Brain Imaging Biomarkers of Pathological Brain Aging in Late-life Depression

June 24, 2024 updated by: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

PET-MRI Biomarkers of Pathological Brain Aging in Late-life Depression

This study investigates the relationships and differences in PET-MRI brain imaging biomarkers of abnormal aging and behavioral measures in late life depression compared to healthy controls, and evaluates relationships and differences in the same imaging and behavioral measures following electroconvulsive therapy. The study tests the hypotheses that late-life depression will be associated with higher levels of accelerated aging and brain disease biomarkers, and that electroconvulsive therapy works by stimulating the reorganization of brain tissue.The data collected with contribute to improved knowledge about the neurobiology of late-life psychopathology and its treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

This clinical study is a combined single-center, cohort study with a (1) cross-sectional arm evaluating relationships and differences in PET-MR imaging and behavioral measures in 64 patients with late life depression (LLD) compared to 64 healthy controls, and (2) a longitudinal arm evaluating relationships and differences in imaging and behavioral measures in 20 patients receiving ECT as part of their normal clinical management. The study will utilise three PET tracers: (1) [11C]UCB-J, which targets the Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A receptor, to estimate synaptic density (2) [18F]MK-6240, which targets tau associated with neurofibrillary tangles, to assess the presence of tau pathology and (3) [18F]-Flutemetamol, which targets beta-amyloid neuritic plaques in the brain, to assess the presence of cerebral amyloidosis. The main aim of the study is to clarify how hippocampal synaptic density, tau, amyloid and white matter lesions, relate to neuropsychological function, stress and ECT in late life depression.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
128

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Belgium
      • Leuven, Belgium
        • Recruiting
        • UZ Leuven
        • Contact:
          • Mathieu Vandenbulcke, MD, PhD

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

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A consecutive series of hospital in-patients with late-life depression will be recruited from the Department of Old Age Psychiatry within the University Psychiatric Center, KU Leuven, Belgium. Healthy controls will be recruited from the community by researchers affiliated with the Department of Old Age Psychiatry Department & Translational Neuropsychiatry using traditional means e.g. flyer. All participants will provide written informed consent prior to enrollment in the study in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of late-life depression according to DSM 5 (patients only)
  • Age over 60 years old
  • Judged to be in good physical health by the investigator on the basis of medical history

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history or evidence of psychiatric disease, as assessed by clinical interview (healthy controls only).
  • history of major other neurological disorder, or major internal pathology that may make him/her unfit for participation according to the interpretation by the investigator (including cardiac, lung, haematological, gastro-intestinal disorders or cancer);
  • current user (including ''recreational use'') of any illicit drugs,including cannabis, or has a history of drug or alcohol abuse;
  • had exposure to ionizing radiation (> 1 mSv) in other research studies within the last 12 months;
  • has a contra-indication for MRI scanning;
  • suffers from claustrophobia or cannot tolerate confinement during PET-MRI scanning procedures; cannot lie still for 60 minutes inside the scanner;
  • does not understand the study procedures
  • unwilling or unable to perform all of the study procedures, or is considered unsuitable in any way by the principal investigator;
  • underwent ECT within the last 3 months before enrollment (patients)

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

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Late-life Depression
Patients aged over 60 years old with severe depression
Late-life Depression (ECT)
Patients aged over 60 years old with severe depression who are referred for treatment with electroconvulsive therapy
Other: ECT
ECT administered as part of normal clinical management
Healthy Controls
Healthy volunteers over 60 years old who will form a comparison group

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
Relationship between synaptic density and hippocampal volume in LLD
Time Frame: 1 day
Cross-sectional association between [11C]UCB-J binding (SUVR) and MRI-based assessment of hippocampal volume
1 day
Relationship between tau and hippocampal volume in LLD
Time Frame: 1 day
Cross-sectional association between [18F]MK-6240 binding (SUVR) and MRI-based assessment of hippocampal volume
1 day
Relationship between tau and white matter (wm) pathology in LLD
Time Frame: 1 day
Cross-sectional association between [18F]MK-6240 binding (SUVR) and MRI measures of white matter pathology (T2-FLAIR WMH/lesions, diffusion MRI measures in temporal lobe tracts)
1 day
Effect of tau on medial temporal neural responses to emotional stimuli and functional connectivity in LLD
Time Frame: 1 day
Cross-sectional association between [18F]MK-6240 binding (SUVR), fMRI based assessment of the emotion positivity effect, and fMRI derived resting state brain networks.
1 day
Relationship between medial temporal pathology and stress
Time Frame: 1 week
Association between [18F]MK-6240 binding (SUVR), hippocampal volume (MRI) and reactivity to stress (EMA) and wristband monitoring of heart rate and skin conductance.
1 week
Relationship between hippocampal volume increase following ECT and changes in synaptic density and tau
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Association between change in [11C]UCB-J and [18F]MK-6240 binding (SUVR) and MRI-based assessment of hippocampal volume one week following last ECT
8 weeks
Amyloid changes following ECT
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Change in [18F] Flutemetamol one week following the last ECT treatment
8 weeks

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.
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

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.
KU Leuven

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: Mathieu Vandenbulcke, MD, PhD, UZ Leuven / UPC-KU Leuven

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 (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.
June 19, 2019

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

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, 2024

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).
February 19, 2019

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.
February 19, 2019

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.
February 21, 2019

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.
June 25, 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.
June 24, 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.
November 1, 2023

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.
  • S61968

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

The nature of anonymized IPD data that may be made available will be determined on an ad hoc basis and in adherence with the terms of the informed consent provided by the participants and advice from the local ethics committees and university technology transfer office.

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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