Efficacy of Nitrous Oxide in OCD: Pilot Study

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03826693

Enrollment

Registered

2019-02-01

Start date

2021-04-17

Completion date

2027-10-31

Last updated

2025-08-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Keywords

OCD, nitrous oxide

Brief summary

This study investigates whether the commonly used and well-tolerated inhaled anesthetic nitrous oxide can rapidly improve symptoms of OCD.

Detailed description

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and disabling disorder characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts and associated compulsive behaviors that is estimated to affect more than 3 million individuals in the US each year. This study seeks to explore whether a single inhalation of nitrous oxide gas may bring about rapid symptom relief in OCD.

Interventions

DRUGNitrous Oxide

OCD participants in this arm will receive 50%oxygen/50% nitrous oxide admixture for 60 minutes.

DRUGNitrogen

OCD participants in this arm will receive 50%oxygen/50% nitrogen admixture for 60 minutes.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

placebo-controlled 2:1 randomized clinical trial.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Age 18-65 * Primary diagnosis of OCD * Sufficient severity of OCD symptoms * Ability to tolerate a treatment-free period * Capacity to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

* Psychiatric or medical conditions that make participation unsafe * Pregnant or nursing females * Concurrent use of any medications that might increase the risk of participation (e.g. drug interactions)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Improvement in the severity of OCD symptoms as measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS)	1 week	Improvement in OCD severity is measured by the YBOCS (Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale), a gold standard measure of obsessions and compulsions. For the YBOCS the minimum units are 0 and Maximum units on the total scale are 40. The higher the number on the YBOCS, the more severe the symptoms. Response is defined as at least a 35% reduction on the YBOCS.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactPavithra Mukunda, MS

ocdresearch@stanford.edu650-723-4095

Backup ContactSindu Menon, MBBS