Sleep Trial to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

NCT ID: NCT04629547

Last Updated: 2025-12-17

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

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

200 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-05-25

Study Completion Date

2026-05-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this study is to determine if treatment with the sleep aid suvorexant can decrease the rate of amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation in the brain.

Detailed Description

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This study will investigate if long-term treatment with suvorexant will slow amyloid-β accumulation in the brain. Amyloid-β is a protein involved in the disease process leading to Alzheimer's disease. This study will evaluate if suvorexant can decrease the amount of amyloid-beta detected by plasma pT217/T217.

Conditions

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Sleep Alzheimer Disease

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Poor sleep treatment group

100 participants will be randomized to take suvorexant 20mg daily at h.s. for 18-24 months

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Suvorexant 20 mg

Intervention Type DRUG

Suvorexant 20mg will be taken nightly for 24 months.

Poor sleep control grop

100 participants will be randomized to take placebo daily at h.s. for 18-24 months

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo will be taken nightly for 24 months.

Interventions

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Suvorexant 20 mg

Suvorexant 20mg will be taken nightly for 24 months.

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo

Placebo will be taken nightly for 24 months.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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Belsomra inactive pill sugar pill

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Male or female.
* Any race or ethnicity.
* Participants must be age ≥65 years and able to sign informed consent.
* Global Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0.
* Willing and able to undergo study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria

* History of reported symptoms suggestive of restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy or other central disorder of hypersomnolence, or parasomnia
* STOP-Bang score \>6 for participants without PAP
* Untreated OSA with AHI ≥15 on home sleep test
* Treated sleep apnea with PAP non-compliance

* PAP compliance is defined as \>= 4 hours per night \>70% of the nights
* Plasma A-beta and tau test with a plasma p-tau 217% ≤ 1.19
* Stroke.
* Chronic kidney disease defined as patients with markers of kidney damage or eGFR of \< 45 ml/min/1.73m2.
* Hepatic impairment defined as AST and/or ALT \> 2x upper limit of normal (normal limits AST: 11-47 IU/L, ALT: 6-53 IU/L).
* HIV/AIDS.
* History of substance abuse or alcohol abuse in the proceeding 6 months.
* Regular alcohol consumption 3 or more days a week over the last 6 months. Regular alcohol consumption is defined as having more than 2 alcoholic beverages within 3 hours of bedtime. Participants that agree to reduce alcohol consumption during the study may not be excluded.
* History of presence of any clinically significant medical condition, behavioral or psychiatric disorder, or surgical history based on medical record or participant report that could affect the safety of the participant or interfere with study assessments or in the judgement of the Principal-Investigator (PI) if participant is not a good candidate.
* Has any medical condition that, in the PI's opinion, could increase risk to the participant, limit the participant's ability to tolerate the research procedures, or interfere with the collection/analysis of the data. Potential medical conditions that will be exclusionary at the PI's discretion:

* Cardiovascular disease requiring medication except for controlled hypertension.
* Pulmonary disease.
* Type I diabetes.
* Neurologic or psychiatric disorder requiring medication.
* Tobacco use.
* Use of sedating medications.
* Use of medications that interact with suvorexant (if cannot be discontinued)
* Abnormal safety labs
* History of current suicidal ideations.
* Currently pregnant or breast-feeding.
* In the opinion of the PI, the participant should be excluded due to an abnormal physical examination.
* Must not have participated in any clinical trial involving a study drug or device within the 30-days prior to study enrollment.
* Must not participate in another drug or device study prior to the end of this study participation.


-• Contraindication to lumbar puncture (anticoagulants; bleeding disorder; allergy to lidocaine or disinfectant; prior central nervous system or lower back surgery).
Minimum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Good Ventures

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role collaborator

Washington University School of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Brendan Lucey

Principal Investigator, Sleep Medicine Section Head

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Brendan Lucey, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Washington Univeristy School of Medicine

Locations

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Washington University School of Medicine

St Louis, Missouri, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Cristina Toedebusch, BS

Role: CONTACT

3147470646

Chloe Meehan, MA

Role: CONTACT

3142730878

Facility Contacts

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Cristina Toedebusch, BS

Role: primary

13147470646

Other Identifiers

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202008007

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id