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CompletedNCT01244633Updated Sep 29, 2015Results posted

Ecopipam Treatment of Tourette Syndrome

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Ecopipam in Tourette's Syndrome, sponsored by Psyadon Pharma. Completed at 4 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-09-29.

Sponsored by Psyadon Pharma · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disease characterized by verbal and motor tics. The currently available drug treatments are considered to be inadequate. This clinical trial is designed to test if ecopipam is effective for the treatment of Tourette's Syndrome in adults.

Read the detailed description

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disease characterized by verbal and motor tics. Although its causes are unknown, many researchers believe that changes in brain chemicals (called neurotransmitters) are critically involved. One of these neurotransmitters is called dopamine, and it exerts its actions through its receptors (called D1-type or D2-type). It has been suggested that the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome are due to an overactivity at the D1-type receptor. Ecopipam is a selective antagonist of the D1-type receptors. The present clinical trial is designed to test if ecopipam is able to relieve the symptoms of the disease in adults patients with Tourette's Syndrome. Eligible patients will be treated for eight weeks.

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Conditions studied

  • Tourette's Syndrome

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Keywords

  • Tourette's
  • Ecopipam
  • Dopamine receptors
  • Efficacy
  • Safety
  • Adults
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In context

Tourette Syndrome

225 studies on the registry are indexed under Tourette Syndrome; 36 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 18 is below the median of 34 across 170 interventional studies indexed under Tourette Syndrome.

Browse Tourette Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Psyadon Pharma is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Subjects must have TS (Tourette's Syndrome) based on the clinician-administered DCI (Diagnostic Confidence Index) for TS.
  • Subjects must exhibit both motor and vocal tics.
  • Subjects must have exhibited tics for >5 years.
  • Subjects must have a minimum score of 20 at both Screening and Baseline (just prior to the first treatment) on the YGTSS (Yale Global Tic Severity Score).
  • Subjects must be age ≥ 18 years.
  • Women must be postmenopausal (> 12 months without menses) or surgically sterile (i.e., by hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy) or must be using effective contraception (i.e., oral contraceptives, intrauterine device, double barrier method of condom and spermicide) and agree to continue use of contraception for the duration of their participation in the study. Women of childbearing potential must agree to use contraception for 30 days after their last dose of study drug.
  • Sexually active male subjects must use a barrier method of contraception during the study and agree to continue the use of male contraception for at least 30 days after the last dose of study drug.
  • Subject must execute a written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects who have unstable medical illness or clinically significant abnormalities on laboratory tests, or ECG at Screening.
  • Subjects with a major depressive episode in the past 2 years
  • Subjects with a history of attempted suicide
  • Subjects with clinically significant suicidality (score of ≥ 2 on Item 3 for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAM-D])
  • Subjects with a first-degree relative with a major depressive episode that resulted in any psychiatric hospitalization, attempted or completed suicide
  • Subjects with a history of seizures.
  • Subjects with a myocardial infarction within 6 months.
  • Women of childbearing potential who are currently pregnant or lactating.
  • Subjects who have a need for medication (other than ecopipam) with possible effects on TS symptoms (i.e., lithium, naltrexone, methylphenidate, or psychostimulants), unfavorable interactions with ecopipam (ie, dopamine agonists [including bupropion]), or monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
  • Subjects with a lifetime history of bipolar disorder type I or II, dementia, schizophrenia, or any psychotic disorder determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) Axis-I Disorders (SCID).
  • Subjects with current or recent (past 3 months) DSM-IV substance abuse or dependence (with the exception of nicotine).
  • Subjects with positive urine drug screen (cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), benzodiazepines, barbiturates, phencyclidine (PCP), opiates) at Screening. Subjects with urine positive only for benzodiazepines and/or marijuana (i.e., a user but not an abuser as based on DSM-IV criteria) may be eligible.
  • Subjects who have had previous treatment with ecopipam.
  • Subjects who have had treatment with:

    • investigational medication or depot neuroleptics within 3 months
    • fluoxetine within 6 weeks
    • other psychotropics with possible effects on TS symptoms (ie, lithium, or naltrexone) within 2 weeks prior to Screening.
    • oral neuroleptics within 2 weeks
    • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors unless the dosage has been stable for a minimum of 4 weeks prior to study start
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Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
18 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Ecopipam

    Active treatment

    Drug: Ecopipam

Interventions

  • 50 or 100 mg tablets given once per day for eight weeks

    Also known as: SCH 39166, PSYRX 101

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Yale Global Tic Severity Score

    The Yale Global Tic Severity Score is a composite of subject reported severity of motor (range 0-25) and vocal (range 0-25) tics , as well as an impairment score (range 0-50). The outcome we are using is the Total Tic Severity score which is the sum of the motor and vocal tic severity scores (range 0-50). The higher the score on this scale, the more severe the symptoms. A positive drug effect is associated with a decrease from baseline.

