NCT03775096Active, not recruitingPhase 2
Adrenergic Blockers for Cardiac Changes in Early Parkinson's Disease (Protocol 53136)
The Effect of Adrenergic Blocker Therapy on Cardiac and Striatal Transporter Uptake in Pre-Motor and Symptomatic Parkinson's Disease
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 2 Mar 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
REM Behavior Sleep Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder causing people to 'act out' their dreams. A high percentage of individuals with idiopathic RBD (iRBD) are known to develop conditions affecting the neurons in the brain such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Based on the increased risk to develop PD, individuals with iRBD are currently considered ideal candidates for therapies that can possibly protects brain cells, due to the critical window of opportunity to intervene early before brain cell loss progresses significantly. Early changes of PD are associated with a number of symptoms including loss of smell, constipation, anxiety and depression. In addition, early heart and brain abnormalities can be visualized using specialized imaging techniques called 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy (MIBG) and dopamine transporter (DAT) single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) respectively. The combined presence of certain symptoms and the use of these imaging techniques are considered early markers of PD in individuals with iRBD. In other conditions, like heart failure, MIBG abnormalities are reversed by drugs able to block excessive adrenergic stimulation, known as beta-blockers. In this study the investigators want to learn about the effect of treatment with the beta-blocker carvedilol on MIBG abnormalities found in iRBD patients at risk to develop PD. The investigators believe that reversing the MIBG abnormality might prelude to a slowing of the neurodegenerative process. This drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for congestive heart failure, hypertension and left ventricular dysfunction after myocardial infarction. However, carvedilol is not approved by the FDA in patients with iRBD at risk for PD. The available doses for this drug oral formulations are 3.125mg, 6.25mg, 12.5mg and 25mg. Changes visualized with the MIBG imaging technique will be correlated to the presence and severity of neurological (i.e. tremors, stiffness, slow movements, walking difficulties) and other symptoms associated with PD (i.e. abnormal smell, constipation, depression, color vision abnormalities), as measured by specific clinical scales and exams.
- Status (registry)
- Active, not recruiting
- Phase (registry)
- Phase 2
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 15 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 9 Dec 2018
- Start date
- 4 Apr 2019
- Primary completion date
- 1 Jul 2026
- Lead sponsor
- Michele Tagliati, MD
- Diseases
- Parkinson disease
- NCT number
- NCT03775096
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional · Phase 2
- Planned participants: 15
- From 4 Apr 2019 to the primary completion date, 1 Jul 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Concurrent dementia defined by a score lower than 22 on the MoCA
- Concurrent severe depression defined by a BDI fast screen score greater than 13
Other illness
- Recent myocardial revascularization (\<12 weeks)
- Chronic Hypertension (SBP\>140mmHg-DBP\>90mmHg)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Recent myocardial infarction (\<48 h)
- Ongoing unstable angina
- Symptomatic Bradycardia (HR\<60) or Sick Sinus Syndrome
- Stroke within the past 1 month
- Allergy/hypersensitivity to iodine or study medication
Lab values
- Heart failure (LVEF \<45%)
Other
- Secondary Parkinsonism, including tardive
- Comorbidities related to SNS hyperactivity
- Atrial fibrillation
- COPD
- Sleep Apnea
- Severely reduced kidney function (Glomerular Filtration Rate\<30ml/min)
- Contraindications to the use of carvedilol
- Asthma or bronchospasm
- Cardiogenic shock or prolonged hypotension
- Second or Third-Degree AV block
- Significant valvular aortic stenosis
- Obstructive cardiomyopathy, or constrictive pericarditis
- Severe Hepatic Dysfunction
Who the study is looking for
- Male or female of age between 50 and 85 years at time of enrollment.
- Diagnosis of idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) or Diagnosis of hyposmia. Diagnosis of RBD will be, established either as 'definite RBD' according to the criteria proposed by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD)-2 \[AASM, 2005\] or 'probable RBD' following a score of 6 or higher in the RBD questionnaire (RBDSQ) with a score of at least 1 in subitems 6.1 to 6.4 of question 6.
- At least one of the following:
- Diagnosis of hyposmia. Diagnosis of hyposmia will be established as a University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) score \< 20th percentile for the individual's age group and sex.
- Functional constipation, assessed by a scores \> 4 on a questionnaire based on modified ROME III diagnostic criteria.
- Color vision abnormality, as assessed using HRR Pseudoisochromatic Plates, in the absence of congenital dyschromatopsia.
- Symptoms of depression, as assessed by a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) fast screen score \>3 or concurrent use of antidepressant medications
- Abnormal 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy, as defined by a Late H/M ratio \< 2.2 and/or a WR \>30%, with normal cardiac ejection fraction (LVEF \>55%).
- Capacity to give informed consent
Age in the registry: 50 years to 85 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michele L Lima Gregorio Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Los Angeles | United States | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.