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RecruitingNCT06012552COVMENTUpdated Aug 25, 2023

Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of the Efficacy and Safety of Tianeptine in the Treatment of Covid Fog Symptoms in Patients After COVID-19.

A Phase 2 interventional study of Tianeptine and Placebo in Nervous System Diseases, sponsored by Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute. Recruiting at 1 site in Poland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-08-25.

Sponsored by Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 6 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Feb 2023, registered Aug 2023).
  • Started Feb 2023; still recruiting 3 years 8 months later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
140
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

COVID-19 is associated with a high risk of complications from the central nervous system. Syndrome of cognitive disorders- in terms of memory, attention or executive functions among COVID-19 convalescents is often called brain fog (covid fog - CF). CF leads to psychomotor retardation and chronic fatigue syndrome, resulting in poor functioning and low quality of life. CF may affect up to 81% of patients after COVID-19.

Prevalence of CF may be even greater among patients with severe forms of COVID-19. In the preliminary assessment authors found that 83% of COVID-19 inpatients had at least mild cognitive impairment. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with higher incidence of depression and anxiety disorders. CF pathogenesis is not fully understood. There exist no strict diagnostic criteria for it, as well as no therapeutic recommendations. Health care systems of many countries, including Poland, lack therapeutic programs addressed at patients with CF. Tianeptine may be a drug with potentially beneficial effects in CF. Neuroprotective, antidepressive, sleep-improving and anxiolytic properties of tianeptine allow it to choose as a candidate for CF amelioration. There is also data supporting the thesis that patients with CF may benefit from short-term group therapy. It has been proven to improve quality of life, reduce stress, and improve cognitive function in non-MC cognitive disorders.

Expected research results: A database will be created from the collected clinical, laboratory and additional data. Statistical models will be created to predict: the duration of disorders, response to therapy, the final result of treatment. Among the markers of CNS damage, those which correlates with the patient's condition will be selected.

The study will allow to estimate the prevalence of CF in the population. PET-CT and auditory evoked potentials also will be used to expand knowledge in the field of CF.

Based on the existing data, an improvement is expected in all investigated participants as a result of rehabilitation and psychotherapy.

Additional improvement is expected in the tianeptine group. Improvement will be defined as: reduction in the severity of anxiety and depression disorders, reduction in the severity of cognitive disorders, improvement in the quality of life. The results will be used to develop a new diagnostic and therapeutic pathway and a comprehensive intervention program in CF.

02

Conditions studied

  • Nervous System Diseases

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • memory problems
  • Covid Fog
  • brain fog
  • COVID-19 brain fog
  • lack of mental clarity
  • poor concentration
  • headaches
  • confusion
03

In context

Nervous System Diseases

757 studies on the registry are indexed under Nervous System Diseases; 218 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 140 is above the median of 55 across 495 interventional studies indexed under Nervous System Diseases.

Browse Nervous System Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute is the lead sponsor of 45 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

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

  • Written from the patient to participate in the clinical trial.
  • Age ≥ 18 years.
  • History of COVID-19 infection confirmed by a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result by RT- PCR or positive antigen test.
  • Subjective patient-reported cognitive decline after COVID-19 infection at Screening.
  • Cognitive dysfunction found at Screening, defined by the Montreal Scale for the Assessment of Cognitive Function () as a score of less than 26.
  • Use of effective by women of .

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • to tianeptine.
  • Hypersensitivity to fluorodesoxyglucose (FDG).
  • History of allergy to drugs or other substances, which, in the Investigator's opinion, is a to participation in the study.
  • History of stroke.
  • Ever undergone and planned brain surgery at the time of the study.
  • Previously diagnosed organic damage to the central nervous system.
  • Diagnosed organic mental disorder.
  • Diagnosed bipolar affective disorder.
  • Diagnosed psychotic disorder.
  • History of active depressive episode, including those diagnosed at the time of study eligibility, requiring antidepressant treatment.
  • Diagnosed mental retardation.
  • Bipolar affective disorder in a first-degree relative.
  • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.
  • Severe renal failure with \< 30ml/min/1.73 m2.
  • cirrhosis of liver Severe liver cirrhosis ( class C ).
  • Claustrophobia.
  • Diagnosed chronic diseases that significantly worsen the patient's prognosis and quality of life, which, in the Investigator's opinion, may adversely affect the patient's participation in the study.
  • Active or past within the past 5 years, except for basal cell carcinoma of the skin and cervical cancer in situ in patients who have received radical treatment.
  • Active viral, bacterial, fungal, tuberculous, or parasitic infection.
  • History or presence of other relevant diseases which, in the Investigator's opinion, is a contraindication to participation in the study.
  • Positive pregnancy test performed on women of at screening or Visit 1.
  • Taking medications:

    1. Non-selective MAO inhibitors within 14 days prior to screening,
    2. Mianserin during screening.
  • Significant difficulty with peripheral venous cannulation.
  • Positive history of alcohol, drug, and psychoactive abuse/dependence.
  • Pregnancy or planning a pregnancy during the study period.
  • Breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed during the study period.
  • Current participation in another clinical trial.
  • Lack of patient compliance.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(9)

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.

MMSE and MoCA

Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

Child-Pugh class

A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
140 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Stady group

    The study group will receive oral tianeptine in a dose of 3x 12.5 mg per day (patients younger than 70) or 2x 12.5 mg per day (patients older than 70) for 16 weeks. In addition, the subjects will participate in group psychotherapy and neurological rehabilitation.

    Drug: Tianeptine

  • Placebo comparator
    Control group

    The control group will receive oral placebo in a dose of 3x 12.5 mg per day (patients younger than 70) or 2x 12.5 mg per day (patients older than 70) for 16 weeks. In addition, the subjects will participate in group psychotherapy and neurological rehabilitation.

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • Tianesal 12,5mg

  • DrugPlacebo

    application as in the control group

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Improvement in covid fog symptoms

    Improvement in covid fog symptoms at week 16 after randomization defined as a 2 point improvement in MoCA score.

    Time frame: 16 week after randomization

Secondary outcomes

  1. improving cognitive function

    Complete resolution of covid fog symptoms at week 16 after randomization defined as normalization of MoCA scale score (MoCA = 26 - 30 points).

    Time frame: 16 week after randomization

  2. Change in brain metabolic activity

    Change in brain metabolic activity as assessed by PET-CT at week 16 after randomization.

    Time frame: 16 week after randomization

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Anna Klimkiewicz
    Warsaw, Poland
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 25, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06012552
Lead sponsor
Military Institute od Medicine National Research Institute
Collaborators
ABM Industries
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 25, 2023
Start date
Feb 17, 2023
Primary completion
Apr 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 31, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 25, 2023

Study contacts

Anna Klimkiewicz, MD, PhD
Contact
aklimkiewicz@wim.mil.pl
+48695723984

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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