Effectiveness of Methylphenidate in Improving Cognition and Function in Older Adults With Depression

Phase 4

Completed

Conditions: Depression

Interventions: Drug: Methylphenidate (MPH)
Drug: Citalopram
Drug: Placebo

Registration Number: NCT00602290

Lead Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles

Brief Summary: This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of methylphenidate in improving cognition and function in older adults with depression.

Detailed Description: Less than 50% of older adults with depression achieve remission and functional recovery in response to first-line antidepressant treatment. Most are left with significant residual symptoms, putting them at risk for illness relapse, frailty, and suicide. Improved understanding of the neurobiology of depression in older adults and mechanisms of treatment response may lead to better clinical management of depression. Methylphenidate (MPH) has long been used in the elderly and the medically ill to provide rapid improvement in depression, apathy, and fatigue. However, its potential beneficial effects on cognitive and functional outcomes in older adults with depression have not been studied. Combining MPH with the serotonergic antidepressant citalopram may result in better clinical outcomes than would using citalopram alone. This study will compare the safety and effectiveness of MPH combined with citalopram, MPH combined with placebo, and citalopram combined with placebo in improving thinking, memory, and speed of recovery in older adults with depression. The study will also evaluate selected dopamine- and serotonin-related gene relationships with mood, cognitive symptoms, and treatment response to MPH and citalopram.

Participation in this double-blind study will last 16 weeks. All potential participants will initially undergo comprehensive medical, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive assessments and genetic testing. These initial assessments will include questionnaires about depressive symptoms, a medical history, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and a blood draw for the genetic testing. Eligible participants will then be randomly assigned to one of three groups: MPH and citalopram, MPH and placebo, or citalopram and placebo. All participants will receive 16 weeks of treatment with their assigned medications. Study visits will occur weekly for the first 6 weeks of treatment and bi-weekly for the remainder of the study. During study visits, participants will undergo vital sign and weight measurements, answer questionnaires, and report any medication side effects. Blood will again be drawn at Visits 4 and 10, and the ECG will be repeated at Visit 10 if any cardiac symptoms occur. Most initial assessments will be repeated on Visit 13, the last study visit. Participants will also be contacted weekly by phone throughout the study to answer questions on how they are feeling and any possible side effects.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 181

Inclusion Criteria

Meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) criteria for major depressive disorder (recurrent and nonrecurrent course will be identified)
Score of 16 or higher on the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at study entry
Score of 26 or higher on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE)

Exclusion Criteria

History of psychiatric illness or a substance abuse disorder other than unipolar depression, diagnosed prior to the onset of the first depressive episode
Presence of psychotic symptoms
Severe or acute medical illness (e.g., major surgery, metastatic cancer, stroke, heart attack) 6 months prior to study entry
Acute suicidal or violent behavior or history of suicide attempt within the year prior to study entry
Presence of delirium, neurodegenerative dementia, Parkinson's disease, or any other central nervous system (CNS) diseases
Toxic or metabolic abnormalities on laboratory examination
Medications taken or medical illnesses present that could account for depression
Active heart failure categorized as Class III or greater according to New York Heart Association criteria
Heart attack or crescendo angina within the 3 months prior to study entry
Symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias or symptomatic, hemodynamically significant mitral or aortic valvular disease
Resting heart rate less than 50 beats per minute and a corrected QT (QTc) interval greater than 0.45 seconds
Second or third degree atrioventricular block
Systolic blood pressure greater than 180 mmHg or less than 90 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure greater than 105 mmHg or less than 50 mmHg at study entry
Treated with depot neuroleptic therapy within 6 months prior to study entry
Treated with any neuroleptic, antidepressant, anxiolytic medication (other than lorazepam), or over-the-counter CNS-active medications used for treatment of depression (e.g, St. John's Wort, kava-kava, melatonin) within 2 weeks (4 weeks for fluoxetine or monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)) prior to the first administration of study medication
Known allergy to citalopram or MPH or history of ineffective treatment with citalopram or MPH for current depressive episode
Requires concomitant therapy with any prescription or over-the-counter medications that have potentially dangerous interactions with either citalopram or MPH
Requires electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or received ECT within 3 months prior to study entry
Initiated psychotherapy within 3 months prior to study entry or will be initiating or terminating psychotherapy during the study

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
2 - Methylphenidate and placebo	Methylphenidate (MPH)	Participants will take a combination of methylphenidate and placebo for 16 weeks
3 - Methylphenidate and Citalopram	Methylphenidate (MPH)	Participants will take a combination of methylphenidate and citalopram for 16 weeks
2 - Methylphenidate and placebo	Placebo	Participants will take a combination of methylphenidate and placebo for 16 weeks
1 - Citalopram and placebo	Placebo	Participants will take a combination of citalopram and placebo for 16 weeks
1 - Citalopram and placebo	Citalopram	Participants will take a combination of citalopram and placebo for 16 weeks
3 - Methylphenidate and Citalopram	Citalopram	Participants will take a combination of methylphenidate and citalopram for 16 weeks

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) Maintained Scores at Week 16	Maintained response measured at Week 16	The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a 24-item depression scale and the total score is summed with a minimum score=0 and maximum score=76. There are no subscales and the higher values represent a worse outcome. Outcomes are measured and defined as follows: 1) Response will be defined as HDRS scores of 10 or less; 2) Sustained response will be defined as maintained response at week 16; 4) Remission will be defined as HDRS scores of 6 or less.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Quality of Life Assessment	Measured at Baseline and Week 16	The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire - Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) is a 16 item self-administered questionnaire that captures life satisfaction over the past week. Each question is rated on a 5 point scale from 1 (Very Poor) to 5 (Very Good). The total score is reported for items 1-14. The minimum raw score on the Q-LES-Q-SF is 14, and the maximum score is 70 with higher values representing a better outcome.