Perimenopausal Effects of Estradiol on Reward Responsiveness (PEERS)

Effects of Estradiol on Neural Reward System and Depression in the Perimenopause

Using neuroimaging, the investigator will study the effects of estrogen on mood and brain function in perimenopausal women either with or without depression.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Perimenopausal Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Estradiol; Drug: Progesterone

Detailed Description

Despite decades of research, affective disorders are prevalent and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Unraveling the pathophysiology of affective disorders has been uniquely challenging because depressive syndromes are heterogeneous and have diverse etiologies. Thus, past studies aimed at identifying neural and genetic biomarkers that would improve the prediction of susceptibility, course of illness, and treatment response have yielded inconsistent results. The investigator proposes to address this problem by studying perimenopausal major depressive disorder (MDD), a depression subtype with a specific endocrine trigger (i.e., ovarian hormone withdrawal). Evidence supporting ovarian hormone withdrawal as a trigger for affective dysfunction in perimenopausal MDD includes the following: perimenopausal women show a temporal association between ovarian hormone withdrawal and the onset of mood symptoms; treatment with estrogen reduces mood symptoms; and blinded estradiol withdrawal re-precipitates depression in women with a history of perimenopausal MDD (manuscript in preparation). Focusing on perimenopausal MDD, a more homogeneous subtype with a specific endocrine trigger, will increase the likelihood of identifying meaningful neurobiological markers.One of the most powerful tools for understanding the neural mediators of MDD is brain imaging. Prior research suggests that the frontostriatal reward system is regulated by estradiol and implicated in MDD. However, neural mechanisms of perimenopausal MDD have never been studied. We will assess the neural reward system in perimenopausal women with and without MDD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at baseline and following estradiol treatment. The central hypothesis is that the neural reward system is hypoactive in perimenopausal MDD, and the antidepressant effects of a three-week transdermal estradiol intervention will be mediated by increased activity in the neural reward system, assessed using fMRI. The investigator will test the hypothesis by executing the following aims:

Aim 1: To measure the frontostriatal response to reward in perimenopausal MDD and test the effects of estradiol on neural activation in perimenopausal women. The investigator will use fMRI at baseline and following estradiol treatment in women with and without MDD to probe frontostriatal reward circuitry.

Aim 2: To quantify motivated behavior at baseline and following estradiol administration in perimenopausal women with and without MDD. Motivated behavior will be operationally defined as the response latency to reward versus non-reward during the fMRI reward task.

Aim 3: To measure the psychological correlates of the frontostriatal response to reward in women with perimenopausal MDD at baseline and following estradiol administration. Depressive symptoms will be assessed at baseline and following estradiol administration.

The results will provide critical information about the neuroendocrine pathophysiology of perimenopausal depression and may subsequently contribute to the development of novel pharmacologic interventions.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27514
      • University of North Carolina

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 44 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Perimenopause Status: We will employ the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW) criteria70 to confirm perimenopausal status. The stages are primarily based on the characteristics of the menstrual cycle and secondarily on follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. The anchor for the staging system is the final menstrual period (FMP). We will enroll women who have ≥ 2 skipped cycles and an interval of amenorrhea ≥ 60 days, consistent with the late menopause transition (stage -1), and who demonstrate an FSH level > 25 IU/mL. Because extremes of body weight (BMI < 18 or > 30 kg/m2) or a history of chronic menstrual cycle irregularity can contribute to inaccurate reproductive staging, these will serve as additional exclusion criteria;
2. MDD Group Eligibility Criterion: current diagnosis of MDD with an onset associated with menstrual cycle irregularity, and no history of psychiatric illness during the 2 years before the onset of the current depressive episode as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-4-Text Revision) for Axis I Disorders (SCID);
3. Control Group Eligibility Criterion: absence of any past or present psychiatric disorder as assessed by the SCID.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients will not be permitted to enter this protocol if they have any of the following:

1. current medication use (i.e., psychotropics, anti-hypertensives, statins, hormonal preparations, or frequent use of anti-inflammatory agents (> 10 times/month)). Women will be allowed to enroll who take medications without known mood effects (e.g. stable thyroid hormone replacement and occasional (< 5 times/month) use of Ambien)*;
2. pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive;
3. FMP more than 12 months prior to enrollment;
4. history of undiagnosed vaginal bleeding;
5. undiagnosed enlargement of the ovaries;
6. polycystic ovary syndrome;
7. history of breast or ovarian cancer;
8. first degree relative with ovarian cancer;
9. first degree relative with premenopausal onset or bilateral breast cancer;
10. 2+ first degree relatives with breast cancer (regardless of onset);
11. 3+ relatives with postmenopausal breast cancer;
12. abnormal finding in a provider breast exam and/or mammogram;
13. known carrier of BRCA1 or 2 mutation;
14. endometriosis;
15. blood clots in the legs or lungs;
16. porphyria;
17. diabetes mellitus;
18. malignant melanoma;
19. Hodgkin's disease;
20. recurrent migraine headaches that are preceded by aura;
21. gallbladder or pancreatic disease**;
22. heart or kidney disease**;
23. liver disease;
24. cerebrovascular disease (stroke);
25. first degree relative with history of heart attack or stroke;
26. current cigarette smoking;
27. current suicidal ideation or psychosis;
28. past suicide attempts or psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization;
29. chronic depression (i.e., episode(s) lasting 3+ years);
30. recurrent depression (i.e., more than 1 prior episode, not including episodes with postpartum onset)
31. depressive episode(s) within 2 years of enrollment;
32. self-reported claustrophobia

