With an appropriate oral dose of Varenicline (VCN) identified from experiments 1 \& 2 of the study (see NCT02933372), the investigators will administer VCN to Parkinson Disease (PD) participants to determine if VCN improves walking speed and measures of balance. PD participants will receive VCN or a placebo (fake drug) for 3 weeks to assess the effects of VCN administration on gait speed and balance. Participants will undergo examinations to assess the intensity of their Parkinsonism and asked questions to assess their mood and thinking.
To demonstrate that α4β2\* nAChRs are appropriate therapeutic targets in Parkinson's Disease (PD), it is necessary to study key pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic features of α4β2\* nAChR in the context of the PD brain with loss of nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a pathologic environment in which they may exhibit unique features. This personalized medicine approach focuses our studies on the subgroup of PD subjects with loss of nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine identified by Project II and the Clinical Resource Core. The investigators will assess α4β2\* nAChR features using PET imaging with the α4β2\* nAChR ligand \[18-Fluorine\]flubatine, subacute administration of the α4β2\* nAChR partial agonist Varenicline (VCN), and laboratory measures of gait, balance, and attention. The investigators will use \[18-Fluorine\] flubatine PET to assess VCN occupancy of brain α4β2\* nAChRs (experiments 1 \& 2). VCN will be administered to both PD participants (experiment 1) and healthy controls (experiment 2) and both populations will undergo a flubatine PET scan to assess VCN occupancy. Using this PET data to select an appropriate VCN dose, the investigators will perform a pharmacodynamic study (experiment 3) with subacute VCN administration to determine if α4β2\* nAChR stimulation improves laboratory measures of gait function, postural control, and attentional function in PD subjects with loss of nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
34
Initial 0.25 mg oral dose of varenicline administered with monitoring over 4 hours, then total daily dose escalated over the next 2 days until final 0.5 mg BID oral varenicline administered for the remaining 3 weeks.
Initial placebo oral dose administered with monitoring over 4 hours, then total daily dose escalated over the next 2 days until final placebo BID dosing administered orally for the remaining 3 weeks.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Gait Speed
Gait speed, how fast a person can walk down a corridor, at normal pace with no distractors (i.e., no dual task).
Time frame: end of each period: 22 and 64 days
JERK
JERK is the time based derivative of spontaneous lower trunk accelerations during standing. It was assessed with the Ambulatory Parkinson's Disease Monitoring (APDM) wearable sensor system (APDM Wearable Technologies, Inc.) using the iSWAY protocol, with participants standing on a foam pad with eyes closed. JERK was calculated using the manufacturer's software (Mobility Lab Version 1).
Time frame: end of each period: 22 and 64 days
Attention
Attention function will be measured with a standard computer test, the Sustained Attention Test (SAT), without a distractor condition. Results are reported as the vigilance index, a measure that corrects estimates of accurate detection with penalties for false detection and not confounded by errors of omission. (Frey PW, Colliver JA. Sensitivity and responsivity measures for discrimination learning. Learn Motiv 1973; 4:327-342.) The minimum score is -1.00 (indicating that all recorded responses were misses or false alarms) and maximum is +1 (indicating that all recorded responses were hits or correct rejections). Higher values indicate better attentional performance.
Time frame: end of period: days 22 and 64
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