Effectiveness of Prazosin in Bulimic Patients Experiencing Nightmares Due to PTSD

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effectiveness of Prazosin in Bulimic Patients Experiencing Nightmares Due to PTSD

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02382848
• Other study ID #: 00001746
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 2015
• Est. completion date: March 9, 2018

Study information

• Verified date: June 2019
• Source: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This research is being done to find out how effective Prazosin is in the treatment of bulimic patients experiencing distressing nightmares using subjective and objective measures.

Description:

To the investigators knowledge, there is no treatment trial for prazosin use in patients with bulimia nervosa struggling with nightmares, looking at either objective or subjective measures. The investigators plan to probe the effectiveness of prazosin in bulimic patients experiencing nightmares due to PTSD using both subjective and objective measures in order to improve future clinical care. The effects of prazosin on decreasing nightmares and bulimic symptoms on subjective scales and effects on sleep architecture using objective polysomnogram (PSG) measurements will help inform targeted psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic strategies to improve clinical care of bulimic patients struggling with distressing dreams secondary to PTSD. This study will be performed in two phases. Phase A will involve eight participants who will be tested using subjective scales (mentioned below). If Phase A data analysis leads to detection of a signal of efficacy 2 more participants will be recruited to participate in phase B of this trial using objective polysomnogram measurements. The results from this project will aid in establishing a fully powered clinical trial for treatment of nightmares in bulimic patients and improve outcomes in this high risk population.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 9
• Est. completion date: March 9, 2018
• Est. primary completion date: March 9, 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 45 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-45

• Clinical diagnosis of Bulimia Nervosa with complaint of nightmares secondary to PTSD

Exclusion Criteria:

• Restless leg syndrome

• Narcolepsy

• Sleep Apnea

• Neurological disorders

• Pregnancy

• cardiac abnormalities

• significant electrolyte abnormalities

• Use of steroids, beta blockers, prazosin

• Alcohol/substance abuse

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Bulimia
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Stress Disorders, Traumatic

Intervention

Drug:
• Prazosin
A starting dose of Prazosin (1mg capsule) will be given at Week # 1 of this arm. Symptoms will be reassessed and medication will be adjusted by 1-2 mg increments every 7 days for 3 weeks based on clinical response and severity of night mares, to achieve maximum therapeutic benefit while monitoring adverse effects using side effects scale on weekly basis (psychiatrist will be using the scale at every visit). The end point for capping the Prazosin dose will be 6 mg daily.
• Placebo
Prazosin-matched placebo pill
• Prazosin
A starting dose of Prazosin (1mg capsule) will be given at Week # 5 of this arm. Symptoms will be reassessed and medication will be adjusted by 1-2 mg increments every 7 days for 3 weeks based on clinical response and severity of night mares, to achieve maximum therapeutic benefit while monitoring adverse effects using side effects scale on weekly basis (psychiatrist will be using the scale at every visit). The end point for capping the Prazosin dose will be 6 mg daily.
• Placebo
Prazosin-matched placebo pill

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Penn State College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center	Hershey	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (11)

Aurora RN, Zak RS, Auerbach SH, Casey KR, Chowdhuri S, Karippot A, Maganti RK, Ramar K, Kristo DA, Bista SR, Lamm CI, Morgenthaler TI; Standards of Practice Committee; American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Best practice guide for the treatment of nightmare disorder in adults. J Clin Sleep Med. 2010 Aug 15;6(4):389-401. — View Citation

Bicanic IA, Postma RM, Sinnema G, De Roos C, Olff M, Van Wesel F, Van de Putte EM. Salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in adolescent rape victims with post traumatic stress disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Mar;38(3):408-15. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.06.015. Epub 2012 Aug 4. — View Citation

Dansky BS, Brewerton TD, Kilpatrick DG, O'Neil PM. The National Women's Study: relationship of victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder to bulimia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 1997 Apr;21(3):213-28. — View Citation

Germain A, Richardson R, Moul DE, Mammen O, Haas G, Forman SD, Rode N, Begley A, Nofzinger EA. Placebo-controlled comparison of prazosin and cognitive-behavioral treatments for sleep disturbances in US Military Veterans. J Psychosom Res. 2012 Feb;72(2):89-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2011.11.010. Epub 2011 Dec 20. — View Citation

Gleaves DH, Eberenz KP, May MC. Scope and significance of posttraumatic symptomatology among women hospitalized for an eating disorder. Int J Eat Disord. 1998 Sep;24(2):147-56. — View Citation

Lester NA, Keel PK, Lipson SF. Symptom fluctuation in bulimia nervosa: relation to menstrual-cycle phase and cortisol levels. Psychol Med. 2003 Jan;33(1):51-60. — View Citation

