Memantine in Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors

The University of Chicago

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Dermatillomania; Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder)

Treatments: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Memantine

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04792645

IRB20-1992

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study is 8 weeks long and involves subjects taking memantine or placebo. If they are randomly assigned to the memantine arm and are eligible to participate in the study, they will begin by taking 10mg once daily of memantine for two weeks, then 20mg for the remaining six weeks. Efficacy and safety measures will be performed at each visit. Participants will be randomized to receive either memantine or placebo on a 1:1 basis. This blinding will be maintained by the IDS pharmacy at the University of Chicago.

Full description

The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of memantine in 100 subjects with DSM-5 trichotillomania (TTM) or skin picking disorder (SPD).

The hypothesis to be tested is that memantine will be more effective and well tolerated in adults with trichotillomania or skin picking disorder compared to placebo. The proposed study will provide needed data on the treatment of a disabling disorder where there are not any current treatments options.

This will be one of few studies assessing the use of pharmacotherapy for the treatment of TTM and SPD in adults. Assessing the efficacy and safety of memantine will help inform clinicians about additional treatment options for adults suffering from this disorder.

Enrollment: 100 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. men and women age ≥18 years;
2. current DSM-5 trichotillomania or skin picking disorder; and
3. Ability to understand and sign the consent form.

Exclusion criteria

1. Unstable medical illness based on history or clinically significant abnormalities on baseline physical examination
2. Current pregnancy or lactation, or inadequate contraception in women of childbearing potential
3. Subjects considered an immediate suicide risk based on the Columbia Suicide Severity rating Scale (C-SSRS) (www.cssrs.columbia.edu/docs)
4. Past 12-month DSM-5 diagnosis of psychosis, bipolar disorder, mania, or a substance or alcohol use disorder
5. Illegal substance use based on urine toxicology screening
6. Stable dose of medications for at least the past 3 months
7. Previous treatment with memantine
8. Cognitive impairment that interferes with the capacity to understand and self-administer medication or provide written informed consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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100 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Placebo

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

10mg once daily of placebo for two weeks, then 20mg for the remaining six weeks

Treatment:

Drug: Placebo

Memantine

Experimental group

Description:

10mg once daily of memantine for two weeks, then 20mg for the remaining six weeks

Treatment:

Drug: Memantine