Neurobiology of a Mutation in Glycine Metabolism in Psychotic Disorders
NCT ID: NCT01720316
Last Updated: 2017-09-19
Study Results
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View full resultsBasic Information
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COMPLETED
PHASE2
2 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2012-12-10
2017-05-31
Brief Summary
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Because the results of the double-blind placebo-controlled and open-label glycine treatment arms showed substantial clinical benefit to the participants, the study has been extended to include six months of chronic open-label glycine in order to determine 1) whether the clinical benefits achieved within 6 weeks previously recur, 2) the clinical benefits are lasting, and 3) additional clinical benefits occur with longer exposure. The glycine for this extension will be provided by Letco Medical.
The investigators hypothesize that mutation carriers will have reduced endogenous brain glycine and GABA levels and increased brain glutamate and glutamine levels. Glycine administration will increase brain glycine in the two carriers, but to a lesser extent than in non-carrier family members and controls.
The investigators hypothesize reduced activation of magnocellular pathways and abnormal ERPs modulated by NMDA in mutation carriers compared with non-carrier family members and controls.
The investigators hypothesize that glycine, but not placebo, will improve positive, negative and affective symptoms as well as neurocognitive function.
The investigators also hypothesize that open-label glycine will improve clinical and cognitive functioning, will partially normalize decreased baseline glycine and GABA and increased glutamate and glutamine, and will partially normalize magnocellular pathway activation and abnormal evoked potentials.
Detailed Description
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There is an extensive literature on the effects of NMDA enhancing agents on positive, negative, and depressive symptoms and on neurocognitive function (see Tsai \& Lin, 2010; Lin et al. 2011 for reviews). Although many studies have reported positive results in at least one symptom domain (Heresco-Levy et al. 1996, 1999, 2004; Tsai et al. 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006; Javitt et al. 2001; Goff et al. 1996; Lane et al. 2008), the results of other studies have been negative or ambiguous (Goff et al. 1999; Evins et al. 2000; Duncan et al. 2004; van Berckel et al. 1999). Factors likely to contribute to this variability include: mechanism of action of the agent, compliance, concurrent treatment with first- vs second generation antipsychotic drugs, baseline glycine blood levels, presence/absence of kynurenine pathway metabolic abnormalities (Wonodi et al. 2010; Erhardt et al. 2007) and individual differences in brain glycine uptake and metabolism (Kaufman et al. 2009; Buchanan et al. 2007). Genetic variants that impact the synthesis and breakdown of glycine, glutamate, or other modulators of NMDA receptor function are also likely to have significant effects. Although glycine augmentation has shown variable efficacy in patients unselected for having a mutation that would be expected to lower brain glycine levels, the GLDC triplication in the two carriers in this study would be expected to result in unusually low brain glycine levels, supporting its therapeutic potential as an augmentation strategy.
Thus, it is important to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of glycine augmentation in individuals in whom there is a high prior probability of therapeutic benefit and to characterize the neurobiology of this mutation in terms of brain metabolites, brain function, and the pharmacokinetics of glycine metabolism using well-established methods (Kaufman et al. 2009; Prescot et al. 2006; Martinez et al. 2008; Butler et al. 2001; Jensen et al. 2009; Ongur et al. 2008).
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
CROSSOVER
TREATMENT
QUADRUPLE
Study Groups
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glycine
Glycine, up to 0.8 g/kg, administered with TID dosing for 6 weeks Double-blind
Glycine
Double-blind placebo controlled trial of glycine or placebo, followed by open-label glycine
Placebo
placebo, TID dosing, 6 weeks Double-blind
placebo
glycine, open-label
glycine, up to 0.8 g/kg, administered with TID dosing for 6 weeks
Glycine
Double-blind placebo controlled trial of glycine or placebo, followed by open-label glycine
Interventions
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Glycine
Double-blind placebo controlled trial of glycine or placebo, followed by open-label glycine
placebo
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
18 Years
65 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIH
Mclean Hospital
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Deborah L. Levy
Associate Professor
Principal Investigators
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Deborah L Levy, PhD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Mclean Hospital
Locations
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McLean Hospital
Belmont, Massachusetts, United States
Countries
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References
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Provided Documents
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Document Type: Informed Consent Form
Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan
Document Type: Study Protocol
Other Identifiers
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2012p001597
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id