A Study Of Synthetic THC And Sleep

September 17, 2026 updated by: Virend Somers, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic

Effects Of Nocturnal Dronabinol Use On Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment And Physiological Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to determine if oral dronabinol prior to sleep can improve CPAP adherence and sleep quality in humans. We also seek to determine if combination therapy of CPAP and pre-sleep dronabinol is associated with improved BP regulation. We will also explore BP regulatory mechanisms and whether these are impacted differently between traditional CPAP therapy and combination CPAP/dronabinol.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.

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 (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.
72

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 2
  • Phase 3

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
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • 21 - 70 years of age
  • Biological male or female
  • AHI between 15 - 50 events/hour
  • Current or new OSA diagnosis
  • Established or new (within 1 month) CPAP therapy

Exclusion Criteria

  • BMI > 35 kg/m2
  • Diagnosed psychiatric disorders
  • Hypotension
  • History of seizures
  • History of substance abuse or recreational drug use or positive urine drug screen

  • History of uncontrolled disease including:

    • Cardiovascular
    • Pulmonary
    • Gastrointestinal
    • Pancreatic
    • Hepatic
    • Renal
    • Hematological
    • Endocrine (including Type I Diabetes)
    • Neurological
    • Urological
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Use of certain antimicrobial, chemotherapeutic, anticoagulant, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, psychotropic, and antihistamine drugs
  • Prescribed CYP2C9 and/or CYP3A4 inhibitors
  • Severe OSA that in the investigator's judgment should only begin CPAP treatment
  • Prior upper airway surgery for snoring or OSA as an adult
  • Significant defect in nasal patency due to anatomical abnormality or uncontrolled rhinitis
  • Bariatric surgery within 2 years
  • Medically managed weight-loss program within 6 months
  • Noninvasive treatment for OSA within 1 month (self-report)
  • History of shift work or rotating shifts within 1 month

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.
Experimental: Dronabinol
Patients assigned to the Dronabinol arm will be taking the Study drug (Dronabinol) one hour prior to bed each night for 6 weeks.
Drug: Dronabinol
10 mg dose of Dronabinol daily for 6 weeks
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Patients assigned to the placebo arm will be taking the placebo pill (sugar pill) one hour prior to bed each night for 6 weeks.
Drug: Placebo
10 mg dose of Placebo daily for 6 weeks

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
Number of times subjects complete CPAP therapy
Time Frame: Baseline
CPAP therapy is defined as using the therapeutic device for ≥ 4 hours per night
Baseline
Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)
Time Frame: Day 15, Day 29, and Day 42
Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) an index used to describe the number of apneas experienced during sleep. It is calculated by (Number of hours of sleep/Number of Apneas or hypopneas). This value will then be graded on a scale from Normal (<5) to Severe (>30).
Day 15, Day 29, and Day 42
International Physical Activity Questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 42
International Physical Activity Questionnaire is a 0-10 visual analog scale to assess self-reported sleep quality
Baseline and Day 42

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
24-hour blood pressure
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 42
Blood pressure will be monitored for 24 hours and reported as mm/Hg
Baseline and Day 42
Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Baseline, Day 22, and Day 42
Blood Pressure will be reported as mm/Hg
Baseline, Day 22, and Day 42

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.
Mayo Clinic

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: Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

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 (Estimated)

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.
November 1, 2026

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.
April 1, 2028

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.
April 1, 2028

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 30, 2026

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 30, 2026

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.
May 6, 2026

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.
September 18, 2026

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.
September 17, 2026

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.
September 1, 2026

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.
  • 25-009764

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

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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