Treatment Strategy to Prevent Mood Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury

NCT ID: NCT00704379

Last Updated: 2015-08-25

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE2/PHASE3

Total Enrollment

94 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2008-06-30

Study Completion Date

2014-04-30

Brief Summary

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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.

Detailed Description

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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.

Conditions

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Traumatic Brain Injury

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Placebo

Placebo will be given in a double blind fashion via an equal number of tablets (identical to the sertraline tablets) administered once daily.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

an inactive substance

Sertraline

Sertraline 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.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Sertraline

Intervention Type DRUG

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.

Interventions

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Placebo

an inactive substance

Intervention Type DRUG

Sertraline

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.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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Zoloft

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 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.

Exclusion Criteria

* 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.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Baylor College of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ricardo Jorge, MD

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Ricardo E. Jorge, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Baylor College of Medicine

Locations

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Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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

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Jorge R, Robinson RG. Mood disorders following traumatic brain injury. NeuroRehabilitation. 2002;17(4):311-24. No abstract available.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Arndt S. Are there symptoms that are specific for depressed mood in patients with traumatic brain injury? J Nerv Ment Dis. 1993 Feb;181(2):91-9. doi: 10.1097/00005053-199302000-00004.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Arndt SV, Forrester AW, Geisler F, Starkstein SE. Comparison between acute- and delayed-onset depression following traumatic brain injury. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1993 Winter;5(1):43-9. doi: 10.1176/jnp.5.1.43.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Arndt SV, Starkstein SE, Forrester AW, Geisler F. Depression following traumatic brain injury: a 1 year longitudinal study. J Affect Disord. 1993 Apr;27(4):233-43. doi: 10.1016/0165-0327(93)90047-n.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Starkstein SE, Arndt SV. Depression and anxiety following traumatic brain injury. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1993 Fall;5(4):369-74. doi: 10.1176/jnp.5.4.369.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Starkstein SE, Arndt SV. Influence of major depression on 1-year outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury. J Neurosurg. 1994 Nov;81(5):726-33. doi: 10.3171/jns.1994.81.5.0726.

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Jorge RE, Robinson RG, Starkstein SE, Arndt SV, Forrester AW, Geisler FH. Secondary mania following traumatic brain injury. Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Jun;150(6):916-21. doi: 10.1176/ajp.150.6.916.

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Jorge RE, Starkstein SE. Pathophysiologic aspects of major depression following traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2005 Nov-Dec;20(6):475-87. doi: 10.1097/00001199-200511000-00001.

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Tateno A, Jorge RE, Robinson RG. Pathological laughing and crying following traumatic brain injury. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2004 Fall;16(4):426-34. doi: 10.1176/jnp.16.4.426.

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Jorge RE, Acion L, Burin DI, Robinson RG. Sertraline for Preventing Mood Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Oct 1;73(10):1041-1047. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2189.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 27626622 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1R01NS055827-01A2

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

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R01NS055827

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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