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Reducing Falls With Varenicline in Hypocholinergic Parkinson Disease

Reducing Falls With Varenicline in Hypocholinergic Parkinson Disease

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06679374
Acronym
CRANE
Enrollment
102
Registered
2024-11-07
Start date
2025-04-09
Completion date
2029-01-01
Last updated
2026-03-31

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

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Keywords

Mild Cognitive impairment, Multitasking, Reduce falls, Hypocholinergic

Brief summary

This trial aims to test whether one year of Varenicline, when compared to placebo, can reduce fall risk and show improvement in the ability to multitask while walking. Participants that are eligible after screening for the study will be randomized to receive Varenicline or placebo. Along with the study medication participants will have visits (over the phone and in person), various tests and imaging, questionnaires, and laboratory collections.

Detailed description

The hypothesis of the trial are: * The primary hypothesis is that varenicline will result in less progress in dual-task cost gait performance after 12 months of treatment compared to placebo in hypocholinergic Parkinson disease (PD) Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients. * The primary secondary hypothesis assesses whether the magnitude of effect of varenicline relative to placebo is consistent with the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the relative risk of falls in the 12-month double-blind treatment period.

Interventions

DRUGPlacebo

Participants will take one pill (.5 milligrams) a day for days 1-3 and then one pill (.5 milligrams) in the morning and one pill in the evening days 4-30 and months 2-12. In month 13 participants will take one pill in the morning days 1-3. Participants will be off study drug month 13 days 4-30.

DRUGVarenicline

Participants will take one pill (.5 milligrams) a day for days 1-3 and then one pill (.5 milligrams) in the morning and one pill in the evening days 4-30 and months 2-12. In month 13 participants will take one pill in the morning days 1-3. Participants will be off study drug month 13 days 4-30.

Sponsors

Vikas Kotagal
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

This is a double-blind study. The study personnel (except for select staff at the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) and research pharmacy).

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Participants with a PD diagnosis based on the Movement Disorders Society Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for Parkinson's Disease at the time of baseline screening/enrollment visit * Participants with occipital association cortex cholinergic denervation in the lowest tertile of the normal range on F-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (FEOBV) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) * Participants with legally authorized representatives (LARs) able to co-sign documented informed consent or participants that have capacity to provide informed consent upon study enrollment as ascertained by the study-specific University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) * Mild Cognitive Impairment consistent with Parkinson disease Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI)

Exclusion criteria

* Atypical Parkinsonian conditions other than Parkinson disease (PD) * Participants initially on certain dopamine blocking drugs (per protocol), specific anticholinergic drugs (trihexyphenidyl, benztropine), or specific cholinesterase inhibitor drugs (per protocol) at the in-person screening visit * Modified Hoehn and Yahr score of 4.0 or greater at the in-person screening visit * Current or previous (within last 6 months of in-person screening visit) use of any product or medication containing nicotinic agents, including use of tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, etc., e-cigarettes, over the counter (OTC) nicotine patches, chewing gum containing nicotine, or varenicline * Evidence of a stroke with both cortical and subcortical involvement or occipital lobe mass lesion on structural magnetic brain imaging (MRI) obtained at the in-person screening visit that would preclude co-registration and analysis of FEOBV PET data * Participants where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is contraindicated including, but not limited to, those with a pacemaker, presence of metallic fragments near the eyes or spinal cord, or cochlear implant * Severe claustrophobia precluding MRI or PET imaging * Participants limited by participation in research procedures involving ionizing radiation * Pregnancy (test within 48 hours of the PET imaging session in women of childbearing potential) or breastfeeding at the time of in-person screening visit * Participants with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease at the time of in-person screening visit (estimated Creatinine Clearance \< 30 milliliters per minute) * Current, significant mood disorder at the time of in-person screening/enrollment visit defined as follows: persistent (lasting longer than 2 weeks) symptoms of depression or anxiety in the 30 days preceding informed consent, as determined by self-report * Evidence of active suicidal ideation as defined by an affirmative answer to either question 1 or 2 on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) * History of a myocardial infarction or unstable angina in the 90 days preceding enrollment visit * A current or previous history of epilepsy or any epileptic seizures in the 12 months preceding enrollment * Heavy alcohol use as defined by a score of 8 or greater on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-self-report version) at the time of screening/enrollment visit * Participants that are unable to swallow pills * Participants with a history of allergic reaction to varenicline * Participants that are actively taking part in another ongoing interventional (i.e., not observational) clinical trial

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in normal pace-dual task cost (npDTC) from baseline to 12 months.Baseline, 12 monthsNormal pace-dual task cost is defined as the within-subject difference between normal pace walking speed without dual tasking to normal pace walking speed with dual tasking divided by normal pace walking speed without dual tasking, multiplied by 100.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of falls from the first dose of study drug to the 12-month visitFirst dose (day 0) to 12 month visitParticipants will complete a fall diary to collect this data.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTDawn Keys
dmkeys@med.umich.edu734-615-4334
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORVikas Kotagal, MD

University of Michigan

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 1, 2026