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Completed

NCT Number: NCT00812760

Effect of Levodopa on Human Multifocal Electroretinogram

It is known that dopamine is a functional neuromodulator at several levels of the visual system. Dopamine seems to be involved in the organization of the ganglion cell and the bipolar cell receptive fields and modulation of physiological activity of photoreceptors. There is evidence for the functional significance of dopaminergic modulation of visual sensitivity in humans which confirms the hypothesis that dopamine plays an important role in retinal light adaptation as well as in motion and contrast sensitivity function. The electrophysiological effects of dopamine, various dopamine antagonist and levodopa in animals and humans have been investigated by means of visual evoked potentials and electroretinograms. The multifocal ERG technique, developed by Sutter et al. allows a rapid, simultaneous recording of focal ERGs from multiple retinal locations. Although this technique is relatively new, it has already provided insights into the mechanisms of retinal diseases (e.g. involvement of visual system in Parkinson disease), but until now there is no data on influence of dopaminergic substances on mERG.

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Key information

Conditions

Retinal Diseases Eye Diseases

Age range

19 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 4

Primary location

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna

Vienna, 1090, Austria

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Men aged between 19 and 35 years, nonsmokers
  • Body mass index between 15th and 85th percentile
  • Normal findings in the medical history and physical examination unless the investigator considers an abnormality to be clinically irrelevant
  • Normal laboratory values unless the investigator considers an abnormality to be clinically irrelevant
  • Normal ophthalmic findings, ametropia < 3 Dpt

Exclusion criteria

  • Regular use of medication, abuse of alcoholic beverages, participation in a clinical trial in the 3 weeks preceding the study
  • Treatment in the previous 3 weeks with any drug
  • Symptoms of a clinically relevant illness in the 3 weeks before the first study day
  • History of hypersensitivity to the trial drug or to drugs with a similar chemical structure
  • History or presence of gastrointestinal, liver or kidney disease, or other conditions known to interfere with, distribution, metabolism or excretion of study drugs
  • Blood donation during the previous 3 weeks

Treatment and study plan

levodopa

Drug

1 tablet of 200 mg levodopa plus 50 mg benserazide

Other names: Madopar

Primary outcomes

  1. Retinal activity (mERG amplitude)

    Time frame: 5 measurements on both study days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Retinal activity (mERG latency)

    Time frame: 5 measurements on both study days

  2. Dopamine and levodopa plasma levels

    Time frame: on both study days

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Medical University of Vienna

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2001
Primary completion
2003
Study completion
2003
First posted
Dec 22, 2008
Registry last updated
Dec 22, 2008

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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