A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial of Creatine in Female Methamphetamine Users

Depression Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial of Creatine in Female Methamphetamine Users

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02192931
• Other study ID #: 73034
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 4
• Start date: September 2014
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2023
• Source: University of Utah
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Methamphetamine (MA) addiction is a public health concern that causes substantial harm to individual users, and imposes an economic burden in the U.S. totaling up to $48.3 billion annually. This study proposes to address a critical aspect of this problem: the lack of any proven, FDA-approved pharmacological treatments for MA users. The proposal combines an intervention designed to improve energy metabolism in the brain, and a neuroimaging technique capable of measuring the neurochemicals that represent cerebral bioenergetic function. The study will replicate and extend a key neuroimaging finding from the investigators recent MA studies: that MA users have decreased phosphocreatine (PCr) levels in the brain, compared to healthy volunteers. Phosphocreatine is the substrate reservoir for the creatine kinase reaction, which reversibly converts PCr into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the brain's major energy supply, and creatine. Neuronal energy demands are met through a shift in reaction equilibrium, which is designed to maintain the concentration of ATP constant. Research results from the investigators recent study also showed that female MA users have lower brain PCr levels compared to male users. These findings join the converging lines of evidence that MA use is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, i.e. deficient energy metabolism, in the brain. Frequently, MA users also experience depression, as well as cognitive deficits. Interestingly, both of these entities are also linked to mitochondrial dysfunction in the brain.

The long-term goal of this research program is to define the alterations in brain chemistry that underlie MA use disorders, and to utilize translational magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) neuroimaging to identify rational brain-based treatment targets. Once a hypothesis-driven intervention is identified, MRS can then be further employed in treatment studies, to verify that "target engagement" is achieved. The specific aims of this proposal are an example of this stepwise scientific process: the nutritional supplement creatine will be tested in a randomized, placebo-controlled study of women with MA use disorders, to investigate creatine's effect on cerebral PCr levels, depressive symptoms, and MA usage.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 66
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: January 31, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 55 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female gender, ages 18-55 inclusive

• Current primary diagnosis of MA dependence or abuse, with MA preferred drug of abuse

• Current diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder

• Current HAMD score > 15

• Clinical Global Impressions Severity depression score > 4

• If currently taking a psychotropic medication for depressed mood, regimen must be stable for > 4 weeks before randomization

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons unable to provide adequate consent

• Persons who are at clinically significant suicidal or homicidal risk

• Primary substance-related diagnosis other than MA dependence or abuse

• Comorbid substance dependence diagnosis, other than nicotine (substance abuse diagnoses are not excluded)

• Positive pregnancy test

• Positive test for the antibody to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

• History of renal disease

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Drug Addiction
• Dual Diagnosis
• Substance-Related Disorders

Intervention

Drug:
• Creatine monohydrate

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Utah	Salt Lake City	Utah

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Perry Renshaw

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Neurochemistry measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy	Neurochemistry, such as PCr, NAA and GABA, will be measured pre- and post-creatine/placebo treatment.	8-weeks
Primary	Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores	Change in HAMD scores will be evaluated over the course of the 8-week treatment period.	8-weeks
Secondary	Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores	Change in BAI scores will be evaluated over the course of the 8-week treatment period.	8-weeks