33. peanut allergy

    • all reported prescription medications will be reviewed and cleared by a study physician prior to a participant's enrollment; **participants will be given the opportunity to describe these conditions in the online screening survey. Reported conditions that are acute in nature and/or benign will be reviewed by a study physician and exclusions will be decided case-by-case. All chronic conditions will be exclusionary.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Perimenopausal women, depressed; Participants will receive transdermal estradiol (100μg/day) for 3 weeks. Participants will receive an additional week of combined estradiol and micronized progesterone (200 mg/day) at the end of the study to precipitate menstruation.	Drug: Estradiol; Participants will receive transdermal estradiol (100μg/day) for 3 weeks; Other Names: Climara; Transdermal estradiol; Drug: Progesterone; Participants will receive an additional week of combined estradiol and micronized progesterone (200 mg/day) at the end of the study to precipitate menstruation.; Other Names: Prometrium; Micronized progesterone
Active Comparator: Perimenopausal women, non-depressed; Participants will receive transdermal estradiol (100μg/day) for 3 weeks. Participants will receive an additional week of combined estradiol and micronized progesterone (200 mg/day) at the end of the study to precipitate menstruation.	Drug: Estradiol; Participants will receive transdermal estradiol (100μg/day) for 3 weeks; Other Names: Climara; Transdermal estradiol; Drug: Progesterone; Participants will receive an additional week of combined estradiol and micronized progesterone (200 mg/day) at the end of the study to precipitate menstruation.; Other Names: Prometrium; Micronized progesterone

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Caudate Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task at Pre-treatment	Caudate reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups at pre-treatment.	Pre-treatment (visit 3)
Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task at Pre-treatment	Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups at pre-treatment.	Pre-treatment (visit 3)
Putamen Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task at Pre-treatment	Putamen reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups at pre-treatment.	Pre-treatment (visit 3)
Caudate Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task Following Estradiol Treatment.	Caudate reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups following treatment.	Post-treatment (visit 6)
Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task Following Estradiol Treatment.	Nucleus accumbens (NAcc) reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups following treatment.	Post-treatment (visit 6)
Putamen Signal Intensity in Response to Reward During the MID fMRI Task Following Estradiol Treatment.	Putamen reactivity to reward during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task was measured between the two groups. During MID the task, participants respond to "win" trials by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI as quickly as possible when the see a target. Reactivity is measured by examining participant's change in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) (i.e., measurement of oxygen level that is carried to neurons by red blood cells since areas of the brain that are thought to be more "active" or involved in certain tasks require more oxygen) in response to a stimulus of interest (win trials) versus non-stimulus (non-win trials). Percent signal change in BOLD activation between monetary reward versus non-reward is the outcome of interest. Percent signal change is then compared between the two groups following treatment.	Post-treatment (visit 6)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Response Latency to Reward During the MID fMRI Task at Pre-treatment	Time (ms) between stimulus and response will be measured during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task during the win trials. During MID the task, participants need to select the correct response during "win" and "lose" conditions by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI.	Pre-treatment (visit 3)
Response Latency to Reward During the MID fMRI Task Following Estradiol Treatment	Time (ms) between stimulus and response will be measured during reward trials of the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task. During MID the task, participants need to select the correct response during "win" and "lose" conditions by pressing a button on a button box in the MRI.	Post-treatment (visit 6)
Change in Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) Dysphoria Scores	The Dysphoria Scale of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) will be used to assess the change in depressive symptom severity. The IDAS Dysphoria Scale consists of 10 items and uses a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 to 5 with 1 indicating "not at all" and 5 indicating "extremely". As such, the range of possible scores is 10 to 50. The Dysphoria scale includes items assessing feelings of depression, inadequacy, psychomotor agitation, guilt, discouragement, anhedonia, poor concentration, difficulty with decision-making, psychomotor retardation, and worry. Higher scores indicate worse depression symptoms.	Assessed at pre- and post-treatment (visits 3 and 6)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Crystal Schiller, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Psychiatry Department

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 17, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): October 17, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 29, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 29, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): October 2, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 12, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 21, 2019
• Last Verified: November 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders; Estradiol; Depressive disorder; Hormones; Estrogen; Perimenopause; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Physiological effects of drugs; Reproductive Control Agents; Reproductive Affective Disorder; Sex Steroids; Estradiol treatment
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Hormones; Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists; Estrogens; Contraceptive Agents, Hormonal; Contraceptive Agents; Reproductive Control Agents; Contraceptive Agents, Female; Progestins; Estradiol; Progesterone; Estradiol 17 beta-cypionate; Estradiol 3-benzoate; Polyestradiol phosphate
• Other Study ID Numbers: 13-3572; K12HD001441-15 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); K23MH105569-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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