Efficacy of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatment Via Prebiotic Supplementation

April 13, 2024 updated by: Robin Voigt, Rush University Medical Center

Enhancing the Efficacy of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatment Via Microbiota-Directed Prebiotic Supplementation

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder, which results from exposure to traumatic events. Veterans are more than twice as likely to suffer from PTSD compared to civilians. Current interventions for the treatment of PTSD are evidence-based psychotherapies, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Therefore, we plan to compare Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with and without a novel prebiotic bar designed to beneficially modulate the microbiota to determine the utility of this combined approach to positively impact PTSD symptoms. We will conduct a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-sectional trial in veterans with PTSD. Participants will be randomized to receive CPT + prebiotic or CPT + placebo. They will be provided a supply of prebiotic or non prebiotic bars for 12 weeks. At three different time points, participants will complete questionnaires and complete questionnaires and produce a stool sample ( weeks 1,2, and 12). All participants will be recruited from the two-week in-person Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) at the Rush Road Home Program, where they will be receiving CPT.

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.

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.
80

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 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

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • Rush University Medical Center

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veterans who are participating in the Rush Road Home Program 2-week Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and have the ability to consent.
  • Ability and willingness to consume up to two prebiotic bars daily and collect stool samples.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active suicidality or homicidality, current engagement in significant non-suicidal self harm, history of mania or psychosis, current eating disorders, and/or current substance use that would require medical observation if discontinued.
  • Gastrointestinal disease: (1) prior intestinal resection, (2) history of GI disease (except for hiatal hernia, nonproton pump inhibitor requiring gastroesophageal reflux disease, or hemorrhoids), (3) known renal disease or abnormal liver function, (4) antibiotic use within the previous 12 weeks, (5) a plan to have a major change in dietary habits during the study.
  • Allergy to almonds, flax seed or coconuts

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: Double

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.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Non-Prebiotic Bar Group
This group of participants will be consuming non-prebiotic bars for the duration of the trial.
Behavioral: Non-Prebiotic Bar +CPT
Participants will be instructed to consume 1 non-prebiotic bar once daily for 1 week while receiving CPT. Starting week 2 they will be asked to consume 1 non-prebiotic bar twice daily.
Active Comparator: Prebiotic Bar Group
Participants will be asked to consume prebiotic bars for the duration of the trial.
Dietary supplement: Prebiotic Bar +CPT
Participants will be instructed to consume 1 prebiotic bar once daily for 1 week CPT. Starting week 2 they will be asked to consume 1 prebiotic bar twice daily.

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 PTSD symptoms scores
Time Frame: 12 weeks
PTSD symptoms will be assessed using the PTSD Checklist- Identified Patient Version (PCL-5), a 20-item self-report measure of the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD. Respondents are asked to rate how bothered they have been by each of 20 items in the past month using a Likert scale ranging from 0-4, where 0= Not at All, 1= A little Bit, 2= Moderate, 3= Quite a Bit, and 4= Extremely. These scores are summed to provide a total severity score (range = 0-80). A score of 38 is considered a provisional PTSD diagnosis, the higher the scores the worse the PTSD symptoms. This questionnaire will be administered at three-time points - week 1, week 2, and week 12 to determine the time course of PTSD symptom change. Meaningful changes in symptoms will be defined as a 10-point change in the PCL-5.
12 weeks
Changes in microbiota community structure & function
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Stool microbiota community structure will be assessed via 16S sequencing of the V4 region to characterize the intestinal microbiota communities to the genus level. Microbiota function assessed via targeted metabolomics analysis of Short Chain Fatty Acids in stool and serum (LC-MS). Stool samples are collected at three time points- week 1, week2, and week 12 to determine the time-course change.
12 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.
Rush University Medical Center

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.
Cures Within Reach

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 6, 2022

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 5, 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.
July 5, 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).
June 8, 2022

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 15, 2022

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.
June 21, 2022

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.
April 16, 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.
April 13, 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.
April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • ORA 21051205

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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