This study will evaluate the effectiveness of galantamine and CDP-choline in improving symptoms associated with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a life-long brain disorder affecting approximately 1 percent of Americans each year. Schizophrenia can be extremely disabling, causing people to hear voices, experience paranoia or hallucinations, believe that others are controlling their thoughts, and even fail at maintaining a job or caring for themselves. Current medications help to relieve most of these negative symptoms, but not all. Many people with schizophrenia still suffer from low energy levels, an inability to concentrate, and memory loss. Galantamine is a medication that is used to improve memory and energy levels in people with Alzheimer's disease, and CDP-choline is a nutritional supplement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of adding galantamine and CDP-choline to a stable anti-psychotic medication regimen of risperidone as a way of improving symptoms in adults with schizophrenia. Participants in this double-blind study will attend an initial screening during which they will undergo a physical exam, an electrocardiogram, and blood and urine collection. Participants will then be randomly assigned to receive galantamine and CDP-choline or a placebo treatment for 16 weeks. Participants assigned to the treatment group will take 500 mg of CDP-choline daily for the first 3 days, 1,000 mg daily for the next 4 days, and 2,000 mg daily for the following 15 weeks. Participants assigned to the treatment group will also take 8 mg of galantamine daily for the first week, 16 mg daily for the next week, and 24 mg daily for the following 14 weeks. Participants assigned to the control group will take two types of placebo pills every day for 16 weeks. All participants will continue to take their regular regimen of risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and/or aripiprazole throughout the trial in addition to their assigned treatment. Staff members will meet with participants during the first week of the study and every 4 weeks afterward until study completion. During these meetings, participants will identify any side effects, report nicotine intake, breathe into a machine that measures the amount of nicotine in the body, and complete written and computerized tasks on concentration and memory. Each meeting may last up to 3 hours. On the last week of the study, blood and urine samples will be collected and an electrocardiogram will be administered. Results from this study will be used to evaluate whether CDP-choline and galantamine improve schizophrenia symptoms. CDP-choline and matching placebos were purchased from LifeLink Corporation. Galantamine and matching placebos were prepared and donated by Ortho McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
43
Galantamine will be titrated to 24 mg/day over 2 weeks. Participants will receive 8 mg/day in two divided doses for 1 week, 16 mg/day in two divided doses for 1 week, and 24 mg/day in two divided doses beginning in Week 3. They will be maintained on 24 mg/day for the remainder of the study.
CDP-choline will serve as the dietary source of choline. CDP-choline will be titrated to 2000 mg/day over 1 week. Subjects will receive 500 mg/day for 3 days; Thereafter, the dose of CDP-choline will be increased to 1,000 mg/day in two divided doses for 4 days. At the beginning of Week 2, participants will receive the maximum fixed dose of 2000 mg/day in two divided doses, which will be held constant through the end of Week 16.
The schedule of dose titration of placebo galantamine and placebo CDP-choline will follow the schedule of active medication condition using matching placebos for each agent.
Washington Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
Negative Symptoms Measured on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
The score for each subject was the sum of the ratings for five items on the negative-symptom subscale of the PANSS: 1) blunted affect, 2) emotional withdrawal, 3) poor rapport, 4) passive/apathetic social withdrawal, and 5) lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation. Each item (symptom) is rated on a scale from 1 = absence of negative symptom to 7 = extreme negative symptom. The sum of the ratings for the five items range from 5 to 35, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. The primary outcome measure is the mean of the sum of these ratings across subjects.
Time frame: Measured at Baseline and Weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16
Clinical Global Impression
The score for each subject was the mean rating on the severity item. The score of the item ranged from 1 (normal) to 7 (among most severely ill).
Time frame: Measured at Baseline and Weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16
MATRICS Verbal Learning and Memory
The measure of verbal learning and memory is the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test. The score for each subject is the sum of the total number of words recalled correctly for Trials 1, 2, and 3. The measure is the mean of these scores at baseline, Week 8, and Week 16.
Time frame: Measured at Baseline and Weeks 8 and 16
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All participants will continue to take their regular regimen of risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and/or aripiprazole throughout the trial in addition to their assigned treatment.