Clinical trial NCT01361633: The Cognitive Enhancing Effects of D-Cycloserine Among Non-Demented Elderly
Official title: The Cognitive Enhancing Effects of D-Cycloserine Among Non-Demented Elderly
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE2
Conditions: Treatment
Placebo
Keywords: d-cycloserine
geriatric
neuropsychology
cognition
cognitive-enhancer
aging
neuropsychological functioning
Lead sponsor: Hartford Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2011-05-27
Enrollment: 51
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The goal of this study is to determine whether a study medication (d-cycloserine) improves the ability of older adults to perform on tests of neuropsychological functioning. Tests of neuropsychological functioning assess attention, memory, and executive functioning skills (for example, problem-solving, planning and organizing skills). It was hypothesized that participants who received study medication would perform better on neuropsychological tests than would participants who received the sugar pill.

Detailed description: Accumulating data support the augmenting effects of d-cycloserine (DCS) when combined with exposure-based treatment for anxiety disorders. Additional research is needed to determine whether DCS facilitates other forms of cognitive processing (e.g., attention, memory, executive functioning) that are involved in cognitive behavioral therapies which do not rely on extinction as a mechanism of action. This question is particularly important among older adults who have experienced normal age-related declines in cognitive functioning, which may interfere with their ability to benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapies. The aim of the current study was to determine the cognitive enhancing effects of DCS on neuropsychological test performance among healthy older adults. It was hypothesized that participants who received d-cycloserine would demonstrate superior performance on neuropsychological tests than would participants who received placebo.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* age 60 or older
* native English speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

* diagnosis of current psychiatric disorder
* substance abuse past 3 months
* cognitive impairment
* neurological disorder
* poor health or unstable medical condition
* positive toxicology screen
* current use of isoniazid
* current use of trecator
* severe renal insufficiency

Primary outcomes:
measure: California Verbal Learning Test-II (CLVT-II)
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without patient follow up. Scores for the experimental and control group were compared.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Continuous Performance Test
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
measure: Controlled Oral Word Association Test
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
measure: Wisconsin Card Sort Test
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
measure: Trails B
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
measure: Stroop
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
measure: Implicit Memory Task
timeFrame: Outcome measures will be collected during a single neuropsychological testing administration lasting approximately 3 hours without further patient follow-up
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Hartford
country: United States
facility: Anxiety Disorders Center, Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital
state: Connecticut
Study officials:
affiliation: Hartford Hospital
name: Gretchen J. Diefenbach, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: