Conditions: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD Adult ADHD Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 20
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder characterized by lifelong issues of inattention, distraction, organizational difficulties, forgetfulness, restlessness, talking out of turn, difficulty waiting and interrupting others. ADHD is the second most common neuropsychiatric disorder affecting 4.4% of the United States (US) adult population, or between 8-9 million individuals.

Droxidopa (L-dihydroxyphenylserine (L-DOPS)) is a synthetic catecholamine which is converted to norepinephrine (NE) via decarboxylation, resulting in increased levels of NE centrally in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripherally. Co-treatment with carboxylase inhibitors, such as carbidopa, given with droxidopa, can increase the CNS levels of NE with greater crossing of the blood-brain barrier. Droxidopa has received orphan drug approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in individuals with primary autonomic failure. The half-life of droxidopa is approximately 2-3 hours, resulting in administration three times daily.

Detailed description:
This will be a 12-week study of twenty enrolled participants with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV) criteria adult ADHD (age 18-55), with a goal of completing twenty participants in the trial. The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of droxidopa therapy on adult ADHD symptoms over the course of a six-week open-label titration period followed by a two-week double-blind, placebo-controlled period. The primary outcome measure will be changes from baseline in total score on the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale (AISRS). Secondary measures will be changes in self-reported ADHD symptoms on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1) and global impairment on the Clinician Global Impression Scale (CGI).

Arms:
arm 1: 3 weeks of open label droxidopa (200, 400, or 600 milligrams \[mg\] three times daily \[TID\]) monotherapy followed by 3 weeks of droxidopa in combination with carbidopa (25 mg or 50 mg TID). arm 2: 2 week double-blind period in which participants either continued to receive droxidopa+carbidopa treatment or placebo

Interventions: intervention 1: Droxidopa+Carbidopa
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 3 weeks of open label droxidopa (L-dihydroxyphenylserine (L-DOPS)) (200, 400, or 600mgs TID) monotherapy followed by 3 weeks of droxidopa in combination with carbidopa (25mg or 50mg TID) followed by 2 weeks of double blind continued droxidopa+carbidopa or placebo

Protocol document: