Trial Outcomes & Findings for Clarithromycin Mechanisms in Hypersomnia Syndromes (NCT NCT04026958)

Participants were recruited from the Emory Sleep Center in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. Participant enrollment began September 4, 2019 and all follow-up assessments were completed by June 18, 2025.

Race and Ethnicity were not collected from any participant.

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale asks participants to respond to 8 scenarios with how likely they are to fall asleep on a 4-point scale where 0 = "would never doze" and 3 = "high chance of dozing". Total scores range from 0 to 24 where higher scores indicate a higher chance of falling asleep during daytime activities. The change in ESS score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the baseline score. Scores above 0 mean that the mean score at Day 14 was lower than the mean score at Baseline, indicating less sleepiness.

The MWT polysomnographic procedure for sleep latency examines how well participants stay awake during several trials where participants relax in a quiet room for 40 minutes. One study found the mean sleep latency among persons without a sleep disorder to be 35.2 minutes. The change from baseline is calculated as baseline sleep latency minus sleep latency at Day 14, in minutes. Positive values result when the duration of sleep latency at Day 14 is lower than at Baseline.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is drawn to determine the change in levels of GABA-A potentiation between the study arms. The difference between measured current with GABA alone and the current measured with GABA + CSF yields a measure of potentiation for each CSF sample in each condition. The change from baseline is calculated as the baseline value minus the value at Day 14.

The default mode network (DMN) consists of a group of highly correlated brain regions most active during quiet rest, while the task positive network (TPN) is the brain network activated for goal-directed tasks. DMN connectivity changes with sleep states and it is increasingly implicated in the symptomatology of sleepiness. During resting state, sleep deprived participants demonstrate reduced static connectivity with the DMN. Changes in DMN between the Baseline 1 (Day - 2) and Day 13 visits are compared between treatment groups, particularly using quasi-periodic patterns (QPPs), which interrogate network-level connectivity on a dynamic scale. Preservation of the temporal dimension provides more insight into how this spatiotemporal network propagates across condition and pathology. The DMN/TPN QPP correlation is reported.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of TNF-α between the study arms. TNF-α is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness.

Changes in microbiome composition, as measured by alpha diversity using the Shannon Index, via 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing results are compared between study arms. The Shannon Index measures both abundance and evenness of microbial species, values of 0 indicate that a community has only one species. The higher the value the higher the diversity of species in a particular community. Change from baseline is calculated by subtracting the Day 14 value from the value at Baseline. Numbers greater than 0 indicate that the Day 14 Shannon index value is lower than at Baseline.

Participants log when they go to bed and when they wake up in order to calculate the number of minutes spent sleeping. The average duration of sleep across 14 days is compared between study arms.

Fatigue severity is measured with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). The FSS is a 9-item instrument where responses are on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = "disagree" and 7 = "agree". Total scores range from 9 to 63 where higher scores indicate greater fatigue. The change in FSS score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the Baseline score. Scores above 0 signify that the mean score at Day 14 was lower than the mean score at Baseline, indicating decreased fatigue.

The MFI-20 is a 20-item instrument assessing fatigue severity. Responses are on a 5-point scale where 1 = "yes, that is true" and 5 = "no, that is not true". Positively phrased items are reverse scored so that the total score ranges from 20 to 100 where higher scores indicate greater severity of fatigue. The change in MFI-20 score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the Baseline score. Scores above 0 signify that the mean score at Day 14 was lower than the mean score at Baseline, indicating decreased fatigue.

The SIQ is an instrument with 21 items with responses on a 5-point scale where 1 = "not at all" and 5 = "all the time". Two additional questions relate to how much time it takes for the respondent to wake up in the morning. Total scores range from 21 to 105 and higher scores indicate increased difficulty from tiredness. The change in SIQ score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the baseline score. Scores above 0 signify that the mean score at Day 14 was lower than the mean score at Baseline, indicating reduced difficulty awakening.

