An Open-Label Study of N-Acetyl Cysteine in Pathological Gambling

April 27, 2007 updated by: University of Minnesota

After completing all screening evaluations, subjects will receive unblinded N-Acetyl Cysteine 600 mg/day for 2 weeks. The dose will be raised to 1200 mg/day at visit 4 and to 1800 mg/day at visit 6 unless clinical improvement has been attained at a lower dose (clinical improvement will be assessed by the investigator with respect to gambling thoughts, urges and behavior). If it is clinically necessary to modify this schedule (e.g., because of side effects or an adequate response to a lower dose), the dose will be raised more slowly or the target dose will not be reached.

Subjects will start no other psychotropic medications during the study but may continue on previously prescribed psychotropic medications if on a stable dose for 3 months prior to study entry. Psychotherapy of any form (including cognitive-behavioral therapy) will not be initiated during the study but subjects may continue with current psychotherapy if they have been undergoing therapy for at least three months prior to study entry.

Subjects will be evaluated with the PG-YBOCS, G-SAS, CGI, HAM-D, HAM-A and the Sheehan Disability Inventory at screening and at each visit for the remainder of the study. Medication side effects will be evaluated at each study visit. A tablet count will be kept for each dose of medication taken.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Before beginning N-Acetyl Cysteine, all subjects will receive a psychiatric, medical, and family history evaluation as well as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-P) for Axis I disorders. At the screening visit, patients will also receive standard laboratory tests (including ß-HCG), and a physical examination.

The following instruments will be completed at the screening visit and periodically throughout the study: 1) Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Pathological Gambling (PG-YBOCS), a reliable and valid semi-structured clinician-administered scale that assesses current severity of PG; 2) Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS), a reliable and valid self-report measure of gambling symptoms; 3) the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D); 4) the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A); 5) Clinical Global Impression scale; 6) the Sheehan Disability Inventory; and 7) the Quality of Life Inventory. Safety evaluations, including pulse and blood pressure, and assessment of side effects will be done at each visit.

After completing all screening evaluations, subjects will receive unblinded N-Acetyl Cysteine 600 mg/day for 2 weeks. The dose will be raised to 1200 mg/day at visit 4 and to 1800 mg/day at visit 6 unless clinical improvement has been attained at a lower dose (clinical improvement will be assessed by the investigator with respect to gambling thoughts, urges and behavior). If it is clinically necessary to modify this schedule (e.g., because of side effects or an adequate response to a lower dose), the dose will be raised more slowly or the target dose will not be reached.

Subjects will start no other psychotropic medications during the study but may continue on previously prescribed psychotropic medications if on a stable dose for 3 months prior to study entry. Psychotherapy of any form (including cognitive-behavioral therapy) will not be initiated during the study but subjects may continue with current psychotherapy if they have been undergoing therapy for at least three months prior to study entry.

Subjects will be evaluated with the PG-YBOCS, G-SAS, CGI, HAM-D, HAM-A and the Sheehan Disability Inventory at screening and at each visit for the remainder of the study. Medication side effects will be evaluated at each study visit. A tablet count will be kept for each dose of medication taken.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Phase

  • Phase 1

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

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55454
        • University of Minnesota

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 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Men and women age 18-65
  • Current DSM-IV PG

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unstable medical illness on physical examination
  • History of seizures
  • Myocardial infarction within 6 months
  • Current pregnancy or lactation, or inadequate contraception in women of childbearing potential
  • Clinically significant suicidality
  • Lifetime history of DSM-IV bipolar disorder type I, dementia, or schizophrenia or any other DSM-IV psychotic disorder
  • Current or recent (past 3 months) DSM-IV substance abuse or dependence
  • Illegal substance within 2 weeks of study initiation
  • Initiation of psychotherapy or behavior therapy from a mental health professional within 3 months prior to study baseline
  • Previous treatment with N-Acetyl Cysteine

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: NON_RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
PG-YBOCS

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
G-SAS

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

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

January 1, 2006

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 6, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

January 9, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 30, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2007

Last Verified

April 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0511M77412

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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