Clinical trial NCT00408031: D-cycloserine for Major Depressive Disorder
Official title: N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor (NMDAR)-Based Pharmacotherapy With D-cycloserine for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE2
Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder
Keywords: Major depressive disorder
NMDA receptor
Treatment-Resistant
D-cycloserine
Lead sponsor: Herzog Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
First posted: 2006-12-05
Enrollment: 26
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 75
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: For many depression patients treatment changes are required, including switching to another antidepressant and addition of a second antidepressant or a non-antidepressant agent ("augmentation"). The need to modify treatment is usually necessary because of partial or no response to first-line monotherapy or the failure to achieve remission although treatment response (improvement) has been obtained. These caveats of presently available antidepressant drugs highlight the need for innovative pharmacological treatment strategies. Recent data suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists and partial agonists at the NMDAR-associated glycine binding site may represent a novel type of antidepressant medications. These types of compounds protect vulnerable neurons against a variety of insults, including stress-induced damage, and may serve to enhance and maintain normal synaptic connectivity. In animal models, these compounds mimic the effects of clinically effective antidepressants. Furthermore, down-regulation of the glycine site of the NMDAR was found to be a common feature of currently used antidepressant medications. D-cycloserine (DCS , Seromycin) is a broad spectrum antibiotic, in use for over thirty years against tuberculosis, that acts as a partial agonist at the NMDAR-associated glycine site. Beneficial antidepressant effects have been reported with 500-1000 mg/day DCS regimens in depressed tuberculosis patients and recent preliminary findings suggest that DCS may also be beneficial in the treatment of major depressive disorder. The antidepressant effects of DCS seem to reflect consequences of its capacity to reduce NMDAR receptor function. In the present project, it is proposed to assess, using a random assignment, parallel-group, double blind, placebo controlled design, the effects of a NMDAR -antagonist DCS dose regimen, 250 --\> 1000 mg/day for 6 wks, as adjuvant pharmacotherapy for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder patients. The study methodology includes the assessment of DCS effects upon symptoms profile, neurocognitive tests performance, amino acids serum levels, and brain electrophysiology parameters associated with the prepulse inhibition-startle response paradigm. It is hypothesized that significant beneficial DCS treatment effects will be registered.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression .
* HAMD scale score of ≥20 despite at least two adequate antidepressant treatment trials during the current episode.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Underwent ECT treatment during the 3 months preceding the study.
* Change in psychotropic medications doses during the 3 weeks preceding the study.
* Concurrent unstable medical or neurological illness.
* Patients are judged to be potentially violent towards themselves or others, or have a history of drug/alcohol abuse.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in 24 item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores. Safety measures: UKU scale, vital signs assessments, laboratory parameters (SMA-20, CBC, UA)
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: Change in Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) scores.
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Jerusalem
country: Israel
facility: Ezrath Nashim - Herzog Memorial Hospital & Community Clinics
city: Jerusalem
country: Israel
facility: Ezrath Nashim - Herzog Memorial Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Ezrath Nashim - Herzog Memorial Hospital
name: Uriel Heresco-Levy, M.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Dean RL, Hurducas C, Hawton K, Spyridi S, Cowen PJ, Hollingsworth S, Marquardt T, Barnes A, Smith R, McShane R, Turner EH, Cipriani A. Ketamine and other glutamate receptor modulators for depression in adults with unipolar major depressive disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 12;9(9):CD011612. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011612.pub3.