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Alzheimer's DiseaseNCT01126099

Prazosin Treatment for Disruptive Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease

A study testing Prazosin in people with Alzheimer's Disease, run by Seattle Institute for Biomedical and Clinical Research at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

A study of outpatient participants with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia who have difficult behaviors that are upsetting for them or their caregivers. Prazosin is a medication that is commonly used to treat people with high blood pressure. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
Alzheimer's Disease
What is being tested?
Prazosin
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
20 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Mar 2010to Mar 2014
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • No age limit
  • Probable or Possible Alzheimer's Disease
  • Disruptive agitated behaviors at least twice a week (overly anxious or excited, making offensive comments.....)
  • Stable medications for 2 weeks
  • Must have a caregiver who spends 10 hours per week caring for the participant and agrees to participate in all evaluation sessions

Who cannot join

  • Cardiovascular: unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction, preexisting hypotension (systolic BP less than 110) or orthostatic hypotension (≥20 mmHg drop in systolic BP following 2 minutes of standing posture)
  • Any unstable medical condition
  • Exclusionary medications: current treatment with prazosin, other alpha-1 blockers (trazodone, sildenafil, vardenafil or tadalafil)
  • Psychoactive medications: subjects may be psychoactive medication-free or be partial responders (by subjective assessment of referring health care professional) to one psychoactive medication from any of the following classes: antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or buspirone. Partial response is defined as some improvement in agitated behavior but persistence of agitated behaviors severe enough to cause patient distress and/or difficulty with caregiving. Although not formally rated, this improvement is equivalent to a Clinical Global Impression of Change rating of no more than minimal improvement (improvement is noticed by not enough to improve patient function or caregiver's practical management of the patient).
  • Psychiatric/behavioral: lifetime schizophrenia; current delirium, mania, depression, or uncontrolled persistent distressing psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions), substance abuse, panic disorder, or any behavior which poses an immediate danger to patient or others or which results in the patient being too uncooperative to meet the requirements of study participation.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System

    Seattle, Washington, 98108

Other trials in United States

About this study

A study of outpatient participants with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia who have difficult behaviors that are upsetting for them or their caregivers. Prazosin is a medication that is commonly used to treat people with high blood pressure. Research with prazosin has shown that it may be effective in treating behavioral problems by reducing excess adrenalin effects in the brain.

Read the detailed description

This is a 24 week study with 14 visits to the research clinic. Approximately 6 of these visits may be done by phone. Additional phone checks are scheduled at the beginning of each 12 week part of the study. Participants will have a 50:50 chance of being on prazosin or placebo in the first 12 weeks of the study. For the second 12 weeks, all participants will take prazosin.

Study visits include a physical and neurological exam; memory testing; interviews with the caregiver about behaviors; and vital signs.

Being tested
Prazosin, Placebo
Keywords
double-blind, treatment, prazosin, Disruptive behaviors in Alzheimer's Disease
Medical subject headings
Alzheimer Disease

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PrazosinDrug

    Also called minipress

    4 mg capsules twice daily for 12 weeks

  • PlaceboDrug

    Also called inert substance

    Placebo capsules twice daily for 12 weeks

Study groups in NCT01126099
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PrazosinExperimentalIn the double blind phase (12 weeks), study participants will take either prazosin for placebo. For the open label phase (12 weeks), all study participants will take prazosin.
Receives: Drug: Prazosin
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorIn the double blind phase (12 weeks), study participants will take either prazosin for placebo. For the open label phase (12 weeks), all study participants will take prazosin.
Receives: Drug: Placebo

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study - Clinical Global Impression of Change

    This scale represents the raters overall impression of improvement or worsening, and is assessed at the last visit. 1 = Marked improvement, 1 = Moderate improvement, 3 = Minimal improvement, 4 = No change, 5 = Minimal worsening, 6 = Moderate worsening, 7 = Marked worsening.

    Measured: 12 Weeks after Baseline

  2. Change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory Score

    Neuropsychiatric Inventory score change from Baseline to last observation.The Neuropsychiatric Inventory is a scale that quantifies behavioral and psychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia. The scale ranges from 0 to 144, with 0 being no symptoms.

    Measured: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Change in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale Total Score

    Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score change from Baseline to last observation. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale measures 18 psychiatric symptom domains. The scale ranges from 18 to 126, where 18 indicates no psychiatric symptoms.

    Measured: 12 Weeks after Baseline

  2. Days in Study

    The number of days participants remained in the study during the Double Blind Phase. Please note that although the length of follow-up designated in the protocol was 12 weeks, a number of participants were in this phase longer (e.g. the dose titration phase took longer than 3 weeks, assessments were delayed due to scheduling conflicts, etc.) Therefore the length of time in the Double Blind Phase can exceed 12 weeks (84 days).

    Measured: 12 weeks after Baseline

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted19 May 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startMar 2010
  3. Primary completionMar 2014
  4. Study completionMar 2014

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
20 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01126099
Sponsor's protocol ID
1R01AG033133-01A1
Other IDs
5R01AG033133
Status last verified
May 2015
First submitted
17 May 2010
Last updated
21 May 2015
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Prazosin in people with Alzheimer's Disease, run by Seattle Institute for Biomedical and Clinical Research at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 May 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 21 May 2015). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study - Clinical Global Impression of Change (time frame: 12 Weeks after Baseline). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 May 2015.

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Clinical Trial NCT01126099 | AzTrials