Conditions: Alzheimer's Disease
Keywords: Memory problems Alzheimer's Disease
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 29
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This is a 6-month pilot randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of carvedilol, with the primary objective being to determine whether carvedilol treatment is associated with improvement in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) as compared to placebo treatment. Secondary objectives are to monitor changes in cerebrospinal fluid amyloid levels and whether this dose will be safe and well-tolerated in AD patients. Clinical assessments will be performed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, while cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples will be obtained at baseline and 6 months.

Detailed description:
The purpose of the study is to measure decline in episodic memory in participants with early AD taking carvedilol compared to placebo treatment as evidenced by the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT). cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ oligomers in early AD, will be measured in participants receiving carvedilol treatment when compared to placebo treatment. Adverse effects will be monitored in participants receiving carvedilol when compared to placebo.

To assess adverse events, routine chemistry and hematology studies, vital signs, and electrocardiographic parameters before and after 6 months randomized placebo-controlled double-blind treatment with carvedilol at a target dose of 25 mg daily, comparing 25 early AD participants taking carvedilol vs. 25 early AD participants taking placebo.

Arms:
arm 1: Carvedilol is a is a beta-blocker. Beta-blockers are generally used to reduce the workload on the heart and help it to beat more regularly. arm 2: Non active substance

Interventions: intervention 1: Carvedilol intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: target dose of 25 mg daily which is half the maximum dose used in clinical practice intervention 2: a pill that will look like the active drug but will not contain any carvedilol

Protocol document: