurotransmitter Agents
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Nervous System Diseases
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Psychotropic Drugs
Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors

Pharmacologic Actions
Serotonin Agents
Therapeutic Uses
Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation
Central Nervous System Agents
Antidepressive Agents

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on January 16, 2009