A Pilot Study to Explore the Safety and Tolerability of Galantamine HBr in the Treatment of Pick Complex/Frontotemporal Dementia

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2004-07-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The purpose of this study is to explore the safety and tolerability and the efficacy of galantamine treatment in subjects with Pick Complex/ Frontotemporal Dementia (PC/FTD). The safety and tolerability of galantamine therapy will be assessed over the entire treatment period (26 weeks). The 8 week withdrawal period will be used to confirm the safety of galantamine withdrawal in this subject group and it impact on any symptom improvement achieved during the first 18 weeks of galantamine treatment ( symptom improvement would be expected to stabilize or decline on withdrawal of an effective therapy).

The primary efficacy objective is to explore the effect of galantamine on behavior as measured by the Frontal Behavioral Inventory during the randomized withdrawal period. In addition, for subjects with primary progressive aphasia (limited ability for languages), the effects of galantamine on language will be explored using the Aphasia Quotient of the Western Aphasia Battery, and for all subjects the Clinical Global Impressions will be used to explore global change.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.
• Treatments: Galantamine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Outpatients with a clinical diagnosis of Frontotemporal Dementia or Pick Complex (PC/FTD) documented for at least 1 year with either primary progressive aphasia or frontotemporal dementia

• recent MRI or CT confirming frontotemporal lobar atrophy consistent with Frontotemporal Dementia or Pick Complex PC/FTD

• opportunity to perform certain activities of daily living as described in the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study -- Activities of Daily Living Inventory

• living with or having regular visits (least 4 days/week) from a responsible caregiver

• Mini Mental State Examination score > 5 and the ability to complete baseline neuropsychometric testing

• able to see, hear, and communicate sufficiently, and willing to complete serial neuropsychometric tests

• female subjects of childbearing age must be surgically sterile or practicing an effective method of birth control before entry and throughout the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No neurodegenerative disorders and other causes of dementia or cognitive impairment from acute cerebral injuries, cerebrovascular disease or hypoxic cerebral damage, vitamin deficiency states, infection cerebral neoplasia

• no primary memory disturbance or an amnestic syndrome more compatible with Alzheimer's disease or other primary degenerative dementia

• no uncontrolled epilepsy or clinically significant psychiatric disease, cardiovascular disease, hepatic, renal, pulmonary, metabolic, or endocrine disturbances, active peptic ulcer and urinary outflow obstruction

• no use of any agent used for the treatment of dementia or other cognitive impairment

• no history of severe drug allergy or hypersensitivity to cholinesterase inhibitors, choline agonists or similar agents, or bromide