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Effects of Varenicline on Plasticity in Schizophrenia

NCT01934023 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 24

Last updated 2015-08-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This laboratory pilot study will explore the effects of varenicline tartrate on long-term potentiation (LTP)-like mechanisms of (1) the motor cortex and (2) the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and working memory in non-smoking patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls using a Paired Associative Stimulation (PAS) method. The present study will use this novel PAS method to evaluate the effects of five doses of varenicline (Champix) 0.5 mg BID treatment on neuroplasticity changes and working memory in 28 non-smokers with schizophrenia and 28 non-smoking controls in a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, cross-over design. The hypothesis is that varenicline will increase LTP-like facilitation of the DLPFC as compared with placebo in patients with schizophrenia, with less or a null effect in healthy controls. Likewise, it is hypothesized that varenicline will specifically improve working memory in patients with schizophrenia as compared with placebo and healthy controls. We Hypothesize that: 1.Patients with Schizophrenia(SCZ) will have reduced cortical LTP and impaired working memory compared to healthy controls 2. Sub-chronic varenicline challenge will attenuate the cortical LTP and working memory deficit in patients with SCZ. 3.Reversal of the cortical LTP deficit by varenicline in patients with SCZ will be associated with improvement in working memory.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Varenicline

Champix (Varenicline) is an approved smoking cessation medication

DRUG

Placebo

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Pfizer

    collaborator INDUSTRY

  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Tony P George, M.D · Centre for Addiction Mental Health

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-09-30
Primary Completion
2015-08-31
Completion
2015-08-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01934023 on ClinicalTrials.gov