Shifting Brain Excitation-Inhibition Balance in Autism Spectrum Disorder

NCT ID: NCT03537950

Last Updated: 2024-03-05

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

38 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-08-22

Study Completion Date

2017-03-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study investigates brain response to single acute dose of cannabidiol, cannabidivarin, and placebo in healthy men with and without autism spectrum disorder

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Previous research suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) could have the potential to shift brain excitation and inhibition (E-I) in the healthy brain and in neurodevelopmental psychiatric conditions, where this balance is disrupted, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, no study to date has investigated this. Therefore, in this study, we invited 20 healthy men with and without ASD. Each participant received each drug once (600mg CBD/CBDV, or matched placebo) and magnetic resonance imaging was used to obtain measures of brain biochemistry, activity, and connectivity. We further obtained questionnaires, task data, saliva, urine and blood samples, and conducted visual tasks using eye tracking, electroencephalography, and retinal imaging.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Repeated-measures cross-over study, where each subject received each of three pharmacological probes once (order of drug administration was pseudorandomised)
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators
Participants and investigators were blinded to the drug condition.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

PLC, CBD, CBDV

Dose order: PLC, CBD, CBDV

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

PLC, CBDV, CBD

Dose order: PL, CBDV, CBD

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

CBD, PLC, CBDV

Dose order: CBD, PLC, CBDV

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

CBD, CBDV, PLC

Dose order: CBD, CBDV, PLC

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

CBDV, PLC, CBD

Dose order: CBDV, PLC, CBD

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

CBDV, CBD, PLC

Dose order: CBDV, CBD, PLC

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

PLC

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of PLC.

CBD

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

CBDV

Intervention Type DRUG

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

PLC

Single oral dose of PLC.

Intervention Type DRUG

CBD

Single oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) - 600mg.

Intervention Type DRUG

CBDV

Single oral dose of cannabidivarin (CBDV) - 600mg.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Placebo Cannabidiol Cannabidivarin

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* men
* pass diagnostic threshold for ASD on the ADI-R (if informant is available)
* currently symptomatic on ADOS
* age 18-50 years
* can give informed consent
* IQ\>70 (on a standard instrument such as WASI)
* medication-free in the month preceding participation (but regular medication with drug, which does not affect glutamate or GABA directly may be permitted)
* willing to provide urine samples to screen for use of illicit substances prior to each scan

Exclusion Criteria

* IQ\<70
* history of psychosis, co-morbid major mental illness, significant physical illness (heart disease, high blood pressure, seizures)
* habitual substance misuse (including alcohol)
* known allergy to cannabis
* ASD caused by a known genetic syndrome e.g. Fragile X or 22q11 deletion syndrome,
* past/present treatment for epilepsy
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

MALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

King's College London

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Dr Grainne McAlonan

Deputy head of department

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Grainne McAlonan, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

King's College London

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

King's College London

London, , United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United Kingdom

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Pretzsch CM, Floris DL, Voinescu B, Elsahib M, Mendez MA, Wichers R, Ajram L, Ivin G, Heasman M, Pretzsch E, Williams S, Murphy DGM, Daly E, McAlonan GM. Modulation of striatal functional connectivity differences in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder in a single-dose randomized trial of cannabidivarin. Mol Autism. 2021 Jul 1;12(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s13229-021-00454-6.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34210360 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

HR15-162744

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Cannabinoids, Learning, and Memory
NCT02407808 ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING PHASE1
Persisting Effects of Psilocybin
NCT02971605 COMPLETED PHASE1/PHASE2
Cannabis Effects on Electroencephalography
NCT04316598 TERMINATED PHASE1
Opioid and Cannabinoid Interactions
NCT03705559 COMPLETED PHASE1