Memantine for the Prevention of Cognitive Dysfunction and Negative Symptoms in Patients With Acute Schizophrenia

June 25, 2019 updated by: M. Schaefer, MD

Memantine add-on to Risperidon for Treatment of Negative Symptoms and Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients With Acute Schizophrenia: Results of a Proof of Concept Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 6 weeks memantine add-on to risperidon treatment for the prevention of cognitive dysfunction and negative symptomatology in patients with acute schizophrenia.

Psychopathological changes were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and after 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 weeks. Cognitive function were measured at baseline and week 6, and 24 by the California Verbal Learning Test, Benton Learning Test, Digit Span Forward and Backward Test, Continuous Performance Test, Stroop Test, Trail-Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study examines the efficacy and safety of a 6 weeks memantine add-on to risperidon treatment for the prevention of cognitive dysfunction and negative symptomatology in patients with acute schizophrenia. The trail is double-blind, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group and consisting of a 'placebo-run-in' period, treatment, and follow-up periods. Study personnel and participants were blinded to group assignment. In the 'run-in' period, patients received Lorazepam for the treatment of anxiety and tension states for two weeks before starting antipsychotic therapy. After the 'run-in' period treatment, patients began receiving antipsychotic therapy with Risperidon with continuous concomitant administration of Memantine, 20 mg/d, or placebo for six weeks. Adherence was assessed at each clinic visit by pill count. In cases of anxiety and tension states, an experienced psychiatrist decided whether patients should receive Lorazepam, 5 mg/d, as rescue medication in addition to the study medication (Memantine or placebo), to which the patients remained blinded. In cases of pseudo parkinsonism patients were allowed to receive Biperiden, up to 8 mg/d, and for the treatment of patients suffering from sleep disorders Zopiclon (15 mg/d) was allowed. The consumption of alcohol and drugs were not allowed during the trial. In both study parts, psychiatric assessments were performed at baseline as well as after 2; 4; 6; 12 and 24 weeks after treatment (that is, during the follow-up period). The neuropsychological examination was performed at baseline, and after 6 and 24 weeks. Psychiatric changes, adverse events, laboratory values, dose adjustments of the antipsychotic therapy, and possible pharmacologic adverse effects were systematically monitored throughout the study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Germany
      • Berlin, Germany, 10117
        • Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin; Campus Charité Mitte; Dept. for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

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 40 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-IV)
  • Age 18 to 40
  • Exacerbation of an acute schizophrenic episode (PANSS positive score > 20)
  • At least one previous schizophrenic episode
  • Informed consent
  • Subjects must be considered by the investigator to be compliant
  • Subjects must have an educational level and a degree of understanding such that they can meaningfully communicate with the investigator

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Axis I disorder other than schizophrenia within 12 months, e.g. schizoaffective disorder
  • Severe negative symptomatology (PANNS negative score >20 points)
  • Duration of schizophrenia > 5 years
  • Dependency on alcohol or addictive drugs within 6 months of the baseline evaluation
  • Contraindication of risperidone
  • Significant neurological, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, metabolic, or other medical diseases or any clinically relevant abnormalities in laboratory tests
  • Prior ECT-treatment, metal implantations
  • Female subjects during pregnancy and breastfeeding
  • Female subjects within childbearing years who were not using adequate birth control
  • Patients who are judged by the investigator to be at serious suicide risk

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: PREVENTION
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: TRIPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Memantine plus Risperidone
6 weeks 20 mg Memantine as add-on treatment to Risperidone
Drug: Memantine
Daily dose of 20 mg Memantine add-on to Risperidone vs Placebo add-on to Risperidone
Other Names:
  • Akatinol
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo plus Risperidone
6 weeks 20 mg Placebo as add-on treatment to Risperidone
Drug: Placebo
Daily dose of 20 mg Memantine add-on to Risperidone vs Placebo add-on to Risperidone

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Changes in PANSS negative subscore between memantine and placebo treatment
Time Frame: during trial
during trial

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

M. Schaefer, MD

Collaborators

Stanley Medical Research Institute

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

November 1, 2005

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

June 1, 2008

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 7, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2005

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

September 8, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

June 27, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 25, 2019

Last Verified

June 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MIND 1
  • 02T-247 (SMRI)

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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