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NCT Number: NCT00814502

Zolpidem CR and Hospitalized Patients With Dementia

The purpose of this research study is to compare the effectiveness of Zolpidem CR to that of placebo in improving sleep efficiency in people with dementia admitted to the hospital because of their symptoms. You can participate in this study if you have dementia of the Alzheimer's type or vascular dementia. This study involves placebo; a placebo is a tablet that looks exactly like Zolpidem CR, the study drug, but contains no active study drug. We will use placebos to see if the study results are due to the study drug or due to other reasons. Zolpidem CR is also called Ambien CR and is widely available by prescription. Zolpidem CR is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the short-term treatment of insomnia (trouble falling or staying asleep).

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Key information

Conditions

Dementia Alzheimer Disease Arterial Occlusive Diseases Arteriosclerosis Brain Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Cerebrovascular Disorders Chronobiology Disorders Circadian Dysregulation Dementia, Vascular Intracranial Arterial Diseases Intracranial Arteriosclerosis Leukoencephalopathies Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurocognitive Disorders Neurodegenerative Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Sleep Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders Tauopathies Vascular Diseases

Age range

60 year–99 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02144, United States

About this study

Sleep patterns normally change with age. Sleep/wake cycles appear to be compromised in people suffering from dementia. Most research involving sleep in dementia has involved community dwelling or nursing home residents. Relatively little is known about the sleep patterns of patients with dementia who develop acute behavioral and psychiatric symptoms and necessitate hospitalization. The relationship between sleep disturbances in these patients and behavioral/psychiatric symptoms is also insufficiently studied. The current study will examine these two sets of data (sleep/wake cycles and clinical symptoms) in a population of elderly subjects with Dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) or vascular dementia (VD) during their hospitalization period. We will compare the sleep outcome measures (primarily sleep efficiency) and clinical outcome measures in subjects treated with Zolpidem CR or Placebo. We will utilize a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design to test our hypothesis that targeting sleep disturbances in hospitalized elderly subjects with DAT or VD leads to improvement in sleep and clinical outcomes.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 60-99 years
  • Clinical diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer's type or Vascular Dementia
  • Only subjects with Mini Mental Status Examination scores of greater or equal to 10 will be enrolled.

Exclusion criteria

  • Subjects who are too agitated to be able to wear the activity monitors;
  • Subjects who are actively suicidal or homicidal or for whom the clinical treatment team considers participation in the study to be unsuitable;
  • Subjects with untreated primary sleep disorders;
  • Subjects who receive hypnotic medications during their participation in the study; Subjects who received hypnotic medications prior to enrollment may participate in the study if they agree to stop receiving hypnotic medications (with their attending physician's approval);
  • Subjects who are receiving over the counter sleep aids;
  • Subjects who can not commit to abstaining from alcohol use while in the study;
  • Subjects with known anaphylactic reaction or angioedema with Zolpidem CR.

Treatment and study plan

Zolpidem CR

Drug

After a 48-hour period of baseline actigraphy and clinical measurements, study subjects were randomized to take either Zolpidem CR 6.25mg by mouth (1 pink tablet) or Placebo by mouth (also 1 pink tablet) for up to 3 weeks or the end of the subjects' hospital stay.

Other names: Ambien CR

Placebo

Drug

After a 48-hour period of baseline actigraphy and clinical measurements, study subjects were randomized to take either Zolpidem CR 6.25mg by mouth (1 pink tablet) or Placebo by mouth (also 1 pink tablet) for up to 3 weeks or the end of the subjects' hospital stay.

Primary outcomes

  1. Sleep Efficiency

    Time frame: Post-intervention, up to 3 weeks

    Sleep efficiency during the down interval. The down interval signifies the period of time (in minutes) at night when subjects are in bed and trying to sleep. Sleep efficiency is calculated as (100*sleep minutes)/[time interval from sleep onset (as defined by the sleep latency) to sleep offset (the end of the last sleep episode in the Down interval)].

    The time period was different for each patient, it was their duration of hospitalization. The first 48 hours patients were not on the study drug, so the reported least squares mean is an estimate of the mean for the subsequent time period where the patients received different therapies. These means are corrected for differences that might have existed during the first 48 hours. The results would be similar to the results attained from considering the mean during the first 48 hours as a baseline covariate in an Analysis of Covariance, but would be more robust to missing data.

  2. Sleep Minutes

    Time frame: post-intervention, up to 3 weeks

    Total sleep minutes during the down period. The down interval signifies the period of time (in minutes) at night when subjects are in bed and trying to sleep.

    The time period was different for each patient, it was their duration of hospitalization. The first 48 hours patients were not on the study drug, so the reported least squares mean is an estimate of the mean for the subsequent time period where the patients received different therapies. These means are corrected for differences that might have existed during the first 48 hours. The results would be similar to the results attained from considering the mean during the first 48 hours as a baseline covariate in an Analysis of Covariance, but would be more robust to missing data.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Measures of Aggression, Psychosis, General Clinical Status, Cognitive Measures, Mood Symptoms

    Time frame: post-intervention, up to 3 weeks

    Rating Scale for Aggressive Behavior in the Elderly (RAGE, 0-61); higher is worse.

    Disruptive Behavior Rating Scales (DBRS, 0-105); higher is worse.

    Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI, 0-144) - measures 12 different domains of neuropsychiatric symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, depression, apathy, etc.; higher is worse.

    Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS, 0-90); higher is worse.

    Mini-mental state examination (MMSE, 0-30); higher is better.

    The time period was different for each patient, it was their duration of hospitalization. The first 48 hours patients were not on the study drug, so the reported least squares mean is an estimate of the mean for the subsequent time period where the patients received different therapies. These means are corrected for differences that might have existed during the first 48 hours. The results would be similar to the results attained from considering the mean during the firs

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • Sanofi

Registry information

Official study title

Does Zolpidem CR Treatment Change Clinical Outcomes in Elderly Hospitalized Patients With Dementia- A Pilot Study

Important dates

Study start
2008
Primary completion
2013
Study completion
2013
First posted
Dec 25, 2008
Registry last updated
May 22, 2017

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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