A United States Study of Corlux for Psychotic Symptoms in Psychotic Major Depression

Summary

Corlux (mifepristone) is a new medication that modulates the body's use of a hormone called cortisol. Under normal conditions, cortisol and other hormones are created by the body in response to physical and emotional stress, triggering a healthy stress response. People who suffer from psychotic major depression may have unusually high levels of cortisol circulating within them or abnormal patterns of cortisol levels, overloading the stress response mechanism and causing symptoms of psychosis such as delusional thoughts or hallucinations. If Corlux can keep the body's cortisol receptors from being overloaded, the stress response system may return to normal function, which may result in improvement of symptoms. The purpose of this 56 day study is to learn the safety and effectiveness of Corlux in patients who have been diagnosed with psychotic major depression (PMD).

Timeline

Start

2004-09

Primary completion

2006-06

Completion

2006-06

Publications

• Background Belanoff JK, Rothschild AJ, Cassidy F, DeBattista C, Baulieu EE, Schold C, Schatzberg AF. An open label trial of C-1073 (mifepristone) for psychotic major depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Sep 1;52(5):386-92. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01432-4.
• Background Belanoff JK, Flores BH, Kalezhan M, Sund B, Schatzberg AF. Rapid reversal of psychotic depression using mifepristone. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2001 Oct;21(5):516-21. doi: 10.1097/00004714-200110000-00009.
• Background Brogden RN, Goa KL, Faulds D. Mifepristone. A review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic potential. Drugs. 1993 Mar;45(3):384-409. doi: 10.2165/00003495-199345030-00007.
• Block TS, Kushner H, Kalin N, Nelson C, Belanoff J, Schatzberg A. Combined Analysis of Mifepristone for Psychotic Depression: Plasma Levels Associated With Clinical Response. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Jul 1;84(1):46-54. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.008. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

Drugs

Indications