Conditions: Cognitive Aging
Keywords: guanfacine aging cognitive aging prefrontal cognitive function executive function prefrontal cortex
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 154
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
This proposal aims to determine whether low does of the alpha-2A-adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine can improve deficits in prefrontally-mediated cognitive functions in healthy elderly subjects.

Detailed description:
Primary:

* To determine whether low does of the α2A-adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine can improve deficits in prefrontally-mediated working memory and executive control functions, in healthy elderly subjects. Subjects will be randomly assigned to receive placebo or guanfacine at one of two dose levels: 0.1 mg, or 0.5 mg daily at bedtime in double-blind fashion for twelve weeks.

Secondary:

* To determine whether guanfacine can favorably influence global status and quality of life (QOL) in healthy elderly subjects.
* To determine whether low-dose guanfacine is safe and well-tolerated in healthy elderly subjects.

Arms:
arm 1: None arm 2: None arm 3: None

Interventions: intervention 1: Guanfacine intervention 2: Guanfacine intervention 3: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Guanfacine 0.1 mg po qhs intervention 2: Guanfacine 0.5 mg po qhs intervention 3: Placebo po qhs

Protocol document: