Mechanism of Antidepressant-Related Dysfunctional Arousal in High-Risk Youth

February 22, 2024 updated by: Melissa Delbello, University of Cincinnati
A 16-week double blind, placebo-controlled investigation of escitalopram in adolescents with depression and/or anxiety with a family history of Bipolar Disorder. Subjects will be evaluated using semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom ratings, participate in a MRI scan and then randomized to treatment. Following randomization, high-risk youth will have visits every week for the first 4 weeks of treatment then biweekly up to 16 weeks during which time tolerability and ratings will be performed. MRI scan will be repeated at week 4.

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 primary goals of this proposal are to investigate the etiological mechanisms associated with antidepressant-related dysfunctional emotional arousal and to characterize baseline neurobiological risk factors that predict the development of dysfunctional emotional arousal in treatment seeking youth with a family history of BD.

Antidepressants have moderate benefit for treating mood and anxiety disorders in childhood but their effects on the developing brain are largely unknown. Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed medications used by youth in the United States and are used to treat many psychiatric disorders including depression, dysthymia and anxiety. However, recent reviews suggest that antidepressants provide only mild to moderate benefit. Moreover, a growing number of case reports and clinical studies have described antidepressant-related psychiatric adverse events such as aggression, psychosis, agitation, suicidal ideation, hypomania or mania, all behaviors associated with increased emotional arousal. Importantly, these adverse events are more likely to occur in children than adults. With younger ages of treatment combined with increased and repeated exposure during critical sensitive periods of neurodevelopment, these adverse events are becoming a rising concern for youth, and may lead to the development of serious psychopathologies in youth that carry an enormous burden of illness, such as bipolar disorder (BD). Given that BD typically begins before 18 years of age and with a depressive episode, there are millions of youth in the U.S. each year who experience their first bipolar episode as a depressive episode that is routinely treated with antidepressants. However, the mechanisms and risk factors through which antidepressants increase risk for developing adverse outcomes are largely unknown.

Youth with a family history of BD have a high likelihood of developing adverse responses to antidepressants, possibly because such youth are already vulnerable to developing dysfunctional emotional arousal and may use antidepressants to treat mood and anxiety symptoms. Indeed, a family history of BD is among the strongest risk factors for developing disorders of emotional arousal in youth. Twin and family studies have provided compelling evidence that having a parent with BD is associated with dramatic increases in risk for the offspring's development of disorders of emotional arousal compared with the general population. Moreover, when these offspring develop dysfunctional emotional arousal, their risk of developing BD increases even further. Antidepressants are commonly used to treat initial mood presentations; however, they may also accelerate the onset of dysfunctional emotional arousal in these high-risk youth. In this context, it becomes difficult to disentangle a natural illness progression from an antidepressant-related dysfunction leading to BD. Thus, there is a significant clinical dilemma regarding whether antidepressants should be prescribed to treat youth with a family history of BD, who also have DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) depressive and anxiety disorders.

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.
214

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.
  • Not Applicable

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
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305-2004
        • Stanford University
    • Ohio
      • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45219
        • University of Cincinnati

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

12 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion - High-Risk Youth:

  1. age 12 years, 0 mos. - 17 years, 11 mos.;
  2. at least one parent or step-parent/guardian with whom the subject lives is willing to participate in research sessions;
  3. the child and relative(s) are able and willing to give written informed assent/consent to participate, respectively;

  4. the youth meets criteria for high-risk:

    • has at least one first degree relative with Bipolar I Disorder, as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID; First et al. 1995), the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS-PL, Kaufman et al., 1997), and the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria (FH-RDC; Andreasen et al., 1977);
    • the youth shows evidence of current significant depressive or anxiety symptoms as determined by a current Childhood Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R, Poznanski et al.,1984) score > 35 and/or a current Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS, 2002) score > 15.

Inclusion - Healthy Controls:

  1. age 12 years, 0 mos. - 17 years, 11 mos.;
  2. at least one parent or step-parent/guardian with whom the subject lives is willing to participate in research sessions;
  3. the child and relative(s) are able and willing to give written informed assent/consent to participate, respectively;
  4. no personal or family history of any psychopathology as assessed by the KSADS-PL structured clinical interview (Kaufman et al., 1997) and the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria (FH-RDC; Andreasen et al., 1977).

