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The Nicotinic Cholinergic System and Cognitive Aging

NCT03408574 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 104

Last updated 2023-05-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Prior research has shown that a chemical system in the brain called the cholinergic system is primarily responsible for cognitive symptoms seen in people with dementia. While therapeutic benefits are clear in dementia, what remains uncertain is the role that the cholinergic system in general and a subset of receptors called the nicotinic system plays in cognition in healthy non-demented older adults (referred to as normal cognitive aging). This is critical because the ever growing healthy aging population will show declines in cognition that fall short of dementia but still impact functional abilities and independence. Maintaining good nicotinic system functioning throughout adulthood may lessen the cognitive symptoms of aging. At this time, it is not clear what the biological cause of age-related changes in cognition is. This study will examine the role of the nicotinic system in the healthy aging brain and examine its role in memory and thinking processes in older and younger adults.

Conditions

  • Healthy Aging

Interventions

DRUG

Nicotine patch, oral mecamylamine, placebo

Each participant randomly receives one active drug or placebo on each of three study days.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Vermont

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Julie A Dumas, Ph.D. · University of Vermont

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2016-10-01
Primary Completion
2021-12-01
Completion
2022-01-31
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

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 NCT03408574 on ClinicalTrials.gov