Cognitive Dysfunction and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonists

NCT02423824 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 21

Last updated 2016-05-13

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Cognitive deficits are a core feature across disparate brain disorders, being highly prevalent and pervasive. Impairments in executive function are one of the most consistent findings in clinical and meta-analytical studies and were reported to be a principal mediator of psychosocial impairment and disability. Cognitive dysfunction is thought to be underlied by abnormalities in distributed brain circuits, at the cellular and molecular levels. Nonetheless, the neural mechanisms underlying the dysregulation in these circuits are poorly understood. Emerging evidence indicates that metabolic abnormalities are highly relevant for the domain of cognitive function and indicate that alterations in metabolic pathways may be relevant to neurocognitive decline across different populations. The incretin glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone secreted by intestinal epithelial cells. GLP-1 receptors are widely expressed in the central nervous systems. Pre-clinical trials have demonstrated significant neuroprotective effects of GLP-1. Ongoing clinical trials measuring cognition and mood in populations with various psychiatric disorders lend further impetus to explore the effects of GLP-1R agonists on brain structure and cognitive function. We hypothesize that GLP-1 and the GLP-1R are relevant for molecular and cellular processes that are thought to underlie the formation and maintenance of brain circuits. A derivative of this hypothesis is that the administration of GLP-1 agonists may result in enhanced neuronal survival and consequential increase in gray matter volume. We therefore propose to explore the cellular and molecular abnormalities within and between neural circuits subserving cognition using the GLP-1R agonist liraglutide.

The overall goal of this study is to explore the relationship between a metabolic molecular target (i.e. the GLP1 system), the neural circuits of interest and the behavioral phenotype cognitive function.

Conditions

Interventions

BIOLOGICAL

Liraglutide

Study participants will received the following study intervention in addition to 'standard of care' treatment: Adjunctive liraglutide will be initiated at 0.6 mg for the first 1 week, then increased to 1.2 mg with the option of increasing to 1.8 mg thereafter based on efficacy/tolerability (n=15 in each group). Liraglutide will be adjunctively administered to a conventional antidepressant, antipsychotic and mood stabilizing agent at guideline-concordant therapeutic plasma levels. Subjects will be randomized to receive liraglutide for a 4 week period. No major change in the pharmacological regimen will be permitted during the 4 week trial unless required for medical reasons.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Health Network, Toronto

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Roger S McIntyre, M.D. · Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
45 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-05-31
Primary Completion
2016-04-30
Completion
2016-05-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Entities

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 NCT02423824 on ClinicalTrials.gov