Efficacy and Tolerability of Ramelteon in Patients With Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Behavior Disorder and Parkinsonism

Not Applicable

Terminated

Conditions: REM Behavior Disorder
Parkinsonism

Interventions: Drug: Placebo
Drug: Rozerem

Registration Number: NCT00745030

Lead Sponsor: Northwestern University

Brief Summary: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder of the elderly that affects a million patients in US. Sleep dysfunction impacts up to 90% of PD patients. PD patients experience a variety of sleep disorders including parasomnias, specifically REM behavior disorder (RBD) that can precede the onset of motor manifestations of PD. RBD has negative consequences on patients' and their bed partners' quality of life mainly due to its impact on the sleep quality and day time alertness. RBD also predisposes affected individuals and their bed partners to physical injuries.

There are no FDA approved treatments for RBD. Clonazepam is the most commonly used treatment but carries risks of daytime sedation, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms. More recently, melatonin has been demonstrated to be effective in several small studies. Ramelteon, a selective melatonin receptor agonist with favorable safety profile, could potentially be effective for the treatment of RBD.

This pilot protocol will investigate safety and efficacy of ramelteon for the treatment of RBD in subjects with parkinsonism. We plan to recruit 20 subjects with RBD diagnosed based on the clinical interview and confirmed by the polysomnographic (PSG) data. The study is designed as a prospective randomized placebo controlled 12-week study. Primary outcome measure will be change in frequency of RBD events based on the daily sleep diaries. Secondary outcome measure will be change in the amount of tonic muscle activity based on the results of the baseline and final PSG. A number of other secondary and exploratory outcome measures will be collected

Detailed Description: See above.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: TERMINATED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 3

Inclusion Criteria

Diagnosis of parkinsonism (idiopathic PD, multiple systems atrophy, Lewy body dementia)
RBD frequency of at least once per week based on the RBD screening clinical questionnaire
PSG evidence of RBD
Presence of bed partner/caregiver who sleeps in the same room as PD patient

Exclusion Criteria

Known hypersensitivity to ramelteon or related compounds, including melatonin and melatonin-related compounds.
Use of hypnotics or other sedatives within a month prior to the study initiation
Presence of active psychosis
Use of neuroleptics, except for the atypical neuroleptics - specifically quetiapine (the dose should not exceed 50mg/day)
Use of antidepressants unless the patient has been on a stable dose for at least three months
Use of Venlafaxine (Effexor®)
Presence of cognitive impairment, defined as the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score <24
Presence of depression defined as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score >14
Significant sleep disordered breathing (defined as an apnea-hypopnea index>15 events/hr of sleep on screening PSG), significant periodic limb movement disorder (defined as a PLM index>10 events/hr of sleep with awakening on screening PSG)
Travel through two time zones within a month prior to the study initiation

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
2	Placebo	Placebo 8 mg tablets
1	Rozerem	Ramelteon (TAK-375) 8mg tablets

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in the Frequency of RBD Based on the Daily Sleep Diaries, Completed Daily for the Duration of the Study by the Study Subjects' Bed Partners/Caregivers	12 weeks	Change in the frequency of RBD based on the daily sleep diaries, completed daily for the duration of the study by the study subjects' bed partners/caregivers. Data will not be analyzed. The protocol is being terminated due to low subject enrollment and recruitment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in the Amount of Tonic Muscle Activity Based on the Results of the Baseline and Final Polysomnographic (PSG) Study	8 weeks	no participants were recruited