Rapid Determination Of The Clinical Utility Of Perampanel For The Treatment Of Alcohol Dependence

The purpose of this study is to determine whether perampanel alters the response to alcohol for heavy drinkers. It is hypothesized that perampanel will reduce the rewarding and reinforcing properties of alcohol in the laboratory setting.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Alcoholism
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Perampanel; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

The main goal of the proposed study is to determine whether the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid receptor (AMPA-R) antagonist perampanel alters the response to ethanol (i.e., the rewarding and reinforcing effects) using a validated laboratory paradigm of intravenous (IV) ethanol infusion. Fifty non-treatment seeking heavy drinkers (NTSHDs), N=50, and twenty-five social drinkers (N=25) will undergo three test days each: once after receiving a placebo medication, once after receiving moderate dose perampanel, and once after receiving a higher dose of perampanel. This experiment is the first step in a series of expedient studies that will rapidly determine perampanel's potential as a treatment for alcohol dependence. If findings show perampanel reduces the rewarding and reinforcing properties of alcohol in the laboratory setting (in humans), it would provide a strong rationale for clinical treatment trials with this medication. This approach is innovative because it tests a highly novel AMPA-R antagonist for the treatment of alcoholism, and uses a state-of-the-art computer assisted IV alcohol pump infusion system (called CAIS) to reduce variability in blood alcohol concentrations, thus improving the data quality.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 22
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • Farmington, Connecticut, United States, 06030
      • University of Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06510
      • Yale New Haven Hospital Research Unit
    • West Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06515
      • West Haven Veterans Affairs
  • Virginia
    • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23219
      • Albert Arias

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• males and females
• between the ages of 21 and 55 years;
• Nontreatment-seeking Heavy Drinkers (NTSHDs)as defined above, and must have had at least 5 Standard Drinks (SD) in one day on at least some occasions in the past and been able to tolerate it without an adverse reaction
• generally medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of history, physical examination, Electrocardiogram, screening laboratory results (Complete Blood Count w/ differential, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, Free-T4, Aspartate Transferase, Alanine Transferase, Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase, Blood Urea Nitrogen, creatinine, electrolytes, urinalysis, beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). Individuals with Liver Function Tests (LFT) that are no more than 3 times above the normal levels will be included;
• women with a negative pregnancy test and not nursing, must be regularly using birth control
• negative breath alcohol at screening and on each test day;
• not taking any psychoactive medication or opioids (in past 30-days);
• are non-treatment seeking.

Exclusion Criteria:

• they need detoxification determined by a Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment (CIWA) score of >8 or have had a history of alcohol detoxification in the past;
• have been in treatment for an alcohol problem within the last 6 months, or if the severity of their alcohol problem based on the research physician's assessment warrants definitive treatment;
• meet criteria for Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) -IV psychiatric and substance use disorder diagnosis (other than alcohol abuse/dependence, cannabis abuse/dependence and nicotine dependence; those diagnoses will be allowed; participants can be either smokers up to 1 pack per day or non-smokers) based on history and psychiatric evaluation that includes a structured diagnostic interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders: SCID)
• unwillingness to remain alcohol-free 12 hours prior to test days;
• have a significant ongoing serious medical condition such as Diabetes Mellitus, liver disease (see above LFT guideline), renal disease (as evidenced by serum creatinine above our laboratory's reference limit of 1.7 mg/dL, or have a history of adverse reaction to IV placement/blood draw