Sleep inertia is measured with a single item on a 10-point Likert scale asking participants how difficult it was for them to wake up in the morning, where 1 = "not difficult at all" and 10 = "very difficult". The average scores across 14 days are compared between study arms.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-1α between the study arms. IL-1α is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-1α is obtained by subtracting the IL-1α level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-1β between the study arms. IL-1β is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-1β is obtained by subtracting the IL-1β level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-2 between the study arms. IL-2 is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-2 is obtained by subtracting the IL-2 level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-6 between the study arms. IL-6 is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-6 is obtained by subtracting the IL-6 level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-8 between the study arms. IL-8 is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-8 is obtained by subtracting the IL-8 level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-15 between the study arms. IL-15 is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-15 is obtained by subtracting the IL-15 level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of IL-18 between the study arms. IL-18 is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in IL-18 is obtained by subtracting the IL-18 level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of TNF-β between the study arms. TNF-β is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in TNF-β is obtained by subtracting the TNF-β level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

Blood samples are used to determine the change in levels of INF-α2a between the study arms. INF-α2a is a soporific cytokine and a reduction in soporific cytokines is hypothesized to reduce daytime sleepiness. The change in INF-α2a is obtained by subtracting the INF-α2a level at Day 14 from the Baseline level.

The FOSQ is a 30-item instrument assessing how sleepiness impacts daily activities. There are five subscales assessing General Productivity, Activity Level, Vigilance, Social Outcomes, and Intimate and Sexual Relationships. Items are scored on a 4-point scale where 1 = extreme difficulty and 4 = no difficulty. Subscale scores are obtained by calculating the mean score for the items in that subscale and each can range from 1 to 4, where higher scores indicate less difficulty due to sleepiness. A total score is obtained by calculating the means of the subscale scores and multiplying that by the number of subscales with a score. The total score ranges from 5 to 20 and higher scores indicate less difficulty from sleepiness. The change in FOSQ score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the Baseline score. Scores below 0 signify that the mean score at Day 14 was higher than the mean score at Baseline, indicating reduced difficulty from sleepiness.

The HSI is a 9-item instrument assessing the severity of excessive sleepiness (hypersomnolence). Items are scored on a Likert scale where 0 = not at all and 4 = very much. Total scores range from 0 to 36 and higher scores indicate greater severity of symptoms of hypersomnia. The change from baseline is calculated as the baseline score minus the score at Day 14. The change in HSI score is obtained by subtracting the total score at Day 14 from the baseline score. Scores above 0 signify that the mean score at Day 14 was lower than the mean score at Baseline, indicating reduced severity of hypersomnia symptoms.

For functional connectivity analyses, each functional scan is parceled into the 246 regions of interest (ROIs), spanning Yeo's 7 networks contained in the Brainnetome Atlas and mean timecourse is calculated for each group. Pearson correlations between each pair of ROIs are calculated, to determine the strength of functional connectivity between each pair of regions and inter/intra-network. This yields a functional connectivity matrix for each functional scan (at both a subject- and group-level). These correlation matrices are Fischer z-transformed and averaged across each condition to create a mean functional connectivity matrix for each condition. Here, the average default mode network (DMN) connectivity is reported. Z-scores have a mean of 0 and scores higher than 0 indicate increased functional connectivity. The change from Baseline is calculated by subtracting the Day 13 score from the score at Day -2. Values lower than 0 mean that the Day 13 score was higher than at baseline.

Participants complete a working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The change in task performance is measured as accuracy during 3 different levels of back tasks (0-back, 1-back, and 2-back), from baseline to on-treatment (Day 13). The 0-back test has participants respond to a prespecified stimulus and is a control condition. The 1-back involves remembering and responding to a prior stimulus, while a stimulus two trials earlier is responded to with the 2-back. The change in the percentage of correct responses is obtained by subtracting the percentage at Day 14 from the Baseline percentage. Values below 0 signify that the mean percent accuracy at Day 14 was higher than the mean percent accuracy at Baseline, indicating increased accuracy.

Participants complete a working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). he change in task performance is measured as reaction time during 3 different levels of back tasks (0-back, 1-back, and 2-back), from baseline to on-treatment (Day 13). The 0-back test has participants respond to a prespecified stimulus and is a control condition. The 1-back involves remembering and responding to a prior stimulus, while a stimulus two trials earlier is responded to with the 2-back. The change in the reaction time of responses is obtained by subtracting the time at Day 14 from the Baseline time. Scores above 0 signify that the mean time at Day 14 was lower than the mean time at Baseline, indicating faster reaction time.