Mitchell KS, Mazzeo SE, Schlesinger MR, Brewerton TD, Smith BN. Comorbidity of partial and subthreshold ptsd among men and women with eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey-replication study. Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Apr;45(3):307-15. doi: 10.1002/eat.20965. Epub 2011 Oct 19. — View Citation

Ross RJ, Gresch PJ, Ball WA, Sanford LD, Morrison AR. REM sleep inhibition by desipramine: evidence for an alpha-1 adrenergic mechanism. Brain Res. 1995 Dec 1;701(1-2):129-34. — View Citation

Singareddy R, Krishnamurthy VB, Vgontzas AN, Fernandez-Mendoza J, Calhoun SL, Shaffer ML, Bixler EO. Subjective and objective sleep and self-harm behaviors in young children: a general population study. Psychiatry Res. 2013 Oct 30;209(3):549-53. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.03.036. Epub 2013 Apr 23. — View Citation

Taylor FB, Martin P, Thompson C, Williams J, Mellman TA, Gross C, Peskind ER, Raskind MA. Prazosin effects on objective sleep measures and clinical symptoms in civilian trauma posttraumatic stress disorder: a placebo-controlled study. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Mar 15;63(6):629-32. Epub 2007 Sep 14. — View Citation

Vgontzas AN, Tsigos C, Bixler EO, Stratakis CA, Zachman K, Kales A, Vela-Bueno A, Chrousos GP. Chronic insomnia and activity of the stress system: a preliminary study. J Psychosom Res. 1998 Jul;45(1):21-31. — View Citation

* Note: There are 11 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Decrease in Frequency of Nightmares Using the Sleep-50 Questionnaire	The individual question about frightening dreams from the Nightmares Subscale of a self-administered questionnaire (Sleep-50 Questionnaire), will be used to determine if there is a decrease in frequency of nightmares in patients undergoing drug intervention. For each question, respondents are provided with a scale ranging from 1 ("not at all") to 4 ("very much") and are asked to indicate the extent to which the statement has matched their experience over the study time frame. The scale values range from 1-4, where a lower value indicates lower frequency of nightmares. A higher score is a worse outcome.	3 weeks
Primary	Decrease in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Density & Normalization of REM Disruptions	PSG (Polysomnogram) will be used in 2 participants to determine if there is a decrease in REM density in patients undergoing drug intervention.	3 weeks
Secondary	Decrease in Bulimia Symptoms	EDI-3 (Eating Disorder Inventory 3 Scale) is a pencil and paper test consisting of 91 items and 12 sub-scales. The main scales are the drive for thinness and the bulimia scales, the remaining sub-scales are: low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, maturity fears, personal alienation, interpersonal alienation, interpersonal insecurity, perfectionism, interoceptive deficits, emotional dysregulation, and asceticism. The response options are based on a 6-point Likert-type scale are: Always, Usually, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, and Never. There are six composite scores, 12 primary scores, and three response style validity indicators. Software is used to calculate the raw scores, composite scores, validity scale scores and the T-scores. The t-score for the Bulimia scale will be used for this analysis with a range of 22-66. Higher scores indicate the likelihood of an eating disorder. A higher t-score on the bulimia scale indicates a worse outcome.	3 weeks
Secondary	Decrease in Total CAPS Score (PTSD)	The CAPS (Clinician administered PTSD) rating scale consists of 30 questions rated on a 0-4 point scoring system and patient interview will be used to determine if there is a decrease in PTSD Symptoms among participants undergoing drug intervention. 17 of these questions are used to calculate the total severity score used in this analysis. This is done by summing the frequency and intensity ratings (each ranging from 0-4) for each of the 17 questions. The total severity score can have a range of 0-136. A higher score on this scale indicates a worse outcome.	3 weeks
Secondary	Decrease in Depressed Mood as Measured by the HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) and Subject Interview	Rating scales and subject interview will be used to determine if there is a decrease in depressed mood among participants undergoing drug intervention. The HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) consists of 17 items, some scored on a 5-point scale (0-4) and others scored on a 3-point scale (0-2). Items from the scale can be summed to give a total score ranging from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome. This analysis is based on a single item from the scale (Depressed Mood, measured on a 5-point scale) where a higher score again indicates a worse outcome.	3 weeks
Secondary	Decrease in Self Harm Thoughts as Measured by the HDRS and Subject Interview	Rating scales and subject interview will be used to determine if there is a decrease in self harm among participants undergoing drug intervention. The HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) consists of 17 items, some scored on a 5-point scale (0-4) and others scored on a 3-point scale (0-2). Items from the scale can be summed to give a total score ranging from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome. This analysis is based on a single item from the scale (Self Harm, measured on a 5-point scale) where a higher score again indicates a worse outcome.	3 weeks