Neural Mechanisms of Monoaminergic Engagement in Late-life Depression Treatment Response (NEMO) (NEMO)

February 22, 2025 updated by: Howard Aizenstein

The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh is conducting a research study to learn about the changes that occur in the brain when individuals suffer from and then are treated for depression. The NEMO study has two main purposes. The first is to provide medication treatment to individuals ages 60 and older who are currently depressed.

The second part of the study involves completing a series of 4 MRIs, which assess changes in brain function over the course of treatment. This research may help investigators to develop faster and more effective treatment plans in the future, as brain responses that are detected early in treatment may predict how well an individual will respond to antidepressant medication.

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

In this competing renewal (Year 11) of the investigators' R01 which has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study late-life depression (LLD) pharmacotherapy (R01MH076079), the primary aim of this study is to characterize functional connectivity changes associated with initial medication exposure (12-hour challenge). Preliminary data suggests that these initial fMRI changes reflect monoaminergic engagement, regardless of monoaminergic class, and predict later treatment response. This study will test a neural systems level model that response in LLD is mediated by acute pharmacologically-induced changes in cognitive and affective large scale network.

Depression in older adults is frequently disabling and is often resistant to first-line treatments, requiring more prolonged treatment trials than in younger adults, mainly due to its heterogeneous pathophysiology (e.g. vascular and degenerative brain changes). Currently, there is little neurobiological data to guide changing or augmenting antidepressant medications. Thus, there has been a heightened focus on tailoring treatment to optimize outcome as described in the 2015 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) draft strategic plan (strategy 3.2). While antidepressant clinical response may take up to 8 weeks, recent studies suggest that physiologic changes, as measured with pharmacologic fMRI (phMRI) are seen within 12 hours of starting a new monoaminergic antidepressant (1).

For this proposal, investigators focus on three major Cognitive and Affective Networks (CAN): the Default Mode Network (DMN), the Salience Network (SN) and the Executive Control Network (ECN). The proposed model suggests that monoaminergic engagement leads to core CAN changes, changes that subsequently are related to overall clinical response as well as response in specific symptom clusters such as negative bias, somatizations/anxiety and cognitive control. The same networks that are functionally connected while individuals are at rest, are also selectively engaged during tasks. Investigators' prior work shows that pharmacotherapy - regardless of type of antidepressant used - engages these specific networks at rest and during standard cognitive and affective tasks. Given the role of cerebrovascular disease in LLD treatment response, the moderating role of vascular burden on the proposed association between CAN engagement and treatment response will also be explored.

The University of Pittsburgh will recruit 100 older adults with LLD that will be randomized to receive treatment with either a very specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor (escitalopram) or a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (levomilnacipran). A pair of fMRI scans one day apart will be used to measure functional connectivity (FC) associated with medication titration. Investigators will use a very early (12 hours after initiation of treatment) biomarker of treatment response, which, when validated, would decrease substantially the waiting time between medication changes. Additionally, this study will further increase knowledge of the acute neural system changes associated with monoaminergic antidepressants; this knowledge of mechanism is essential for both guiding LLD treatment research, and serving as an engagement target in LLD treatment research.

Note: The original study design involved randomization to escitalopram or placebo (instead of escitalopram and levomilnacipran). Therefore a subset of participants will complete the study according to this design.

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.
57

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • University of Pittsburgh

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

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age greater than or equal to 60 years old
  • Current Major Depressive Episode or Current Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or Dysthymic Disorder
  • Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) greater than or equal to 12
  • Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) score greater than or equal to 84
  • MoCA-BLIND greater than or equal to 13

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of Mania or Psychosis
  • Current suicidal ideation that cannot be safely managed within the confines of a clinical trial
  • Alcohol or Substance Abuse (current or past 3 months) endorsed via phone screening interview or diagnosed by Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (SCID)
  • Dementia of any etiology endorsed via phone screening interview or diagnosed by SCID
  • Medical conditions with known significant effects on mood (e.g., stroke, current hypothyroid state) as well as unstable medical illness, including delirium, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or cardiovascular risk factors that are not under medical management Unwilling or clinically determined to be unable to taper from high doses of benzodiazepines (equivalent to > 2 mg lorazepam/day) or other anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications at time of screening. However, for participants who are prescribed low dose psychotropics for pain, sleep disturbances, and/or medical conditions (e.g. amitriptyline for peripheral neuropathy, low dose trazodone as a sleep aid), these will be allowed in most circumstances. We will include participants on certain dosages of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants (for medical reasons) as follows: amitriptyline up to 50 mg/d, doxepin up to 50 mg/d, trazodone up to 100 mg/d, and imipramine up to 50 mg/d. Participants will also be able to continue taking buspirone, an antianxiety medication. As per the examples above, the PI will decide if the participants are eligible for the study and if they may continue the current medication. Justification regarding all decisions will be documented in the research record.
  • Inability to complete required assessments including brain MRI and blood draw
  • Hearing/vision impairment precluding neuropsychological testing
  • Difficulty conversing in English
  • Clinical contraindication to use of escitalopram or levomilnacipran or history of treatment resistance to escitalopram or levomilnacipran
  • Unable or unwilling to provide a secondary/emergency contact person
  • History of stroke with residual symptoms, current epilepsy, or current post-concussive symptoms
  • Clinically relevant hyponatremia (below 130 mEq/L)
  • Significant renal impairment

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: 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.
Active Comparator: Escitalopram Pill
Participants in this arm will receive an initial dose of 5 mg. Further titrations will be decided based on clinical response and tolerability (maximum dose of 20 mg). The medication will be taken by mouth in pill form, once daily.
Drug: Escitalopram Pill
Double-blinded, randomly assigned
Other Names:
  • Lexapro
Placebo Comparator: Placebo

Participants will be given a sugar pill (placebo) to be taken by mouth once daily for the 6 week duration of Phase I. As this arm is also double-blinded, participants will receive an initial dose of 5 mg and further titrations (maximum dose of 20 mg) will be decided based on clinical response and tolerability.

Note: This arm no longer applies as of 5/16/18. Participants are now randomly assigned to Lexapro or Fetzima.
Other: Placebo
Double-blinded, randomly assigned
Other: Escitalopram Pill (Phase II)

Participants who were in the placebo arm for Phase I who do not show signs of response to treatment by week 6 (defined as either a MADRS score of greater than 12 or less than a 30% reduction in MADRS score to be deemed a non-responder) will be given the option to have an open-label trial of escitalopram in Phase II.

Participants in this arm will receive an initial dose of 5 mg. Further titrations throughout the 6 week duration of Phase 2 (maximum dose of 20 mg) will be decided based on clinical response and tolerability. The medication will be taken by mouth in pill form, once daily.

Note: This arm no longer applies as of 5/16/18. Participants are now randomly assigned to Lexapro or Fetzima and the assignment does not change throughout the study.
Drug: Escitalopram Pill
Double-blinded, randomly assigned
Other Names:
  • Lexapro
Active Comparator: Levomilnacipran Pill
Participants will receive an initial dose of 20 mg blinded levomilnacipran. At day 7, the doses will be titrated to 40 mg of levomilnacipran. Further titrations (maximum dose of 120 mg of levomilnacipran) will be decided based on clinical response and tolerability. The medication will be taken by mouth in pill form, once daily.
Drug: Levomilnacipran Pill
Double-blinded, randomly assigned
Other Names:
  • Fetzima

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 in Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale Score
Time Frame: Change in Baseline MADRS score through Week 12
Treatment response will be defined as either a MADRS score of less than 12 or 30% or greater reduction in MADRS score.
Change in Baseline MADRS score through Week 12
Change in Functional Connectivity
Time Frame: Change in Functional Connectivity from Baseline to Day 1

The primary analysis will consist of linear mixed effects models with functional connectivity (for each region of interest) as the outcome measure and group (R [responder]/NR[non-responder], as defined by MADRS), time and their interaction.

