Intranasal Oxytocin Intervention for Caregivers to Persons With Dementia

More than 15 million family caregivers provide support for individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or related dementias. This number is expected to grow with the increasing population of persons with dementia (PWD). Stress in caregivers to older adults with chronic diseases is already a significant public health issue because it is associated with multiple negative physical and mental health outcomes for the caregiver (e.g., depression, cardiovascular disease) and can negatively impact the health of the PWD as well. Importantly, stress levels are even higher in female than male caregivers and in caregivers to a PWD than other chronic conditions that affect older adults. One promising candidate to reduce stress and improve quality of life is the endogenous neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT). Intranasal OXT interventions have been shown to successfully reduce stress and increase quality of life in other populations, including patients with borderline personality disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety Disorder, and Depressive Disorder. However, currently there is no comprehensive study examining its role in the caregivers to chronic medical/psychiatric illnesses including dementia for potential beneficial impact as well as reducing chronic stress levels.

Eligible females who are family caregivers to a PWD for a least five hours a week for six consecutive months will be randomly enrolled to one of three groups: 12 IU intranasal oxytocin, 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo. The study drug will be administered daily for 21 days. Surveys and questionnaires that evaluate mental and emotional health and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be administered before and after the study treatment to see if oxytocin will help improve quality of life better and lower stress levels in caregivers to people who have dementia. Additionally, the study will find out if the brain responds to oxytocin.

Inclusion criteria

• Females 50 years of age or older
• Currently an unpaid family caregiver to an older adult (50 years and older) with dementia for at least five hours a week for at least six months
• Normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing
• Mobility to travel to University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) for study procedures including brain imaging
• Right-handed
• Capacity to read and write English

Exclusion criteria

• Major medical illness that contraindicates oxytocin (OXT) administration (e.g., severe liver disease, seizure disorder, metabolic disorder)
• History of allergic reaction to oxytocin (OXT) and its nasal spray product
• History of central nervous system (CNS) disease, including history of seizure, epilepsy, CNS tumor, CNS hemorrhage, or serious CNS infection including meningitis or encephalitis
• Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study
• Metal in the body (i.e., hearing aid, cardiac pacemaker, bone plates, braces, non-removable piercing/implants, etc.), claustrophobia, or any other condition that would preclude magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning
• Mini-mental status exam score of 25 or lower which suggests possible cognitive issues
• History of or current neurological disease (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, dementia)
• History of or current severe psychiatric disease (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, severe post-traumatic stress disorder)
• History of, or current drug or alcohol abuse
• Currently breastfeeding
• Current coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) illness
• Left-handed due to brain structural difference between right and left-handed individuals
• Currently taking antipsychotic medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or corticosteroid creams/pills