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion - High-Risk Youth & Healthy Controls:

  1. any history of syndromal bipolar I or II disorder (i.e., history of mania, mixed episode, or major depression with hypomania);
  2. a history of previous antidepressant exposure
  3. a DSM-5 diagnosis of autism, pervasive developmental disorder, OCD(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), PTSD, Tourette's disorder, or any psychotic disorder including schizophrenia;
  4. evidence of mental retardation (IQ < 70) as determined by the Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI; Psychological Corporation, 1999);
  5. comorbid neurologic diseases such as seizure disorder;
  6. Drug or alcohol abuse or dependence disorders in the 4 months prior to study recruitment, although a lifetime history of substance or alcohol disorders can be present if the child has been abstinent for at least 6 months (see further discussion below);
  7. evidence of an unstable medical or psychiatric disorder that requires immediate hospitalization or other emergency medical treatment;
  8. a positive pregnancy test; participants will be encouraged but not mandated to discuss a positive pregnancy test with their guardians and we will follow local laws.
  9. any contraindication for MRI, including metal in the body related to an injury or surgery (e.g., surgical clips, metal fragments in the eyes), piercings that cannot be removed, braces, or permanent retainers.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

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: MED - Escitalopram with psychotherapy
Youth will also be assigned a board certified child psychiatrist (Drs. Singh or Chang at Stanford; Drs. DelBello or Patino at UC), who will be blind to treatment condition and see youth weekly for the first 4 weeks, then biweekly until 16 weeks. Youth in the MED condition will be given the USFDA (US Food & Drug Administration) approved antidepressant, escitalopram for the treatment of depression or anxiety in youth and follow a standard dose titration schedule of 5 mg/day for 1 week, 10mg/day for 1 week, then with a target dose of 20-30 mg/day by 4 weeks.
Drug: Escitalopram
Youth in the MED condition will be given the USFDA approved antidepressant, escitalopram for the treatment of depression or anxiety in youth and follow a standard dose titration schedule of 5 mg/day for 1 week, 10mg/day for 1 week, then with a target dose of 20-30 mg/day by 4 weeks. Titration will be no faster than 5mg/week. This titration guideline was drawn from the escitalopram package insert for pediatric dosing, which states that target doses may be achieved by 4 weeks.
Other Names:
  • Lexapro
Placebo Comparator: No MED -Psychotherapy
All participants (No MED and MED) will be assigned a study-trained therapist who will provide hour-long weekly individual cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) based on current evidence-based practices for the treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms for youth.
Behavioral: Cognitive behavioral Psychotherapy
All participants (No MED and MED) will be assigned a study-trained therapist who will provide hour-long weekly individual cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) based on current evidence-based practices for the treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms for youth.
Other Names:
  • CBT
No Intervention: Healthy Control
60 (30 at Stanford, 30 at University of Cincinnati) 12- to 17-year old male and female typically developing healthy controls. Healthy controls will receive behavioral, neural, and physiological assessments at baseline only. healthy controls will be scanned at baseline only and serve as a reference group to determine whether MRI changes observed in the high-risk group from baseline to week 4 are toward or away from normal.

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
Baseline-endpoint change in prefrontal-amygdala functional connectivity by Scan.
Time Frame: Baseline to 16 weeks
Study the neural mechanisms of antidepressant-related dysfunctional arousal by ensuring that the treatment assignment precedes the 4-week scan, and the 4-week scan precedes the assessment of highest arousal measured between 4 and 16 weeks.The change in amygdala hyperactivity from the baseline to 4-week scan will be treated as the outcome and the treatment status (MED vs. No MED) will be treated as the predictor variable. The primary outcome is the level of post-treatment arousal (highest after the 4-week scan). The early change (baseline to 4 weeks) in amygdala hyperactivity, treatment assignment (MED vs. No MED), and the interaction between the two will be the predictors of arousal.
Baseline to 16 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Week 4- endpoint change in mood by and arousal ratings
Time Frame: Between week 4 and 16
We will also explore subgroups of arousal due to worsening symptom severities of mania, anxiety, depression, psychosis, suicidality, and anxiety, using clinical, self, and parent (e.g. TEASAP) report measures of emotional reactivity and lability, and reaction times during the Continuous Performance Task with Emotional and Neutral Distracters (CPT-END) as secondary predictors of dysfunctional emotional arousal.
Between week 4 and 16

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 Cincinnati

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

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: Melissa P DelBello, MD, MS, University of Cincinnati
  • Principal Investigator: Manpreet K Singh, MD,MS, Stanford University

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 (Actual)

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.
December 1, 2015

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.
July 1, 2022

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.
December 1, 2022

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).
September 10, 2015

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.
September 15, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

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.
September 17, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
February 26, 2024

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.
February 22, 2024

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.
February 1, 2024

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.
  • DelBello/Singh AIM
  • R01MH105469 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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