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SleepPhase 4NCT04329091

Implications of Anesthetics on Sleep Consolidation

A Phase 4 study testing Dexmedetomidine in people with Sleep, run by University of Chicago at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

Sleep leads to consolidation of learning in humans, restoring memories that were forgotten over a waking day and protecting memories against future forgetting. Although theories of consolidation have linked sleep spindles seen on electroencephalography to consolidation due to their putative role in hippocampal… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Sleep
What is being tested?
Dexmedetomidine
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
9 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
16 Oct 2020to 20 Dec 2021
Phase
Phase 4
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 35 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Primary Inclusion Criteria for "Healthy" volunteers

  • Age between 18-35
  • Native English speaking
  • No hearing or speech difficulties
  • No psychiatric, neurologic, or sleep disorders
  • No chronic medical conditions, as reflected below under Primary Exclusion Criteria and above in 'Medical History'
  • Non-smokers (within 3 months)
  • Non-users of recreational or illicit drugs (including marijuana)
  • Must be willing and able to pass the drug tests (no psychoactive substances), no ingestion of alcohol or sleep-altering drugs for the 48 hours prior to the study session.
  • Normal weight

Primary Exclusion Criteria for "Healthy" volunteers

  • Speech difficulties/disorders
  • Hearing difficulties (including occluded or infected ear canals)
  • Current hairstyles that do not allow the high-density EEG cap to make contact with the scalp (e.g., individuals with hair extensions, braids, dreadlocks or hairstyles that restrict the ability of electrodes to touch the scalp)
  • Metal on/in/near their heads (including jewelry) that cannot be removed for the duration of the study
  • Metal implants
  • Serious abusers of alcohol or caffeine.
  • Existing or suspected psychological or neurological disorders
  • Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy (urine pregnancy test at visit 2)
  • Chronic or transient (e.g., jet lag) problems with sleep; suspected sleep disorder
  • Abnormal sleep habits, such as:
  • Sleeping less than 5 hours each night
  • Going to sleep before 8:00 PM or after 2:00 AM on a regular basis
  • Waking up before 5:00 AM or after 10:00 AM on a regular basis.
  • Currently taking medications that regulate blood pressure; a history of high blood pressure, diabetes or stroke
  • Chronic smokers
  • Current use of aspirin, or other medications which increase bleeding, prior to the study session.
  • Known drug allergies to anesthetics or a history of an adverse reaction to anesthesia.
  • Known allergy to adhesives or electrode gel
  • Medication that alters sleep, cognitive function, or both

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Chicago Medicine

    Chicago, Illinois, 60637

Other trials in United States

About this study

Sleep leads to consolidation of learning in humans, restoring memories that were forgotten over a waking day and protecting memories against future forgetting. Although theories of consolidation have linked sleep spindles seen on electroencephalography to consolidation due to their putative role in hippocampal transfer to the neocortex (Antony et al, 2019; Antony \& Paller, 2017), spindles have not yet been linked to consolidation of perceptual learning or generalized learning. Prior research by a collaborator on this project has shown that sleep specifically aids in the consolidation of generalized perceptual learning of speech (Fenn, Nusbaum, \& Margoliash, 2003). Subjects show a 10-point reduction in performance after a waking retention period, while no loss is found after a retention period containing sleep (Fenn et al., 2003).

Various measurable activities in the brain are associated with memory consolidation during sleep. This project intends study the effect of dexmedetomidine on memory consolidation during sleep

Read more

Hypothesis 1 The gain in perceptual learning after a 90 minute natural sleep nap will also occur after 90 minutes of a sufficient dose of IV dexmedetomidine to replicate sleep. This result would suggest that consolidation can occur under this anesthetic state of consciousness.

Hypothesis 2 The number and quality of sleep spindles seen on EEG in subjects administered dexmedetomidine will correlate with this gain in perceptual learning. This result would suggest that biomimetic sleep spindles are sufficient for producing memory consolidation.

Only those subjects capable of giving their own consent will be considered for this study.

The study will enroll 20 healthy subjects for this study between the ages of 18 and 35.

All volunteers will be fit and healthy, meeting the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification ASA 1 (normal healthy subjects) and ASA 2 (stable chronic condition) and of normal body habitus. Prior to the study enrollment, each volunteer will sign an informed consent form. A standard anesthetic medical history will be taken in addition to performing a focused standard pre-anesthetic physical examination in order to rule out active and chronic medical problems.

Conditions
Sleep
Being tested
Dexmedetomidine

What participants receive

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

  • DexmedetomidineDrug

    Also called Precedex

    All subjects will receive Dexmedetomidine to induce sedation between their pre-sedation and post-sedation perceptual learning tests.

Study groups in NCT04329091
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Dexmedetomidine ArmExperimentalDexmedetomidine: Administration of a 0.5 mcg/kg bolus followed by an infusion of 0.5-0.7 mcg/kg/hr, titrated up by 0.1 mcg every 1 minute until the subject spontaneously closes his or her eyes. When the subject spontaneously closes his or her eyes the infusion continues for 90 minutes from that point.
Receives: Drug: Dexmedetomidine

What is being measured

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

  1. Perceptual Learning Protocol

    Subjects are tested in the morning for word recognition on hard-to-understand speech, then trained on this speech (never hearing the same words twice) which produces about 20 percentage points of improvement. After sedation subjects are re-tested. During the morning, afternoon and evening post-tests, subjects will be tested on new spoken words. At each time point where the perceptual learning protocol is administered the number of words correctly perceived out of 50 will be measured.

    Measured: 1 day

Timeline

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

  1. First posted1 Apr 2020
  2. Study start16 Oct 2020
  3. Primary completion20 Dec 2021
  4. Study completion20 Dec 2021

Why it stopped: Lack of participant recruitment

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 4
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
9 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04329091
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB19-1442
Status last verified
Feb 2023
First submitted
30 Mar 2020
Last updated
24 Feb 2023
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: No IPD will be shared with other researchers

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing Dexmedetomidine in people with Sleep, run by University of Chicago 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?

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: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Feb 2023. 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. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

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 24 Feb 2023). 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?

Perceptual Learning Protocol (time frame: 1 day). 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 24 Feb 2023.

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