Research Study of Bipolar Mood Symptoms and Cognitive Problems

Summary

This is a sixteen week, randomized, double-blind add-on study of valacyclovir versus placebo in approximately 60 outpatients meeting diagnostic criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) -IV Bipolar I or II disorder, testing positive for HSV-1 and who have demonstrable cognitive impairment defined as a total score of less than 85 (one standard deviation from the normal range) on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Each patient will be randomized to double-blind treatment with either valacyclovir or placebo for sixteen weeks. All subjects will be maintained on a stable regimen of psychiatric drugs prescribed by their treating psychiatrist. Patients will be evaluated every 2 weeks by the treatment team and mood rating scales will be administered at each visit including the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The RBANS will be administered again at 8 and 16 weeks. Both the treatment team and the patient will remain blinded during the course of the study. Following the active treatment phase, patients will receive treatment as clinically indicated. Primary Hypothesis: Valacyclovir will be superior to placebo in reducing cognitive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder in subjects who have been previously infected with Herpes Simplex virus I (HSV-1). Secondary Hypothesis: Valacyclovir will be superior to placebo in reducing mood symptoms associated with bipolar disorder in subjects who have been previously infected with HSV-1.

Timeline

Start

2007-03

Primary completion

2012-08

Completion

2012-10

Publications

• Background Dickerson FB, Boronow JJ, Stallings CR, Origoni AE, Yolken RH. Reduction of symptoms by valacyclovir in cytomegalovirus-seropositive individuals with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2003 Dec;160(12):2234-6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.12.2234.
• Background Dickerson FB, Boronow JJ, Stallings C, Origoni AE, Cole S, Krivogorsky B, Yolken RH. Infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 is associated with cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Mar 15;55(6):588-93. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.10.008.
• Background Dickerson FB, Boronow JJ, Stallings C, Origoni AE, Sullens A, Yolken RH. The catechol O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism is not associated with broad-based cognitive functioning in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2007 Nov;96(1-3):87-92. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.05.021. Epub 2007 Jul 2.

Drugs

Indications