    Time frame: 8 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Self-report Symptom Checklist (ASRS)

    This is a standard measure of ADHD severity that is typically used in these types of clinical trials.

    Time frame: Every 7 days

  2. Hamilton Depression Scale

    This is a measure of feelings of depression that the patient might have.

    Time frame: Every 7 days

  3. Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS-1)

    This is a measure of the tic behavior that is seen in Tourette's patients, and it is typically used in these types of trials.

    Time frame: Every 7 days

  4. Clinician Global Impression - Improvement and Severity Scales (CGI)

    This is a measure of how the treating physician perceives the effectiveness of a drug treatment, and it is typically used in these types of clinical trials.

    Time frame: End of trial

  5. Safety Assessments

    Patients will be evaluated for any adverse events, and they will have a variety of blood tests to examine if any changes occur.

    Time frame: Every 7 days

  6. Columbia Scale for Suicide Risk

    This test monitors whether the patient has any feelings of committing self-harm. It is mandated by the FDA to include this scale in all clinical trials of new central nervous system drugs.

    Time frame: Every 7 days

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Results

Posted Sep 29, 2015
Limitations and caveats
This was an open label study with no placebo control

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneEcopipam
Started18
Completed15
Not completed3

Outcome measures

PrimaryYale Global Tic Severity Score

The Yale Global Tic Severity Score is a composite of subject reported severity of motor (range 0-25) and vocal (range 0-25) tics , as well as an impairment score (range 0-50). The outcome we are using is the Total Tic Severity score which is the sum of the motor and vocal tic severity scores (range 0-50). The higher the score on this scale, the more severe the symptoms. A positive drug effect is associated with a decrease from baseline.

Time frame:
8 weeks
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Yale Global Tic Severity Score
units on a scaleEcopipam
Yale Global Tic Severity Score25.3 ± 9.2
SecondaryAdult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Self-report Symptom Checklist (ASRS)

This is a standard measure of ADHD severity that is typically used in these types of clinical trials.

Time frame:
Every 7 days

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondaryHamilton Depression Scale

This is a measure of feelings of depression that the patient might have.

Time frame:
Every 7 days

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondaryPremonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS-1)

This is a measure of the tic behavior that is seen in Tourette's patients, and it is typically used in these types of trials.

Time frame:
Every 7 days

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondaryClinician Global Impression - Improvement and Severity Scales (CGI)

This is a measure of how the treating physician perceives the effectiveness of a drug treatment, and it is typically used in these types of clinical trials.

Time frame:
End of trial

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondarySafety Assessments

Patients will be evaluated for any adverse events, and they will have a variety of blood tests to examine if any changes occur.

Time frame:
Every 7 days

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

SecondaryColumbia Scale for Suicide Risk

This test monitors whether the patient has any feelings of committing self-harm. It is mandated by the FDA to include this scale in all clinical trials of new central nervous system drugs.

Time frame:
Every 7 days

Results for this outcome have not been posted.

Adverse events

Collected over 8 weeks. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Ecopipam—0/18 (0%)6/18 (33.3%)
Most frequent other events
Most frequent other events
EventEcopipam
InsomniaNervous system disorders6/18

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Ecopipam
<=18 years0
Between 18 and 65 years18
>=65 years0
Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Ecopipam
Mean36 ± 15
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Ecopipam
Female3
Male15
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Ecopipam
United States18
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Study locations

4 sites
  • Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, Maryland 21287, United States
  • Atlantic Neuroscience Institute Overlook Hospital
    Summit, New Jersey 07092, United States
  • North Shore Hospital
    Manhasset, New York 11030, United States
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
    Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, United States
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References and documents

Publications

  • Chipkin RE, Iorio LC, Coffin VL, McQuade RD, Berger JG, Barnett A. Pharmacological profile of SCH39166: a dopamine D1 selective benzonaphthazepine with potential antipsychotic activity. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1988 Dec;247(3):1093-102. PubMed 2905002 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 29, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01244633
Lead sponsor
Psyadon Pharma
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 19, 2010
Start date
Oct 2010
Primary completion
Jul 2012
Completion
Jul 2013
Results posted
Sep 29, 2015
Last update
Sep 29, 2015

Study contacts

Donald Gilbert, MD
principal investigator · Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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