Ketamine/Placebo Family History Positive Study

September 9, 2021 updated by: Yale University

NMDA Dysregulation in Individuals With a Family Vulnerability to Alcoholism

The proposed study is the first to explore the contribution of brain glutamate systems, a major target of ethanol in the brain, to the vulnerability to develop alcoholism. This study may lead to an enhanced understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanism in high-risk individuals that may lead to the transition from moderate to excessive use of alcohol.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Males and females with a paternal family history of alcoholism have a high risk for developing alcoholism. These individuals have been shown to decrease dysphoric responses to alcohol self-administration that may promote the excessive use of alcohol. Ethanol has been shown to be an antagonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor. We have recently shown that sober alcoholics have decreased dysphoric response to the NMDA antagonist, ketamine. We propose to test the hypothesis that this characteristic exists as a vulnerability factor in those individuals susceptible to develop alcoholism. Specifically, the objective is to determine whether individuals with a family history positive (FHP) for alcoholism will experience less dysphoric, anxiogenic, and psychotogenic effects to ketamine infusion when compared to family history negative (FHN) control subjects.

Male and female subjects, FHP (biological father and one other first degree relative) between the ages of 21-30, and matched controls (FHN) will complete 2 test days in a randomized balanced order under double-blind conditions. Test days will involve the 60-minute intravenous infusion of placebo and ketamine. Outcome measures include the Biphasic Alcohol Scale and visual analog scales for mood states. Secondary measures include visual analog scales for high, similarity to ethanol, the Sensation Scale (a validated measure of ethanol-like sensations) and aspects of craving for alcohol.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

99

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Connecticut
      • West Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06516
        • VA Connecticut Healthcare System

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

21 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Male and female between the ages of 21 and 30 years
  2. Medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of history, physical examination, EKG, screening laboratories, absence of current and/or past substance abuse

For Family History Positive (FHP) Subjects: Biological father and another first or second-degree biological relative with history of alcoholism

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis by history on psychiatric evaluation that includes a structured diagnostic interview (The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of alcoholism: SSAGA) and the Wisconsin Scales of Psychosis Proneness
  2. History of counseling or psychotherapy; except family therapy centered around another family member
  3. Extended unwillingness to remain alcohol-free for three days prior to testing and for the duration of the testing period
  4. For women: positive pregnancy test at screening or intention to engage in unprotected sex during the study
  5. Alcohol naïve
  6. Previous bad experience with ketamine
  7. Adoptee and no contact with family members

For Family History Negative (FHN) Subjects: NO family history of alcoholism in any first or second-degree relatives (subjects must reliably report on three first-degree relatives)

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: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Family History Positive
Subjects with a positive family history of alcoholism
Drug: Ketamine and Placebo
Two test days will involve administration of placebo and Ketamine (0.23 mg/kg, loading dose and infusion rate 0.58 mg/kg/minute) intravenously for 60 minutes
Other Names:
  • intravenous
Experimental: Family History Negative
Subjects with a negative family history of alcoholism
Drug: Ketamine and Placebo
Two test days will involve administration of placebo and Ketamine (0.23 mg/kg, loading dose and infusion rate 0.58 mg/kg/minute) intravenously for 60 minutes
Other Names:
  • intravenous

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Sedation
Time Frame: Baseline
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the sedative effects (0 not at all sedated - 70 extremely sedated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
Baseline
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Sedation
Time Frame: 15 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the sedative effects (0 not at all sedated - 70 extremely sedated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
15 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Sedation
Time Frame: 45 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the sedative effects (0 not at all sedated - 70 extremely sedated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
45 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Sedation
Time Frame: 80 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the sedative effects (0 not at all sedated - 70 extremely sedated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
80 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Stimulation
Time Frame: Baseline
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the stimulation effects (0 not at all stimulated - 70 extremely stimulated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
Baseline
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Stimulation
Time Frame: 15 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the stimulation effects (0 not at all stimulated - 70 extremely stimulated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
15 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Stimulation
Time Frame: 45 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the stimulation effects (0 not at all stimulated - 70 extremely stimulated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
45 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) - Subscale Stimulation
Time Frame: 80 minutes
Self-reporting rating scale to measure the stimulation effects (0 not at all stimulated - 70 extremely stimulated) of alcohol effects. We used the BAES to measure alcohol-like effects in subjects that received ketamine infusions.
80 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Yale University

Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
VA Connecticut Healthcare System

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ismene L. Petrakis, MD, Yale University

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

March 1, 2001

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 27, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

January 9, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 9, 2021

Last Verified

September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0103012310
  • VA Alcohol Research Center (Other Grant/Funding Number: VA Alcohol Research Center Grant)
  • P50AA012870 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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