Clinical trial NCT06266364: Targeted Plasticity Therapy for PTSD
Official title: Targeted Plasticity Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Keywords: PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
VNS, Vagus Nerve Stimulation
TPT, Targeted Plasticity Therapy
ReStore System
PE, Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
Mental Disorders
Stress Disorders, Traumatic
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Lead sponsor: The University of Texas at Dallas
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
First posted: 2024-02-20
Enrollment: 20
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 22
Maximum age (years): 79
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: 1:1 randomization of active stimulation vs. sham stimulation for 12 sessions post randomization, followed by up to 12 sessions of open label active stimulation for all participants
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Objectives of this study are to provide continued safety assessment for the ReStore system, and to gain further estimates of the effect size of Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) therapy with Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) compared to PE with placebo (sham) stimulation in participants with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Detailed description: A prospective, multi-center, randomized, controlled, blinded trial of participants implanted with the ReStore Device for VNS Therapy.

In double-blinded Phase 1, after implantation, participants will be randomized to either active VNS stimulation or sham VNS stimulation, accompanying PE therapy twice weekly for 6 weeks (12 in-office sessions, Phase 1). The therapist and the participant will be blinded of the group assignment.

Following completion of Phase 1, all participants undergo two mid-therapy assessments and then advance to the open-label Phase 2.

In open-label Phase 2, all participants will receive up to an additional 12 sessions of PE therapy paired with active VNS stimulation, regardless of their prior assignment in Phase 1.

Post-therapy assessments will be performed 1 day, 1 month, and 6 months following the completion of the final session of PE in Phase 2.

During the in-office sessions, the therapist will use a secure smart device to deliver stimulation and record audio of the session for use during homework sessions. The smart device will automatically trigger VNS during audio homework sessions at the same times that the therapist delivered VNS during the corresponding in-office session.

Long-term assessment of safety will be performed up to four times annually for up to 2 years following the date of implant or until the device is FDA approved when possible. Safety assessment will only report on the presence of the implanted, non-active device and/or participant status during this period. Participants who experience a serious device-related adverse event will be removed from the identified risk but will continue to be monitored for 2 years or longer if the event has not resolved.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosis of chronic PTSD for at least 3 months based on DSM-5 criteria
2. In the medical opinion of the Principal Investigator (PI), failed at least one adequate course of first-line PTSD treatment per American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines
3. PCL-5 score greater than 33
4. Age 22-79 years
5. Appropriate surgical candidate for VNS device implantation
6. Willing and able to comply with study protocol
7. Able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Currently undergoing prolonged exposure therapy elsewhere
2. Concurrent participation in another interventional clinical trial
3. Prior injury to vagus nerve
4. Prior or current treatment with vagus nerve stimulation
5. Psychiatric disorders and/or cognitive impairments that would interfere with study participation, as assessed by medical evaluation
6. Moderate-High Risk of Suicide according to Columbia - Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Screen Version
7. Persons with a current or past: (a) medical (psychiatric, non-psychiatric) condition, disease, disorder, injury, or disability or (b) non-medical situation or circumstance that, in the opinion of the principal investigator, study participation:

   * may pose a significant or undue risk to the person,
   * make it unlikely the person will complete all the study requirements per protocol, or
   * may adversely impact the integrity of the data or the validity of the study results
8. Persons with a neck circumference larger than 18.5 inches
9. Females of childbearing potential who are either pregnant or planning to become pregnant and who are not using, or will not agree to use medically acceptable birth control methods
10. Non-English speaking
11. As determined by the principal investigator, is under current incarceration or legal detention

Primary outcomes:
measure: ReStore System Safety
timeFrame: From surgery to up to 2 years following implantation or until the device is FDA approved, whichever comes first
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5(fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)(CAPS-5)
timeFrame: From baseline up to visit 33 (end of study)
measure: PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) score
timeFrame: From baseline up to visit 33 (end of study)
measure: PostTraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI)
timeFrame: From baseline up to visit 33 (end of study)
measure: Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7)
timeFrame: From baseline up to visit 33 (end of study)
measure: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
timeFrame: From baseline up to visit 33 (end of study)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Austin
country: United States
facility: The University of Texas Health Austin Ambulatory Surgery Center
state: Texas
city: Dallas
country: United States
facility: Baylor University Medical Center
state: Texas
city: Richardson
country: United States
facility: Texas Biomedical Device Center
state: Texas
Study officials:
affiliation: The University of Texas at Dallas
name: Jane Wigginton, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: The University of Texas at Dallas
name: Robert Rennaker, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin
name: Jasper Smits, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Baylor Scott & White
name: Mark Powers, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: The University of Texas at Dallas
name: Michael Kilgard, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: