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Traumatic Brain InjuryPhase 2/3NCT00704379

Treatment Strategy to Prevent Mood Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury

A Phase 2/3 study testing Sertraline in people with Traumatic Brain Injury, run by Baylor College of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of sertraline to prevent the onset of mood and anxiety disorders during the first six months after traumatic brain injury. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 85 years
Conditions the study is for
Traumatic Brain Injury
What is being tested?
Sertraline
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
94 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Jun 2008to Apr 2014
Phase
Phase 2/3
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 85 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age 18 years or over.
  • Meeting the Center for Disease Control (CDC) criteria for TBI.
  • Mild, Moderate, or Severe TBI as categorized by initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores 13 to 15, 9 to 12, or 3 to 8, respectively.
  • Complete recovery from Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA) within 4 weeks of the traumatic episode.

Who cannot join

  • Penetrating head injuries.
  • Clinical or neuro-radiological evidence of associate spinal cord injury.
  • Patients with severe comprehension deficits (i.e., those who are not able to complete part II of the Token Test) that precludes a thorough neuropsychiatric evaluation.
  • Presence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV defined mood, anxiety or psychotic disorder at the time of enrollment to the study. However, patients with a history of alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence during the year preceding TBI will be included in the study.
  • Patients who were taking antidepressants at the time of TBI or during a six month period prior to the traumatic event.
  • Patients who have failed an adequate previous trial with sertraline or had side effects that prompted the discontinuation of this medication.
  • Pregnant women or women that plan to become pregnant during the period of the study.
  • Severe complicating illness such as neoplastic disease or uncompensated heart, renal or liver failure.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Baylor College of Medicine

    Houston, Texas, 77030-4211

Other trials in United States

About this study

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of sertraline to prevent the onset of mood and anxiety disorders during the first six months after traumatic brain injury.

Read the detailed description

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among young adults. Mood disorders are the most frequent psychiatric complication of TBI, and have a large impact on family functioning, interpersonal relationships, and ability to return to work or school. Furthermore, a significant proportion of these disorders will progress to more chronic and treatment refractory forms. In spite of their clinical relevance, mood and anxiety disorders remain largely unrecognized and not adequately treated, contributing to greater disability and decreased participation in the aftermath of TBI.

The goals of this study are to learn more about how people recover from brain injury and to evaluate the effect of sertraline (also known as Zoloft) compared to placebo (an inactive substance) in preventing the occurrence of emotional and behavioral problems-such as depression, lack of motivation, anxiety, irritability or aggressive outbursts-following TBI.

In the study, a group of 104 participants with TBI-recruited immediately after resolution of posttraumatic amnesia-will be randomly assigned to receive six months of double-blind treatment with sertraline or placebo.

This study will determine how these emotional and behavioral problems influence thinking, physical recovery, and return to a productive life six months after brain injury. Researchers will also determine if certain brain changes can predict the occurrence of behavioral problems and if treatment with sertraline can prevent them. Additionally, the researchers will examine the effect of sertraline on frequent post-TBI behavioral disorders such as aggression, impulsivity, poor decision making and apathetic symptoms.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based volumetry and diffusion tensor imaging will be used to examine the structural correlates of mood and anxiety disorders and to evaluate them as biological predictors of treatment response and community reintegration. The researchers hypothesize that early preventive treatment with sertraline will reduce mood and behavioral symptoms, prevent the occurrence of structural and functional brain changes associated with the onset of mood disorders, increase access to and participation in rehabilitation programs for TBI, and, consequently, improve psychosocial outcome.

Being tested
Placebo, Sertraline
Keywords
traumatic brain injury, TBI, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, community reintegration, executive function, sertraline, diffusion tensor imaging
Medical subject headings
Brain Injuries, Traumatic, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PlaceboDrug

    an inactive substance

  • SertralineDrug

    Also called Zoloft

    Sertraline and placebo will be given in a double blind fashion via an equal number of identical tablets administered once daily. Once stabilized in the targeted dosage (100 mg per day), sertraline serum levels will be monitored twice during the course of the intervention. Blood samples will be obtained randomly, one during the first and one during the second trimesters of the protocol.

