Citalopram as a Posterior Cortical Protective Therapy in Parkinson Disease

• Status: Recruiting
• Trial end date: 2025-09-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

This Parkinson disease (PD) trial will test whether 26 months of citalopram, compared to placebo, can alter the build-up of toxic amyloid-beta plaques in the visuospatial cortex of the brain linked to visuospatial cognitive impairment in PD.

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

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborator: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Treatments: Citalopram

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects with a Parkinson Disease (PD) diagnosis based on the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank Research Center clinical diagnostic criteria

• Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scores spanning 2.0 to 3.0

• Parkinson Disease-type rostral-to-caudal patterns of striatal denervation seen on dopamine DTBZ PET

• Age 65 years or greater

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of an atypical parkinsonian condition

• Current use of any antidepressants or serotoninergic drugs or use of such drugs for >30 days in the preceding year

• Evidence of a large artery stroke or mass lesion on brain imaging

• Participants in whom MRI is contraindicated

• Participants with a life threatening comorbid illness

• Severe claustrophobia precluding MRI/PET imaging

• Inability to participate in research procedures involving ionizing radiation

• Pregnancy or breastfeeding

• Participants with active depression as defined by a Geriatric Depression Scale score of >10 or on the basis of clinical diagnosis by the PI

• Participants with baseline HY scores <2.0 or ≥3.0

• Participants with a QTc interval on baseline EKG >0.43 for men or >0.45 for women, and/or >0.44 for men and >0.46 for women when on study drug/placebo

• Subjects on medications at baseline that could interact with citalopram

• Subjects unable to swallow pills

• Subjects with a previous history of mania, ongoing hepatic impairment or epilepsy

• Subjects with a known allergy to citalopram or escitalopram

• Subjects with substantial cognitive impairment or dementia that would prevent them from providing informed consent

• Subjects in another ongoing clinical trial