The results listed are the difference in Baseline to 12 hours after first dose of medication.

The values derived by first preprocessing the raw data using SPM and using the AAL3 atlas to parcellate the images into anatomical brain regions. Then the mean residual time series for each region was calculated and the Pearson correlation between the time series of each region was calculated. Then the mean Pearson correlations between every other region with the region identified were calculated and these correlation values were then standardized to have a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. Higher values indicate stronger and better connectivity.
Change in Functional Connectivity from Baseline to Day 1

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
Age of Onset
Time Frame: Baseline
Investigators will assess how early vs. late onset depression (e.g., onset before/after age 60) may affect treatment response.
Baseline
Response Styles Questionnaire- Rumination (RSQ-Rumination)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 1, and Week 12

The Response Styles Questionnaire- Rumination (RSQ-Rumination) examines propensity towards negative bias during thought. To be used as covariate in functional connectivity analysis.

Range of scores: 22-88. Lower the better
Baseline, Week 1, and Week 12
Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 1, and Week 12

The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) is a structured interview to assist in the reliable assessment of anxiety severity by standardizing the method of assessment and providing clear anchor points for the assignment of severity ratings. Examines level of anxiety and somatization. To be used as covariate in functional connectivity analysis.

Range of scores: 0-56. Lower the better
Baseline, Week 1, and Week 12
Neuropsychological Evaluations
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12

The neuropsychological testing battery, developed by Co-I Meryl Butters, Ph.D., includes components of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Scale (D-KEFS), and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).

"dkefs_trail4_scaled_1" is a scaled score for Condition 4 (Number-Letter Switching) of the D-KEFS Trail Making Test, which measures cognitive flexibility and executive functioning. Range 1-19. Higher the better

" dkefs_colorword3_scaled_1" is a score from D-KEFS Color-Word Interference. The individual is asked to inhibit an automatic reading response to name the ink color of words that spell out conflicting color names. Range 1-19. Higher the better

"rbans_total_index_1" is the total index score from the RBANS, designed to assess various cognitive domains. The total index score is a composite score that provides an overall measure of cognitive functioning by combining the results from all the RBANS subtests. Range 40-155. Higher the better
Baseline and Week 12
Antidepressant Treatment History Questionnaire (ATHF)
Time Frame: Baseline
Investigators will examine prior treatment history and how this may affect treatment response in this study. Number of participants analyzed are those who have previously had a trial of at least one antidepressant.
Baseline
Medication Plasma Levels
Time Frame: Weeks 1-12

Investigators will assess how blood levels of escitalopram and levomilnacipran may affect treatment response.

The data was not collected because the Co-Investigator responsible for the analyses left academia and the University of Pittsburgh. No data will ever be produced and there will be no results to report.
Weeks 1-12
Duration of Illness
Time Frame: Duration of illness at Baseline
Investigators will assess how length of current episode affect treatment response.
Duration of illness at Baseline

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.
Howard Aizenstein

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)
Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry

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: Howard J Aizenstein, MD, Ph.D., Charles F. Reynolds III and Ellen G. Detlefsen Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Clinical and Translational Science
  • Principal Investigator: Carmen Andreescu, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

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

Helpful Links

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.
May 24, 2017

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.
June 21, 2023

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 30, 2023

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).
April 4, 2017

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.
April 19, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
April 25, 2017

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.
March 25, 2025

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, 2025

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, 2025

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.
  • STUDY19120137
  • R01MH076079 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will be shared through the NIMH Data Archive.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data collected to date is submitted twice annually (January and July) and is shared within 4 months of submission.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

NIH will provide access to scientific investigators for research purposes.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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