Study groups in NCT00704379
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorPlacebo will be given in a double blind fashion via an equal number of tablets (identical to the sertraline tablets) administered once daily.
Receives: Drug: Placebo
SertralineExperimentalSertraline will be given in a double blind fashion via tablets administered once daily. Once stabilized in the targeted dosage (100 mg per day), sertraline serum levels will be monitored twice during the course of the intervention.
Receives: Drug: Sertraline

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Time to Onset of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV Defined Mood and Anxiety Disorders Associated With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

    Following the DSM-IV (now updated by the DSM-5), depressive disorders associated with TBI are categorized as Mood Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition with subtypes: 1) With major depressive-like episode (if the full criteria for a major depressive episode [MDE] are met) or 2) With depressive features (prominent depressed mood but full criteria for a MDE are not met); and 3) with mixed features (e.g. significant irritability, pressured speech and formal thought disorder).

    On the other hand, bipolar and related disorders due to TBI are subdivided in: 1) with manic or hypomanic like episode; 2) with manic features; and 3) with mixed features.

    A similar conceptual framework has been used to define Anxiety Disorder due to another Medical Condition, in this case, TBI. According to DSM-IV/DSM-5, such diagnosis can be made when, besides an evident pathophysiological relationship with TBI, panic attacks or generalized anxiety are the prominent features of the clinical presentation.

    Measured: 6 months after TBI

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Total Community Integration Questionnaire Scores

    The Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) is intended as a brief, reliable measure of an individual's level of integration into the home and community following traumatic brain injury. Total CIQ scores were used as the outcome measure. Range: 0 to 25. Higher scores indicate higher levels of integration into the home and community following TBI.

    Measured: 6 months after TBI

  2. Iowa Gambling Task Score

    The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) evaluates decision making ability. During IGT subjects have to choose between decks of cards which yield high immediate gain but larger future loss (i.e., long term loss), and decks which yield lower immediate gain but a smaller future loss (i.e., a long term gain). The task consists of four decks of cards: A, B, C, and D. The goal in the task is to maximize profit. Subjects are required to make a series of card selections. The decks A and B are long term loss decks and the decks C and D are long term gain decks. The IGT Score reported is the combination of the raw score for each deck combined in the following way: (C+D) - (A+B). The range for this score is: -100 to 100. Higher values of this score indicate better decision making ability.

    Measured: 6 months after TBI

  3. Memory Function Composite

    This outcome measures memory function and is a composite of five standardized scores: Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised, Delayed Recall and California Verbal Learning Test, Short Delay Free Recall Number Correct and Discriminability, and Long Delay Free Recall Number Correct and Discriminability. Standardized scores (i.e., z-scores) for each test of this composite were obtained by subtracting the mean raw score of all participants to the raw score of each participant and dividing the result by the standard deviation of the raw scores of all participants. The composite score was obtained by averaging the z-scores of the four memory tests mentioned previously. Range: -3 to 3. Higher scores represent better memory function.

    Measured: 6 months following traumatic brain injury

  4. Social Functioning Examination Total Score

    The Social Functioning Examination (SFE) is a semi-structured interview that measures social functioning in areas such as interpersonal relationships, work adjustment, use of community resources and satisfaction with living environment. Range: 0 to 1. Higher scores denote lower levels of social functioning.

    Measured: 6 months after TBI

  5. Neuroimaging Variables (i.e., Fractional Anisotropy [FA] of Frontal White Matter Such as the Cingulate Gyrus)

    FA is a measured obtained from Diffusion Tensor Imaging, an image modality of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). FA is a unitless index. Range: 0 to 1. FA describes the degree of anisotropy of a diffusion process. A value of zero means that diffusion is unrestricted or equally restricted in all directions. A value of one means that diffusion occurs only along one axis and is fully restricted along all other directions. In the context of this study, FA measures the integrity of the cingulate gyrus white matter. Higher FA values reflect higher integrity of the cingulate gyrus white matter tract. Average FA values for the right and left cingulate gyri were summed.

    One aim of this project was to identify predictors of the occurrence of mood disturbances during the first 6 months following TBI. The hypothesis for this aim was that patients who develop a mood or anxiety disorder six months after TBI present at baseline with lower FA of the cingulate gyrus than those who do not.

