Evaluate the Effects of Tolcapone on Cognitive and Behavioral Dysfunction in Patients With BI and NCD

Sheppard Pratt Health System

Status and phase

Unknown

Phase 2

Conditions

Brain Injuries

Brain Injuries, Traumatic

Neurocognitive Disorders

Treatments

Drug: Tolcapone

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02652598

805704

Details and patient eligibility

About

The experimental design is an open-label two-week trial of tolcapone to evaluate which clinical domains are affected by tolcapone treatment and to identify "responders" to tolcapone treatment in the two subject groups (BI and NCD)

Full description

Each patient will receive a two-week specified dosing amount of tolcapone (100mg TID on Day 1; 200mg TID on Days 2-14). The patient will be instructed to take the study drug three times daily. Tolcapone will be tapered after Day 14 to avoid potential withdrawal reactions.

Clinical Instruments for patients:

Question banks from large patient-reported outcome measure initiatives will be used and administered and used by computerized-adaptive tests (CATs). These include the TBI-QoL for patients with TBI and question banks from the patient-reported outcome measure information systems (PROMIS) and neurology quality of life measurement initiative (Neuro-QoL). Patients will answer questions related to their mobility, fatigue, pain interference, positive affect and well-being, depression, anxiety, anger and irritability, and emotional and behavioral dyscontrol.
Clinical Global Impressions Scale
Geriatric Depression Scale-15
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Hopkins Adult Reading Test
Frontal Systems Behavior Scale
Montreal Cognitive Assessment
Trails A&B
Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
NIH Toolbox
Perceptual Comparison Test
Brief Test of Attention
Hopkins Verbal Learning Test
Brief Visuospatial Memory Test
Calibrated Ideational Fluency Assessment
Profile of Mood States
Digit Span

Clinical Instruments for Informants:

Neuropsychiatry Inventory
Apathy evaluation scale
Overt aggression scale
Frontal Systems Behavior Scale

Laboratory Measures:

Blood sample for genotyping
Blood sample for assessing COMT activity.
Blood sample for a laboratory profile including CBC, CMP, TSH, Hepatitis Panel (B and C), and RPR
A urine analysis, urine drug screen, and a urine pregnancy test
In addition for NCD patients: a blood sample for tests including Serum Calcium, B12, ESR, and C-reactive protein

Enrollment

100 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 75 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

TBI and ABI Patients Inclusion Criteria

Age 18-70
Diagnosis of mild, moderate, or severe TBI, or history of ABI with classification to be made based on parameters at the time of the index event or acquired brain injury.
Index event resulting in Traumatic or Acquired Head Injury occurred >12 months prior to trial initiation
A current or former patient at the clinics of the Sheppard Pratt Neuropsychiatry Program or another Sheppard Pratt outpatient clinic with medical documentation of TBI or ABI
Proficient in the English language
Available to come to Sheppard Pratt Towson for the baseline evaluation and testing and for the duration of the protocol
Stable neurological and psychiatric symptomatology for 2 months prior to trial initiation as determined by the referring Sheppard Pratt physician.
Stable medication dose and regimen for 2 months

NCD Patients Inclusion Criteria

Age 60-75
NCD diagnosed by a Sheppard Pratt physician, per DSM-5
No abnormalities on other serum tests to rule out other cause of cognitive impairment: TSH, B12, CBC, Chemistry screen, and RPR.
Recent structural neuroimaging (within 1 year or since the time of the onset of cognitive complaint)-noncontrast head CT or MRI-to rule out any gross lesion inconsistent with the diagnosis of MCI (e.g. subdural hematoma, normal pressure hydrocephalus, demyelinating lesion, infarct, or mass lesion)
Proficient in the English language
A current or former patient at the clinics of the Sheppard Pratt Neuropsychiatry Program or another Sheppard Pratt outpatient clinic with medical documentation of NCD
Available to come to Sheppard Pratt Towson for the baseline evaluation and testing and for the duration of the protocol
Stable neurological and psychiatric symptomatology for 2 months prior to trial initiation as determined by the impression of the referring Sheppard Pratt physician.
Stable medication dose and regimen for 2 months

Exclusion Criteria for All Patients:

History of, or active, liver disease or abnormal liver function tests--if the patient currently has elevated Alanine Transaminase (ALT) or Aspartate Transaminase (AST) levels that exceed 2 times the upper limit of normal [Normal Reference Ranges ALT (Male: 4-40 IU/L, Female: 4-40 IU/L), AST (Male: 4-31 IU/L, Female: 4-37 IU/L) or the ratio of AST:ALT has exceeded 2:1
Active alcohol use disorder, as defined by DSM-5, of any severity mild, moderate, or severe
History of, or active, cardiovascular disease defined as: coronary heart disease, manifested by myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, or heart failure
Uncontrolled hypo-or hypertension based on Joint National Committee criteria (JNC7) Hypotension: Systolic<90mmHg or diastolic<60mmHg Hypertension: Systolic >140mmHg or diastolic>90 mmHg)
History of extra-pyramidal symptoms (e.g. tardive dyskinesia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, or QT prolongation) while on a first-generation anti-psychotic
Active illicit substance use, resulting in a substance use disorder as defined by DSM-5, of any severity mild, moderate, or severe
Patient is currently taking tolcapone or any of the following medications that can interact with tolcapone resulting in an adverse events: another COMT inhibitor, benserazide, α-methyldopa, dobutamine, apomorphine, isoproterenol, clozapine, MAO inhibitor
Known allergy or serious adverse reaction to tolcapone
Participated in any investigational drug trial in the past 30 days.
Pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study period
Breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed during the study period.