Antiglucocorticoid Therapy for Cognitive Impairment in Late-life Anxiety Disorders

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2013-04-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

This study seeks to develop and test a novel, mechanistic treatment for mitigating cognitive impairment in older adults with anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are common, severe, and disabling in older adults. One particularly impairing aspect of late-life anxiety disorders is cognitive impairment: impairments in memory and executive function cause disability, impede treatment response to psychotherapy, may lead to dementia, and are not corrected by standard anti-anxiety treatments.

This pilot study will test the glucocorticoid antagonist, mifepristone, for cognitive impairment in late-life anxiety disorders. Mifepristone blocks the effects of elevated cortisol levels on glucocorticoid receptors in the brain; it has been studied preliminarily in various neuropsychiatric disorders, such as psychotic depression and bipolar disorder, with well-documented safety and tolerability.

• Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Eric Lenze; Washington University School of Medicine
• Treatments: Mifepristone

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 65 and older

• Non-demented by clinical evaluation

• Current or partially remitted generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder

• Currently taking antidepressant treatment with stable dose for at least 8 weeks

• Memory impairment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Mild to severe dementia

• Diabetes

• Current alcohol or substance abuse

• Current or lifetime psychotic symptoms, bipolar disorder, or eating disorder

• Untreated endocrinologic disease

• Lifetime Cushing's or Addison's disease

• Current cancer

• History of metastatic cancer

• Current use of systemic corticosteroids