Eszopiclone for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Eszopiclone for the Treatment of PTSD

The purpose of this study is to determine if eszopiclone relative to placebo (sugar pill) is effective and tolerable for people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related sleep disturbance. The investigators will also examine the impact of treatment on sleep patterns, memory recall bias, and level of inflammatory markers (cytokines). The investigators predict eszopiclone will lead to greater improvement than placebo in measures of PTSD symptoms, memory recall bias, and level of inflammatory markers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Eszopiclone; Drug: Placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 81
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
      • Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Rush

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 63 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female outpatients age 18-65 with a primary diagnosis of PTSD and associated sleep disturbance
• Good physical health
• Willingness and ability to comply with the requirements of the study protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women pregnant, lactating, or of childbearing potential not using medically accepted contraception
• Concurrent use of other psychotropic medications at least two weeks prior to baseline
• Concurrent use of other anti-inflammatory medications or anti-cytokine medications. If used on an as-needed (PRN) basis, subjects may enter the study, but will be excluded from cytokine analyses
• Concurrent use of beta-blockers less than one month prior to baseline
• Serious medical illness or instability for which hospitalization may be likely within the next year
• Seizure disorders with the exception of a history of febrile seizures if they occurred during childhood
• Sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome
• Concurrent psychotherapy initiated within 3 months of randomization or ongoing psychotherapy of any duration directed specifically toward treatment of PTSD and/or sleep disturbance
• Patients with significant suicidal ideation
• Current legal actions related to trauma or an ongoing relationship with assailant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Eszopiclone; The total study duration is 16 weeks, with subjects taking 3mg eszopiclone at bedtime for 12 weeks. There is one follow-up visit after the 12 week treatment phase.	Drug: Eszopiclone; Eszopiclone has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of insomnia (inability to sleep). Eszopiclone has not been specifically approved by the FDA for people who have PTSD-related sleep disturbance.; Other Names: Lunesta®
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; The total study duration is 16 weeks, with subjects taking placebo at bedtime for 12 weeks. There is one follow-up visit after the 12 week treatment phase.	Drug: Placebo; The placebo used in this study looks exactly like eszopiclone but contains no active ingredients.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Between Baseline and Week 12	The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) is a highly detailed measure of the presence and severity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-IV) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) criteria. The severity score was calculated by adding up the frequency score (scale 0 = "none of the time" to 4 = "most or all of the time") and an intensity score (scale 0 = "none" to 4 = "extreme"), which can then be summed for all 17 symptom questions and/or for the three symptom clusters. Scores range from 0 to 136, where greater than or equal to 80 represents extreme PTSD symptomatology.	Between Baseline and Week 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total Score on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Addendum (PSQI)	This standard daily sleep diary addresses timing of sleep, ability to fall and stay asleep, dreams, nightmares, and factors which can affect sleep (e.g. caffeine). It requires a summary of the subscales: Duration of sleep + Sleep Disturbance + Sleep Latency + Days of dysfunction due to sleepiness + Sleep efficiency + Overall Sleep Quality + Needing medication to sleep. All subscales are measured from 0 to 3 (Minimum Score = 0 better; Maximum Score = 3 worse). The Minimum TOTAL Score is 0 (better) and Maximum TOTAL Score is 21 (worse).	Changes in total score between Baseline and Week 12 (range of 0 to 21 worse)
Changes in Emotional Bias Memory Encoding Between Baseline and Week 12	Changes in Emotional Bias Memory Encoding by measuring mean hits minus the false alarms at baseline and at week 12. Subjects perform an encoding session on the 1st day utilizing 147 picture slides, thirty six pictures with negative valence, 36 with neutral valence and additional 75 pictures randomly intermixed. Higher false alarms are associated with lower emotional bias memory encoding.	Baseline and week 12
Cytokine Inflammatory Markers	Differences between baseline and week 12 on Interferon-Gamma, Interleukin-βeta, Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha levels between treatment arms (eszopiclone versus placebo).	Week 12
Cytokine Inflammatory Marker on Interleukin-2	Differences between baseline and week 12 on Interleukin-2 levels between treatment arms (eszopiclone versus placebo).	Week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mark Pollack, MD, Rush University Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 10, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): May 24, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 23, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 30, 2022
• Last Verified: November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: memory; insomnia; anxiety; cytokines; sleep disturbance; Post-traumatic stress disorder; traumatic event
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Central Nervous System Depressants; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Eszopiclone
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1R34MH091338-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)