ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05688904Updated Aug 20, 2026

The Effect of Topical Imipramine on Pain and Effectiveness of Topical Photodynamic Therapy

A Phase 1 interventional study of Imipramine and Vehicle in Imipramine, Photodynamic Therapy and Actinic Keratosis, sponsored by Wright State University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-20.

Sponsored by Wright State University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jan 2023; still recruiting 3 years 9 months later.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
24
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is testing the use of topical Imipramine in combination with topical photodynamic therapy's (PDT) effect on pain following treatment. PDT is a commonly used treatment in dermatology for patients who have many pre-cancers (actinic keratosis-AKs) on their skin. These are both FDA-approved treatments, but this study is evaluating their use in combination, which has not been evaluated in the past. The investigators have been doing studies using animals that suggest that imipramine might make the PDT less painful and might help it work better. In order to participate, the subject and their dermatologist have decided that they would benefit from PDT to treat their skin due to many AK precancerous lesions. Please note that neither PDT nor imipramine are experimental treatments, but treating their skin with imipramine before PDT is a new approach.

02

Conditions studied

  • Imipramine
  • Photodynamic Therapy
  • Actinic Keratosis

Browse trials for

03

In context

Keratosis, Actinic

343 studies on the registry are indexed under Keratosis, Actinic; 29 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 60 across 295 interventional studies indexed under Keratosis, Actinic.

Browse Keratosis, Actinic studies →

Lead sponsor

Wright State University is the lead sponsor of 39 studies on the registry; 13 are open to participants now.

Of its 7 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (71%) have results posted.

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

04

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

  • Male or female ages 18 and older
  • Skin type must be "Fair", Fitzpatrick type I to III, due to the presence of actinic damage in this population.
  • Subjects need to have a physician's order to receive PDT treatment on their face, scalp or forearms.
  • Willing to participate and understand the document.
  • Willing to avoid excess sun exposure/tanning beds to the area to be treated with PDT.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those currently taking any tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
  • Those currently taking any selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
  • Those with porphyria
  • Large tattoos in the treated areas
  • Pregnancy or nursing
  • Taking any oral or topical medications that could interfere with the PDT (Appendix A)
  • Active rashes in the area
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
24 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Imipramine

    Topical 4% Imipramine

    Drug: Imipramine

  • Placebo comparator
    Vehicle

    Vehicle

    Other: Vehicle

Interventions

  • Topical 4% Imipramine

  • OtherVehicle

    Vehicle

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of precancerous actinic keratosis present from baseline.

    Principal investigator assesses this from AK lesion count mapping at baseline and in 6 months.

    Time frame: 6 months post PDT treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in pain level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog pain scale is used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin pain to 10 = severe skin pain)

    Time frame: Immediately post PDT treatment

  2. Change in pain level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog pain scale is used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin pain to 10 = severe skin pain)

    Time frame: 10 minutes post PDT treatment

  3. Change in pain level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog pain scale is used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin pain to 10 = severe skin pain)

    Time frame: 30 minutes post PDT treatment

  4. Change in pain level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog pain scale is used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin pain to 10 = severe skin pain)

    Time frame: 6 months post PDT treatment

  5. Change in itch level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog itch scale will be used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin itch to 10 = severe skin itch)

    Time frame: Immediately post PDT treatment

  6. Change in itch level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog itch scale will be used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin itch to 10 = severe skin itch)

    Time frame: 10 minutes post PDT treatment

  7. Change in itch level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog itch scale will be used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin itch to 10 = severe skin itch)

    Time frame: 30 minutes post PDT treatment

  8. Change in itch level due to photodynamic therapy (PDT) from baseline.

    The visual analog itch scale will be used to assess this outcome. (0 = no skin itch to 10 = severe skin itch)

    Time frame: 6 months post PDT treatment

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Wright State Physicians
    Fairborn, Ohio 45324, United States
    Recruiting
    • Pharmacology Translational Unit · Contact937-245-7500
08

References and documents

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Jan 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2028, 62 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 9, 2023
First posted
Jan 18, 2023
StartActual
Jan 19, 2023
Primary completionEst.
Mar 2028
CompletionEst.
Mar 2028
Last update
Aug 20, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 20, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05688904
Lead sponsor
Wright State University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 18, 2023
Start date
Jan 19, 2023
Primary completion
Mar 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 20, 2026

Study contacts

Manager, Clinical Research Operations
Contact
pturesearch@wrightstatephysicians.org
937-245-7500
Regulatory Specialist
Contact
pturesearch@wrightstatephysicians.org
937-245-7500
Craig Rohan, MD
principal investigator · Wright State University

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Studies of the drug tested here: Imipramine

Start the discussion