Characterizing and Predicting Drug Effects on Cognition

December 4, 2019 updated by: University of Minnesota
Cognitive impairment is a widely reported side effect of many commonly used drugs. Even a mild, untoward effect on an essential function such a linguistic behavior, a directly observable product of complex cognitive processes, is disruptive to daily life. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying a drug's impact on cognition are poorly understood. This lack of understanding impedes the ability to predict both the effects of drugs in development and the degree to which an individual is vulnerable to the cognitive impact of a particular agent. Topiramate (TPM, an antiepileptic drug) is, with increasing frequency, being prescribed for a range of conditions including migraine prophylaxis, obesity and pain. It is a prime example of a drug that causes speech and language problems severe enough in some patients to result in discontinuation of therapy. For reasons not well understood, TPM has a poorer cognitive profile than many of the older antiepileptic drugs. The investigators' rational for this study is that it will offer insight into the mechanisms underlying drug-induced cognitive deficits.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The investigators' long-term goal is to enhance clinical strategies and inform drug development in order to maximize the benefits of individual drug therapy while minimizing adverse cognitive/language-related side effects. The investigators' objective in this application is to elucidate the relationship among drug exposure as measured by plasma drug levels, its neurophysiological effects, and consequent effects on the cognitive processes observable in everyday language use. Using topiramate (TPM) as a prototype, the investigators will apply the tools of clinical pharmacology, computational linguistics, neuroscience, and engineering to the design and execution of randomized, double blind, crossover studies using three (3) doses of TPM, one (1) dose of a comparator drug (lorazepam-LZP) and a placebo. In order to isolate the cognitive effects of TPM from those possibly arising from an underlying medical condition, subjects will be healthy adults. The investigators will capitalize on an innovative system for automated language and speech analysis (SALSA) developed in our laboratory, to quantify the effects of TPM administration on effective language use, a crucial component of normal day-to-day functioning.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55414
        • University of Minnesota

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 50 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy men and women
  • Ages 18-50
  • Women are post-menopausal or using approved birth control methods
  • To control for brain lateralization of language functions, subjects need to have a dominant right hand.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of clinically significant cardiovascular, endocrine, hematopoietic, hepatic, renal, neurologic, and/or psychiatric disease including suicidality
  • Vision or hearing impairments
  • Current or a history of drug or alcohol abuse
  • living outside of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area.
  • The use of concomitant medications known to affect Topiramate (TPM), Lorazepam (LZP), or the use of any concomitant medications that may alter cognitive function
  • Prior adverse reaction or prior hypersensitivity to TPM, LZP or related compounds
  • A positive pregnancy test (administered to all women before enrollment, and prior to each study session).
  • Subjects who have received any investigational drug within the previous 30 days

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Topiramate 100mg
Participant will receive 3 single-dose treatments with 2-week washout between each treatment. At each of 3 treatments, participants will receive 100mg torpiramate, 2mg lorazepam, or placebo. Treatment order is randomized. All participants in this arm will receive all 3 treatments.
Drug: Lorazepam
Lorazepam: 2mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Ativan
Other: Placebo
Non-active placebo, po, 1x
Drug: Topiramate 100mg
Topiramate: 100 mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Topamax
Experimental: Topiramate 150mg
Participant will receive 3 single-dose treatments with 2-week washout between each treatment. At each of 3 treatments, participants will receive 150mg torpiramate, 2mg lorazepam, or placebo. Treatment order is randomized. All participants in this arm will receive all 3 treatments.
Drug: Lorazepam
Lorazepam: 2mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Ativan
Other: Placebo
Non-active placebo, po, 1x
Drug: Topiramate 150mg
Topiramate: 150 mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Topamax
Experimental: Topiramate 200mg
Participant will receive 3 single-dose treatments with 2-week washout between each treatment. At each of 3 treatments, participants will receive 200mg torpiramate, 2mg lorazepam, or placebo. Treatment order is randomized. All participants in this arm will receive all 3 treatments.
Drug: Lorazepam
Lorazepam: 2mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Ativan
Other: Placebo
Non-active placebo, po, 1x
Drug: Topiramate 200mg
Topiramate: 200 mg, po, 1x
Other Names:
  • Topamax

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change From Baseline in COWA Unique Word Count
Time Frame: Session 1 to Session 5
Study has 3 arms (100mg, 150mg, or 200mg topiramate) and 3 periods per arm (topiramate, 2mg lorazepam, or placebo). Topiramate (TPM), Lorazepam (LZP), or Placebo (PLA) was given to the participant at the beginning of Sessions 2, 3, and 4 (crossover design). No drug was given at Sessions 1 and 5. The baseline value was defined as the average of the values at Session 1 and Session 5. The change from baseline for Topiramate is the value at 2.5 hours post-dose at the Topiramate visit minus the value at baseline, divided by the value at baseline; similarly for Lorazepam and Placebo.
Session 1 to Session 5
Change From Baseline in Spontaneous Narrative Raw Word Count
Time Frame: Session 1 to Session 5
Study has 3 arms (100mg, 150mg, or 200mg topiramate) and 3 periods per arm (topiramate, 2mg lorazepam, or placebo). Topiramate (TPM), Lorazepam (LZP), or Placebo (PLA) was given to the participant at the beginning of Sessions 2, 3, and 4 (crossover design). No drug was given at Sessions 1 and 5. The baseline value was defined as the average of the values at Session 1 and Session 5. The change from baseline for Topiramate is the value at 2.5 hours post-dose at the Topiramate visit minus the value at baseline, divided by the value at baseline; similarly for Lorazepam and Placebo.
Session 1 to Session 5

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Minnesota

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Susan E. Marino, PhD, Assistant Professor

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 25, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 25, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 28, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 17, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 4, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CPDEC

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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