Effects of Pentazocine on Manic Symptoms

August 25, 2014 updated by: Beth L. Murphy MD, PhD, Mclean Hospital

Inpatient Clinical Trial Examining the Effects of Pentazocine on Manic Symptoms

The opiate neurotransmitter system is thought to be involved in many abnormal mood states. Some researchers have suggested that changes in this system may trigger the switch to/from manic and depressive states in bipolar disorder. One problem with most of the currently available opiate medications is that they can produce addiction/dependence. A particular kind of opiate medication known as kappa-opiates may be able to produce changes in this system with much less risk of addiction. This study looks at Talwin (a combination of pentazocine and naloxone), a medication which affects the kappa and mu opiate systems. The study will examine whether two doses of Talwin affect manic symptoms in people who have been admitted to the hospital. This study will give more information about the involvement of the opiate system in bipolar disorder, and give important information for use in developing new treatments.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Opiates have a long history of treating mood disorders. Some researchers have suggested that changes in this system may trigger the switch to/from manic and depressive states in bipolar disorder. The clinical use of opiate medications has been limited by their abuse/dependence potential. Studies of opiate receptor subtypes have raised the possibility that medications targeting the kappa/dynorphin system could be used to target mood symptoms with reduced/limited addiction potential. Rodent studies at Mclean indicate that kappa-agonists have pro-depressant effects and kappa-antagonists have anti-depressant effects. In addition, antimanic/antipsychotic medications regulate the activity of dynorphin cells. This study is a pilot open-label investigation using Talwin, a combination of pentazocine and naloxone. Pentazocine is a kappa agonist and mixed mu agonist. Two doses of Talwin will be given to acutely manic inpatients in a cumulative-dosing strategy. Measurements of manic symptoms will be conducted before, during, and after administration. This study will determine whether pentazocine has an immediate or sustained impact on acute mania symptoms.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

10

Phase

  • Phase 2

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) greater than 14
  • Inpatient

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of opiate abuse/dependence
  • Recent history of substance abuse
  • Pregnancy
  • Unstable medical issues
  • Use of opiate medications for pain management

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pentazocine/Talwin
Talwin NX
Talwin NX 50mg po twice
Other Names:
  • Pentazocine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mania Symptoms Using MACS
Time Frame: hourly for 6 hours after first dose of pentazocine; hour 0 is the baseline score and also when first dose of pentazocine was administered
Assessment of current mania symptoms using Mania Acute Change Scale (MACS). All 20 questions on the scale have a 0 (absent)-4(most severe) range for describing mania symptoms. The mean MACS score totals were reported, with the total ranging from 0-80. A higher total score indicates a greater number of symptoms and higher symptom intensity, while a smaller score indicates a lesser number of symptoms and higher lower intensity.
hourly for 6 hours after first dose of pentazocine; hour 0 is the baseline score and also when first dose of pentazocine was administered

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
YMRS Scores
Time Frame: Each morning of the three-day study
Assessment of current mania symptoms using YMRS. All questions have a 0 (absent)-4(most severe) range for describing mania symptoms. The mean YMRS scores were reported, with the total ranging from 0-44. A higher total score indicates a greater number of symptoms and higher symptom intensity, while a smaller score indicates a lesser number of symptoms and higher lower intensity.
Each morning of the three-day study

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

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.

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

September 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 1, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 1, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

August 2, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 4, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 25, 2014

Last Verified

August 1, 2014

More Information

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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