Improving Ventilatory Capacity in Those With Chronic High Level SCI

The purpose of this study is to find out if taking the drug Buspar will increase breathing capacity in individuals with spinal cord injuries.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Buspirone

Detailed Description

Chemoreceptive regulatory feedback is crucial for precise ventilatory control, especially during exercise. However, individuals with high-level SCI have a reduced chemoreceptive drive to breathe. Studies have shown lesser increases in minute ventilation and mouth pressure during hypercapnia in those with tetraplegia. Peripheral factors rather than central factors appear to cause the reduction of the ventilatory response to hypercapnia. This reduced ventilatory drive may have functional impact on exercise ventilation in patients with high level SCI and enhancing ventilatory drive may improve exercise ventilation in high-level SCI.

Currently, there are no treatments to overcome these functional deficits that affect daily activity and exercise-based rehabilitation recovery. However, previous work in an animal model of SCI has found that that a serotonin agonist markedly increases respiratory responses to carbon dioxide. Treatment with a serotonin 5HT1A agonist effectively improved the ventilatory drive after both acute and chronic spinal cord injuries in rats. One potential mechanism is increased excitability of the ventral motoneurons that have survived the spinal cord injury. 5-HT1A receptors do exist on these neurons, and when activated, amplify the excitatory output. Another mechanism resides at the intercostal and abdominal muscle afferents which influence supraspinal respiratory group neurons in the brainstem and motor output to the muscles of breathing. Hence, serotonin agonists may act on neural pathways in the spinal cord responsible for transferring afferent information from intercostal muscles to supraspinal centers. Lastly, 5-HT1A receptors may also be involved in functional plasticity of neural respiratory pathways, in particular ipsilateral phrenic nerve activity. Up regulation of 5-HT1A receptors due to denervation supersensitivity could result in postsynaptic hyperresponsivity due to loss of descending input.

BuSpar/Buspirone is a serotonin 5HT1A agonist and used as an anxiolytic in humans. It does not cause sedation, has minimal effects on psychomotor performance or cognition, and has low threshold for abuse potential or dependence liability. Prior studies have found Buspirone to be well tolerated. It has been used safely in spinal cord injury, but not for respiratory purposes. (Though there is one clinical trial in process: Role of Enhancing Serotonin Receptors Activity for Sleep Apnea Treatment in Patients with SCI.) However, Buspirone up to 60 mg daily has been used to treat disturbed respiratory rhythms in multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, and brainstem infarction. Interestingly, in patients with COPD, a 14-day oral administration of buspirone (20 mg) found improved anxiety and depression as well as increased exercise tolerance with lesser sensations of dyspnea. Hence, buspirone may offer a treatment to improve hypercapnic ventilatory drive. Given that oral administration of 30 mg results in peak plasma levels at one hour and that the average elimination half life is about 2 to 3 hours, buspirone is an attractive and safe approach to exploring the ability to improve respiratory responses to exercise and/or hypercapnia exposure in those with high level spinal cord injury that limits breathing capacity.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 30
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, 02138
      • Recruiting
      • Spaulding Hospital Cambridge

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 50 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Chronic high-level SCI (at least 24-months post injury)
• Age 18 to 50 years.
• Medically stable
• Spinal Cord Injury ≥T3
• American Spinal Injury Association grade A or B or C.
• Able to perform arm crank exercise.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cardiomyopathy
• High blood pressure( >140/90 mmHg or you are taking high blood pressure medication)
• Significant irregular heartbeat
• Heart disease
• Chronic lung disease (COPD, bronchitis)
• Current use of cardioactive or antidepressant drugs
• Family history of significant irregular heart beat or sudden cardiac death
• Orthostatic hypotension (symptomatic fall in blood pressure >30 mmHg when upright)
• Current grade 2 or greater pressure ulcers at relevant contact site
• Neurological disease (stroke, peripheral neuropathy, myopathy)
• Arm or shoulder conditions that limit ability to perform arm crank exercise
• History of bleeding disorder, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, other neurological disease
• Recent weigh change (greater than 10 pounds)
• Regular use of tobacco
• Intrathecal baclofen pump,
• Current use of cardioactive, antidepressant, other sedating agents
• Suicidal ideation
• Pregnant and/or breastfeeding women.

In addition, subjects must have no known hypersensitivity to Buspar and must not be taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo; Subjects take placebo pills (twice a day) for 14 Days.	Drug: Placebo; Subjects take placebo pills (twice a day) for 14 Days.; Other Names: Control
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Buspirone; Subjects take 30 mg buspirone HCl (15 mg twice a day) for 14 Days. Other Names: Buspar	Drug: Buspirone; Subjects take 30 mg buspirone HCl (15 mg twice a day) for 14 Days.; Other Names: BuSpar, Buspirone Hydrochloride

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pulmonary Function	A change in FEV1	14 Days
Hypercapnic Ventilatory Response	A change in the drive to breathe with a change in carbon dioxide	14 Days
Sleep Quality	A change in sleep apneas	14 Days
Exercise Pulmonary Capacity	Change in peak oxygen consumption during exercise	14 Days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): November 29, 2020
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): November 29, 2023
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): November 29, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 6, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 7, 2021
• First Posted (ACTUAL): September 13, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): February 9, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 8, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Oxygen Consumption; Pulmonary Function Test; Buspirone Hydrochloride
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Trauma, Nervous System; Spinal Cord Diseases; Spinal Cord Injuries; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Neurotransmitter Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Central Nervous System Depressants; Tranquilizing Agents; Psychotropic Drugs; Serotonin Agents; Serotonin Receptor Agonists; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Buspirone
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2016P002409

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No