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Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological ActionNCT03863366

Effects of Acute Prucalopride Administration in Healthy Volunteers

A study testing Prucalopride in people with Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action and Depression, run by University of Oxford at 1 site in United Kingdom.

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

This study will investigate whether administration of a single dose of the serotonin receptor subtype 4 (5-HT4) partial agonist prucalopride has effects on emotional processing and non-emotional cognition in healthy volunteers, compared to placebo administration. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Prucalopride
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
41 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
7 Feb 2017to 8 Aug 2017
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 40 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Male or female
  • Aged 18-40 years
  • Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study
  • Sufficiently fluent English to understand and complete the task

Who cannot join

  • Current usage of psychoactive medication (except the contraceptive pill, the Depo-Provera injection or the progesterone implant)
  • Any past or current Axis 1 DSM-IV psychiatric disorder
  • Significant medical condition
  • Current or past gastro-intestinal disorder or irritable bowel syndrome
  • Current pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Known lactate deficiency or any other problem absorbing lactose, galactose or glucose
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Current or past history of drug or alcohol dependency
  • Participation in a psychological or medical study involving the use of medication within the last 3 months
  • Previous participation in a study using the same, or similar, emotional processing tasks
  • Smoker > 5 cigarettes per day
  • Typically drinks > 6 caffeinated drinks per day

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • University of Oxford

    Oxford, OX3 7JX

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: The Effect of a Single Dose of Prucalopride on Emotional Processing in Healthy Volunteers

This study will investigate whether administration of a single dose of the serotonin receptor subtype 4 (5-HT4) partial agonist prucalopride has effects on emotional processing and non-emotional cognition in healthy volunteers, compared to placebo administration. Using an experimental medicine approach, the effects of prucalopride on cognitive biomarkers of antidepressant action will be characterised. In a double-blind design, participants will be randomised to receive a single dose of either prucalopride (1mg) or placebo. All participants will come for a Screening Visit to ensure their suitability for the study. If they meet study criteria, they will be invited to a Research Visit, where they will receive the study medication and wait for two hours while the drug reaches peak levels. After two hours they will be asked to complete a series of computer-based tasks measuring emotional, non-emotional cognitive processing, and reward processing. The primary study hypothesis is that acute prucalopride administration will have positive effects on processing facial expressions of emotion. Secondary hypotheses are that acute prucalopride administration will affect other measures of emotional processing, and non-emotional cognition.

Being tested
Prucalopride, Placebo
Keywords
5-HT4, Prucalopride, Resolor, Emotional Processing, Healthy Volunteers
Medical subject headings
Depression, Depressive Disorder, Mood Disorders, Mental Disorders

What participants receive

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

  • PrucaloprideDrug

    Also called Resolor

    1mg prucalopride tablet, encapsulated in white capsule

  • PlaceboOther

    Lactose placebo tablet, encapsulated in white capsule

Study groups in NCT03863366
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PrucaloprideExperimental1mg prucalopride capsule
Receives: Drug: Prucalopride
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorLactose placebo capsule
Receives: Other: Placebo

What is being measured

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

  1. Recognition of positive and negative facial expressions

    Accuracy to identify positive vs. negative facial expressions of emotion on the FERT

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

Secondary outcomes (7)
  1. Recall of emotional words

    Number of positive and negative words correctly (and incorrectly) recalled in the EREC task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  2. Recognition of emotional words

    Number of positive and negative words correctly (and incorrectly) recognised in the EMEM task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  3. Attentional vigilance to emotional faces

    Attentional vigilance to fearful and happy faces in the FDOT task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  4. Recall of words Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT)

    Number of items correctly and incorrectly recalled across blocks

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  5. Reward and loss sensitivity

    Proportion of participants on each trial that chose the correct (high probability) symbol in the win condition, and the incorrect (high probability) symbol in the loss condition of the PILT task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  6. Working memory performance

    Mean accuracy and reaction time on 1-back, 2-back and 3-back conditions compared with 0-back condition on the N-back task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

  7. Contextual learning

    Difference between reaction time and accuracy on novel and repeated arrays in the contextual cueing task

    Measured: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration

Timeline

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

  1. First posted5 Mar 2019
  2. Study start7 Feb 2017
  3. Primary completion8 Aug 2017
  4. Study completion8 Aug 2017

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 N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups (prucalopride or placebo). Participants in the prucalopride group will receive 1mg of the drug. Participants in the placebo group will receive a lactose placebo. Note that the study is not assessing the safety or efficacy of prucalopride, rather it is using prucalopride to assess the behavioural and neural effects of 5-HT4 partial agonists.
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
41 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03863366
Sponsor's protocol ID
Acute_pruc
Status last verified
Mar 2019
First submitted
26 Feb 2019
Last updated
5 Mar 2019
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Prucalopride in people with Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action and Depression, run by University of Oxford at 1 site in United Kingdom.

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 11 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 5 Mar 2019. 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 Kingdom. 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.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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?

Recognition of positive and negative facial expressions (time frame: Day 1: 2-5 hours post drug administration). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 5 Mar 2019; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.

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