A Trial of Folate With B12 in Patients With Schizophrenia With Residual Symptoms in Ethiopia

NCT ID: NCT01724476

Last Updated: 2018-08-15

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE4
• Total Enrollment: 200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-12-31
• Study Completion Date: 2017-12-31

Brief Summary

The investigators propose to conduct a randomized Sequential Parallel Design for Double-Blind Phase fixed dose, 4-month trial of folate plus B12 as add-on therapy in 200 Ethiopian subjects with schizophrenia with stable residual positive or negative symptoms.

Detailed Description

This is a 16-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Folate 2mg plus B12 400mcg, as an adjunctive therapy in approximately 240 consecutive outpatients with schizophrenia from Amanuel Hospital, which is based at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will be enrolled and screened for eligibility. The goal is to randomize and complete 200 subjects from the 240 enrolled. A Sequential Parallel Design for Double-Blind Phase will be utilized. During the first phase of double-blind adjunctive treatment, eligible patients (n=200) are randomized to adjunctive treatment with either folate and vitamin B12 (n=60) or placebo (n=150), with a 2:3:3 ratio for random assignment to the treatment sequences drug/drug (DD; n=70), placebo/placebo (PP; n=70), and placebo/drug (PD; n=75), while all continue to receive their antipsychotic agent for the entire duration of the study. Assuming a 10% drop-out rate during the first phase, 126 patients on placebo will complete the first 56-day phase, and 54 patients on folate and vitamin B12 will complete the first 56-day phase.

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: QUADRUPLE

Study Groups

folate with B12

Subjects randomized to the folate with B12 group will take 1 capsule of 400mcg per day of folate with B12.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

folate with B12

Intervention Type: DRUG

placebo

Subjects randomized to the placebo group will take 1 capsule of placebo per day.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

placebo

Intervention Type: DRUG

Interventions

folate with B12

Intervention Type: DRUG

placebo

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Diagnosis of schizophrenia, any subtype

2. Male or female

3. Age 18-65 years

4. Treated with an antipsychotic for at least 6 months at a stable dose for at least 6 weeks

5. PANSS total score of at least 60, with at least a 3 (moderate) on one negative symptom item or on one positive symptom item.

6. No acute medical problems; any chronic medical condition (e.g. hypertension) consistently treated and stable during the 1 month prior to participation

Exclusion Criteria

1. Unable to provide informed consent

2. Serum B12 concentration less than 300mcg/L; Complete Blood Count (CBC) results consistent with megaloblastic anemia

3. Serum creatinine concentration greater than 1.4

4. Current use of folate or B12 supplementation

5. Current use of any of the following medications: phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid, fosphenytoin, primidone or pyrimethamine; antimalarial drugs

6. Alcohol or other substance abuse within 3 months (nicotine allowed)

7. Subjects with a history of clinically significant neurological, metabolic, hepatic, renal, hematological, pulmonary, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and/or urological disorders (e.g. unstable angina, decompensated congestive heart failure, Central Nervous System (CNS) infection or history of HIV seropositivity), which would pose a risk to the patient if they were to participate in the study or that might confound the results of the study. Active medical conditions that are minor or well controlled are not exclusionary if they do not affect risk to the patient or the study results. For example, the following are not exclusionary: a) stable and well- controlled hypertension; b) asthma (no serious attacks in the past year)

8. Unstable psychiatric illness

9. Seizure disorder

10. Pregnancy or nursing

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Addis Ababa University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Amanuel Mental Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Massachusetts General Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Gregory Fricchione

Director, Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Gregory Fricchione, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Massachusetts General Hospital

Locations

Amanuel Mental Hospital

Addis Ababa, , Ethiopia

Countries

Ethiopia

Other Identifiers

2011D003142

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2011P002667

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id