Safety Study of Nicotinamide to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

January 23, 2017 updated by: Steven Schreiber, University of California, Irvine

Efficacy of Nicotinamide for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

The purpose of this study is to determine whether nicotinamide, or vitamin B3, is safe and effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The goal of this proposal is to show that, nicotinamide (NA), a B3 vitamin, is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). NA is known to block the ability of certain proteins to regulate other proteins by removing their acetyl groups. Recent evidence has demonstrated that inhibitors such as NA prevent nerve cell degeneration in models of Huntington's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease (or ALS). Despite these beneficial effects in many different animal models, there have been no studies to date using these inhibitors in AD. In some of our recent studies we found that the potent inhibitor, NA, significantly improves learning and memory in transgenic mice that develop AD. NA treatment also resulted in striking changes in tau, a protein that abnormally accumulates in AD. NA has been extensively used in clinical studies over the last 40 years and is generally safe and well-tolerated. As NA is a safe and readily available vitamin supplement, our recent results provide a strong argument for a study of NA in patients with AD. We therefore propose to treat 50 patients with mild to moderate AD with either NA (1500 milligrams twice a day) or an identical but inactive drug (placebo) for 24 weeks. At 6 week intervals we will assess functions such as learning and memory, and ability to carry out daily activities as well as caregiver reports using standardized tests. We will also perform spinal taps at the beginning and end of the study to measure the level of abnormal tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid. Blood tests will periodically be done to assess liver function and complete blood counts. The results of this study may provide the basis for a more extensive study of NA for the treatment of mild to moderate AD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • 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
    • California
      • Irvine, California, United States, 92697
        • UC Irvine School of Medicine

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

46 years to 91 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of probable AD according to DSM-IV criteria
  • Mild to moderate dementia based on Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] score between 13-25
  • Minimum age 50 years
  • Brain imaging (computed tomographic scan or magnetic resonance image) within 12 months consistent with a diagnosis of probable AD
  • Hachinski Ischemic Score of <4.
  • Stable doses of concomitant medications, including cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) and/or memantine.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Dementia due to another cause
  • Other neurological or psychiatric diseases
  • Pseudodementia
  • Unstable medical condition
  • Initial treatment within 30 days of screening with a ChEI, memantine or any investigational drug
  • History of alcoholism, drug abuse, liver disease, peptic ulcer disease
  • Pregnancy, or the potential to become pregnant.

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1
Subjects will receive experimental drug in a blinded fashion.
Drug: Nicotinamide
1500 mg twice a day for 6 months
Other Names:
  • Enduramide
Placebo Comparator: 2
Identical in size, shape and color to experimental drug.
Drug: Enduramide placebo
1 tab twice a day

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 wk, 12 wk, 18 wk, 24 wk
Baseline, 6 wk, 12 wk, 18 wk, 24 wk

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, Irvine

Collaborators

Alzheimer's Association

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Steven S Schreiber, MD, Regents of The University of California

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)

January 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 24, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 26, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

December 27, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 25, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 23, 2017

Last Verified

January 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IIRG-07-61197

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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