    Measured: Baseline

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted24 Jun 2008 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 2008
  3. Primary completionApr 2014
  4. Study completionApr 2014

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2/3
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
94 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00704379
Sponsor's protocol ID
R01NS055827
Other IDs
1R01NS055827-01A2
Status last verified
Aug 2015
First submitted
20 Jun 2008
Last updated
25 Aug 2015
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Arciniegas DB, Topkoff J, Silver JM. Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury. Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2000 Mar;2(2):169-186. doi: 10.1007/s11940-000-0017-y.

    PubMed 11096746
  • Fann JR, Burington B, Leonetti A, Jaffe K, Katon WJ, Thompson RS. Psychiatric illness following traumatic brain injury in an adult health maintenance organization population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;61(1):53-61. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.61.1.53.

    PubMed 14706944
  • Silver JM, Hales RE, Yudofsky SC. Psychopharmacology of depression in neurologic disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990 Jan;51 Suppl:33-9.

    PubMed 2404002
  • Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Moser D, Tateno A, Crespo-Facorro B, Arndt S. Major depression following traumatic brain injury. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;61(1):42-50. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.61.1.42.

    PubMed 14706943
  • Fann JR, Uomoto JM, Katon WJ. Sertraline in the treatment of major depression following mild traumatic brain injury. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2000 Spring;12(2):226-32. doi: 10.1176/jnp.12.2.226.

    PubMed 11001601
  • Graham DI, McIntosh TK, Maxwell WL, Nicoll JA. Recent advances in neurotrauma. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2000 Aug;59(8):641-51. doi: 10.1093/jnen/59.8.641.

    PubMed 10952055
  • McIntosh TK, Saatman KE, Raghupathi R, Graham DI, Smith DH, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ. The Dorothy Russell Memorial Lecture. The molecular and cellular sequelae of experimental traumatic brain injury: pathogenetic mechanisms. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. 1998 Aug;24(4):251-67. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2990.1998.00121.x.

    PubMed 9775390
  • Buki A, Povlishock JT. All roads lead to disconnection?--Traumatic axonal injury revisited. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2006 Feb;148(2):181-93; discussion 193-4. doi: 10.1007/s00701-005-0674-4. Epub 2005 Dec 20.

    PubMed 16362181
  • Manji HK, Quiroz JA, Sporn J, Payne JL, Denicoff K, A Gray N, Zarate CA Jr, Charney DS. Enhancing neuronal plasticity and cellular resilience to develop novel, improved therapeutics for difficult-to-treat depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2003 Apr 15;53(8):707-42. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00117-3.

    PubMed 12706957
  • Warner-Schmidt JL, Duman RS. Hippocampal neurogenesis: opposing effects of stress and antidepressant treatment. Hippocampus. 2006;16(3):239-49. doi: 10.1002/hipo.20156.

    PubMed 16425236
  • Duman RS, Monteggia LM. A neurotrophic model for stress-related mood disorders. Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Jun 15;59(12):1116-27. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.02.013. Epub 2006 Apr 21.

    PubMed 16631126
  • Santarelli L, Saxe M, Gross C, Surget A, Battaglia F, Dulawa S, Weisstaub N, Lee J, Duman R, Arancio O, Belzung C, Hen R. Requirement of hippocampal neurogenesis for the behavioral effects of antidepressants. Science. 2003 Aug 8;301(5634):805-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1083328.

    PubMed 12907793
  • Normann C, Schmitz D, Furmaier A, Doing C, Bach M. Long-term plasticity of visually evoked potentials in humans is altered in major depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Sep 1;62(5):373-80. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.006. Epub 2007 Jan 19.

    PubMed 17240361
  • Sheline YI, Barch DM, Donnelly JM, Ollinger JM, Snyder AZ, Mintun MA. Increased amygdala response to masked emotional faces in depressed subjects resolves with antidepressant treatment: an fMRI study. Biol Psychiatry. 2001 Nov 1;50(9):651-8. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01263-x.

    PubMed 11704071
  • Anand A, Li Y, Wang Y, Wu J, Gao S, Bukhari L, Mathews VP, Kalnin A, Lowe MJ. Antidepressant effect on connectivity of the mood-regulating circuit: an FMRI study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005 Jul;30(7):1334-44. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300725.

    PubMed 15856081

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2/3 study testing Sertraline in people with Traumatic Brain Injury, run by Baylor College of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Aug 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 12 May 2015). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Time to Onset of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV Defined Mood and Anxiety Disorders Associated With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) (time frame: 6 months after TBI). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00704379, which also lists 30 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Aug 2015.

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