Propranolol in Primary Progressive Aphasia

Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out how the language of people with Primary Progressive Aphasia is affected by Propranolol. Propranolol is not FDA approved for the treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Propranolol is FDA approved for the treatment of heart conditions such as blood pressure. This research is being done because there are currently no drug treatment options for language impairments and anxiety often experienced by people with Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Timeline

Start

2025-01-13

Primary completion

2026-12

Completion

2027-12

Publications

• Background Mesulam MM. Primary progressive aphasia. Ann Neurol. 2001 Apr;49(4):425-32.
• Background Mesulam M, Weintraub S. Primary progressive aphasia and kindred disorders. Handb Clin Neurol. 2008;89:573-87. doi: 10.1016/S0072-9752(07)01254-7. No abstract available.
• Background Gorno-Tempini ML, Hillis AE, Weintraub S, Kertesz A, Mendez M, Cappa SF, Ogar JM, Rohrer JD, Black S, Boeve BF, Manes F, Dronkers NF, Vandenberghe R, Rascovsky K, Patterson K, Miller BL, Knopman DS, Hodges JR, Mesulam MM, Grossman M. Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants. Neurology. 2011 Mar 15;76(11):1006-14. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31821103e6. Epub 2011 Feb 16.
• Background Johnson JK, Diehl J, Mendez MF, Neuhaus J, Shapira JS, Forman M, Chute DJ, Roberson ED, Pace-Savitsky C, Neumann M, Chow TW, Rosen HJ, Forstl H, Kurz A, Miller BL. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: demographic characteristics of 353 patients. Arch Neurol. 2005 Jun;62(6):925-30. doi: 10.1001/archneur.62.6.925.
• Background Grossman M. Primary progressive aphasia: clinicopathological correlations. Nat Rev Neurol. 2010 Feb;6(2):88-97. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2009.216.
• Background Albert ML, Bachman DL, Morgan A, Helm-Estabrooks N. Pharmacotherapy for aphasia. Neurology. 1988 Jun;38(6):877-9. doi: 10.1212/wnl.38.6.877.
• Background Walker-Batson D, Curtis S, Natarajan R, Ford J, Dronkers N, Salmeron E, Lai J, Unwin DH. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the use of amphetamine in the treatment of aphasia. Stroke. 2001 Sep;32(9):2093-8. doi: 10.1161/hs0901.095720.
• Background Beversdorf DQ. Pharmacotherapy of aphasia. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2007 Jan-Feb;22(1):65-6. doi: 10.1097/00001199-200701000-00008. No abstract available.
• Background Zamzow RM, Ferguson BJ, Stichter JP, Porges EC, Ragsdale AS, Lewis ML, Beversdorf DQ. Effects of propranolol on conversational reciprocity in autism spectrum disorder: a pilot, double-blind, single-dose psychopharmacological challenge study. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2016 Apr;233(7):1171-8. doi: 10.1007/s00213-015-4199-0. Epub 2016 Jan 14.
• Background Beversdorf DQ, Sharma UK, Phillips NN, Notestine MA, Slivka AP, Friedman NM, Schneider SL, Nagaraja HN, Hillier A. Effect of propranolol on naming in chronic Broca's aphasia with anomia. Neurocase. 2007 Aug;13(4):256-9. doi: 10.1080/13554790701595471.
• Background Faigel HC. The effect of beta blockade on stress-induced cognitive dysfunction in adolescents. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1991 Jul;30(7):441-5. doi: 10.1177/000992289103000706.
• Background Laverdure B, Boulenger JP. [Beta-blocking drugs and anxiety. A proven therapeutic value]. Encephale. 1991 Sep-Oct;17(5):481-92. French.
• Background Cahana-Amitay D, Albert ML, Pyun SB, Westwood A, Jenkins T, Wolford S, Finley M. Language as a Stressor in Aphasia. Aphasiology. 2011;25(2):593-614. doi: 10.1080/02687038.2010.541469. Epub 2011 Apr 19.

Drugs

Indications