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Perampanel 6mg; Participants will have 3 test days each, 2 weeks apart, in a randomized order, following either pretreatment with daily perampanel 2mg days prior to each test day, and then observed dosing moderate 6mg dose perampanel in the lab 1 hour before a one-time alcohol infusion . Each lab session occurs exactly a week after starting the medication for that round. The wash out period between lab test session phases will be 7-10 days. Subjects will receive 2 days of 2mg perampanel after each lab to taper down (included in the washout period). The next appointment will be brief at the start of the next phase, at which point the next week of low dose perampanel or placebo will be started. With the washout period and the 7 day taper of the next phase, the actual lab sessions will occur 14-17 days apart. All test days will involve administration of alcohol with the same 3 target doses [target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAc) =20mg%, 60mg%, and 100mg%] in a step-wise fashion.	Drug: Perampanel; Perampanel is a noncompetitive (allosteric) antagonist of the AMPA-R that is well-absorbed (100% bioavailability), has good blood-brain-barrier penetration, and rapidly reaches peak plasma concentrations (1 hour). To date, there have been no clinical trials of AMPA-R antagonists (e.g., perampanel) for the treatment of alcoholism.; Other Names: anticonvulsant; AMPA-R antagonist
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Participants will have 3 test days each, 2 weeks apart, in a randomized order, following either pretreatment with placebo 7 days prior to each test day, and then observed dosing of placebo in the lab 1 hour before a one-time alcohol infusion . Each lab session occurs exactly a week after starting the medication for that round. The wash out period between lab test session phases will be 7-10 days. Subjects will receive 2 days of 2mg perampanel after each lab to taper down (included in the washout period). The next appointment will be brief at the start of the next phase, at which point the next week of low dose perampanel or placebo will be started. With the washout period and the 7 day taper of the next phase, the actual lab sessions will occur 14-17 days apart. All test days will involve administration of alcohol with the same 3 target doses [target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAc) =20mg%, 60mg%, and 100mg%] in a step-wise fashion.	Drug: Placebo; Placebo given in place of perampanel during the pre-treatment period and lab session days.
Experimental: Perampanel 10 mg; Participants will have 3 test days each, 2 weeks apart, in a randomized order, following either pretreatment with daily perampanel 2mg 7 days prior to each test day, and then observed dosing of high dose perampanel (10mg) in the lab 1 hour before a one-time alcohol infusion . Each lab session occurs exactly a week after starting the medication for that round. The wash out period between lab test session phases will be 7-10 days. Subjects will receive 2 days of 2mg perampanel after each lab to taper down (included in the washout period). The next appointment will be brief at the start of the next phase, at which point the next week of low dose perampanel or placebo will be started. With the washout period and the 7 day taper of the next phase, the actual lab sessions will occur 14-17 days apart. All test days will involve administration of alcohol with the same 3 target doses [target Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAc) =20mg%, 60mg%, and 100mg%] in a step-wise fashion.	Drug: Perampanel; Perampanel is a noncompetitive (allosteric) antagonist of the AMPA-R that is well-absorbed (100% bioavailability), has good blood-brain-barrier penetration, and rapidly reaches peak plasma concentrations (1 hour). To date, there have been no clinical trials of AMPA-R antagonists (e.g., perampanel) for the treatment of alcoholism.; Other Names: anticonvulsant; AMPA-R antagonist

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES): Stimulant Subscale	A 14-item scale with 7 items designed to assess stimulant effects from alcohol intoxication and 7 items developed to measure the sedative effects of alcohol. This scale was selected as a primary outcome measure because it is sensitive to the effect of alcohol. This outcome item reports the Stimulant Subscale results analyzed with mixed models. Each item can be scored a minimum of zero (0) or up to 10 with the 10 representing feeling more or the most intoxicated in that item's description (e.g., "excited"). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 70. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes).	98 minutes
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES)- Sedative Subscale	A 14-item scale with 7 items designed to assess stimulant effects from alcohol intoxication and 7 items developed to measure the sedative effects of alcohol. This scale was selected as a primary outcome measure because it is sensitive to the effect of alcohol. This entry item show the results for the sedative subscale evaluated in mixed models. Each item can be scored a minimum of zero (0) or up to 10 with the 10 representing feeling more or the most intoxicated in that item's description (e.g., "sedated"). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 70. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes).	98 minutes
Drug Effects Questionaire (DEQ)	consists of four items that measure current alcohol effects: 'feel alcohol', 'feel high', 'like alcohol', and 'want more alcohol'. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes). There are five items on the scale with scores of 0 to 100, and the total score is used by averaging all five items, thus, the minimum total score on the scale is 0 and the maximum is 100. The lowest score 0 represents "not at all" or not experiencing any drug effects from alcohol, and 100 represents "extremely" experiencing alcohol effects.	98 min

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ)	A valid eight-item Likert-type scale designed to assess acute alcohol craving. Each item is scored on a 1 to 7 scale (Strongly Disagree = 1 and Strongly Agree = 7). Items 2 and 7 are reverse scored. A total score is computed by averaging the item scores. Higher scores reflect greater craving. The minimum score is 7, and the maximum is 49. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes).	98 min
Side Effect Questionnaire (SEQ)	This consists of a list of side effects associated with perampanel (e.g., fatigue, dizziness), rated from 0="none" to 4="severe". The mean for each subject across all items is included in each group/arm mean. The lowest score on the scale would be 0 and the maximum 4, as the mean across items is taken and not a sum. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes).	98 minutes
Profile of Mood States (POMS) 2 Short Version Total Score	The Profile of Mood States (POMS) 2 short version contains a subset of 35 items from the full-length versions. This subset comprises those five items on full version POMS scale that exhibited good item-total correlations and best predicted their respective scale scores, this is a TOTAL score Representing total mood disturbance. For the time frame, the values at different time points were combined (averaged) into a single value that represents the effect during the time interval of interest (12 to 110 minutes). The minimum is 0 and the maximum is 100 with higher numbers indicating greater mood disturbance.	98 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA); Yale University; University of Connecticut
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Albert Arias, MD, Virginia CommonwealthUniversity

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 15, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): February 16, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 17, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2014
• First Posted (Estimated): April 22, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 18, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 14, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Alcoholism; Heavy Drinking; Perampanel
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Alcoholism; Anticonvulsants
• Other Study ID Numbers: HM20014446; R21AA026681 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 1407014397 (Other Identifier: Yale University)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No