Effects of Erythropoietin for Cognitive Side-effects of ECT
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2020-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
EPO-T aims to investigate (i) whether short-term add-on treatment with erythropoietin (EPO)
can reduce cognitive side-effects of ECT and (ii) whether such effects are long-lasting.
Further, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to explore
the neural underpinnings of such beneficial effects of EPO. Finally, the trial examines
whether potential protective effects of EPO on cognition are accompanied by changes in
markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and neuroplasticity.
It is hypothesized that EPO treatment will (i) counteract ECT-induced cognitive decline,
accompanied by (ii) increased sub-regional hippocampal volume, (iii) greater memory-related
hippocampal activation and reinforcement of dorsolateral prefrontal activity during memory
encoding and working memory, and (iv) changes in peripheral markers of inflammation,
oxidative stress and neuroplasticity. Furthermore, we hypothesize that add-on EPO-treatment
will produce greater, more sustained mood improvement than ECT treatment alone.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Martin Balslev Jørgensen
Collaborators:
Mental Health Services in the Capital Region, Denmark The Augustinus Foundation, Denmark.