Guanfacine in Children With Tic Disorders

August 11, 2021 updated by: Yale University

Guanfacine in Children With Tic Disorders: A Multi-site Study

The goal of this pilot study is to obtain preliminary information on the tolerability and efficacy of extended release guanfacine (trade name Intuniv) in children with Tourette Disorder (TD, also called Tourette syndrome).

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Guanfacine is commonly used for the treatment of tics in children with Tourette Disorder, but neither the immediate release compound nor the new extended release formulation have been evaluated for tics as a primary outcome. This pilot study is not designed to demonstrate efficacy of extended release guanfacine in the treatment of tics in children with TD. Rather, the goal of this trial is to determine whether extended release guanfacine warrants further study in a large scale trial. Immediate-release guanfacine is frequently used in children with TD, but dosing, time to effect and adverse effects with the new extended release guanfacine are unknown. The use of placebo in this trial reduces bias in the measurement of outcomes because it ensures blindness in the parent and clinician ratings.

This is a three-site, investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Subjects who show a positive response to extended release guanfacine in the 8-week double-blind phase will continue on the the drug in an 8-week extension phase. Subjects who are randomly assigned to placebo and do not show improvement will be offered 8-weeks of open-label treatment with Intuniv.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

34

Phase

  • Phase 4

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

    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06510
        • Yale Child Study Center
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • University of South Florida
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Mount Sinai 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

6 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of Tourette Disorder or chronic motor or vocal tic disorder.
  • Between ages 6 yrs 0 mos and 17 years 0 months.
  • Weight >/= 15 kg (33 lbs).
  • Ability to swallow pills whole.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • IQ < 80.
  • Positive pregnancy test.
  • Positive drug test.
  • Low blood pressure.
  • Prior history of hypersensitivity to guanfacine.
  • Prior failed treatment with an adequate trial of guanfacine in last 2 years.
  • Concurrent treatment with another psychoactive medication for tics, stimulant medication, or Habit Reversal therapy.
  • Medication for OCD, anxiety or depression will be allowed if dose is stable for 8 wks with no planned changes; SSRIs are allowed.

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
Placebo Comparator: Inactive placebo
Administered up to 8 weeks.
Experimental: Extended-release Guanfacine
1 mg tablets; flexible dosing up to 4 mg/day for up to 16 weeks.
Other Names:
  • Intuniv

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
The YGTSS is a clinician-rated scale that begins with a systematic inquiry of tic symptoms in the preceding week. Current motor and phonic tics are rated separately according to number, frequency, intensity, complexity, and interference, each rated on 0 to 5 scale with higher scores indicating greater severity/worse outcome (Leckman et al. 1989). The YGTSS yields a total motor score (0-25), a total phonic score (0-25), a total tic score (sum of total motor and total phonic scores; 0-50), and an impairment score (0-50). Higher scores indicate greater severity/worse outcome.
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Study Director: Lawrence D Scahill, MSN, PhD, Emory University
  • Principal Investigator: Barbara J Coffey, MD, MS, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Principal Investigator: Tanya Murphy, MD, MS, University of South Florida
  • Principal Investigator: Thomas Fernandez, MD, Yale University

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

April 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 1, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 6, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

March 7, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 13, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2021

Last Verified

August 1, 2021

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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