D-cycloserine Augmentation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Pediatric Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

D-cycloserine Augmentation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Pediatric Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

The investigators are conducting a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy of d-cycloserine augmentation of cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder. This study represents an innovative approach in translating bench research findings into clinical research and testing a new approach for optimizing an effective psychotherapy with a safe non-psychotropic medication.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 1-2% of children, runs a chronic course without treatment, and is associated with considerable functional impairment and poor quality of life. Although most patients with OCD respond to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or pharmacotherapy with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI), a substantial number of youth remain symptomatic after receiving these therapies. Pharmacological interventions with SRIs are only moderately efficacious, rarely produce remission, may be accompanied by side effects, and may not be an acceptable intervention to some parents. Medication augmentation strategies such as atypical antipsychotics are often used in children with partial response but have concerning metabolic effects and no systematic supporting efficacy or safety data. Although CBT is the gold standard treatment for pediatric OCD, not all patients benefit and the availability of skilled therapists is quite limited. Thus, there is a critical need for interventions to optimize treatment outcome in pediatric OCD. The primary mechanism in CBT is repeated and prolonged exposure to feared situations while abstaining from OCD rituals. This treatment is based on animal models of extinction of conditioned fears. Basic research on the neural circuitry underlying fear extinction led to the examination of d-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist at the NMDA receptor in the amygdala, as an agent capable of enhancing extinction learning. Following successful validation of this strategy in animals, six trials in adult humans - and one study in youth with OCD - provide support for DCS dosing as facilitating extinction learning that occurs during exposure-based psychotherapy. However, experts and agencies responsible for regulating drug indications in the US, including the FDA, recognize that safety and efficacy findings in adults should not be routinely extrapolated to children. The present study furthers pilot work on DCS to augment the effects of CBT in children with OCD. The investigators are conducting a double-blind randomized controlled trial, conducted at two sites, to examine the relative benefit of 10 psychotherapy sessions of which sessions 4-10 will be augmented with weight-adjusted doses of DCS (25/50mg) compared to CBT augmented with placebo. 150 youth (ages 7-17) with OCD will be randomly and evenly assigned to one of the two treatment conditions. The primary outcome will be change in OCD symptom severity assessed by independent evaluators. The study recruitment sites are the University of South Florida (USF) and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (MGH). This study extends the first report of DCS augmentation in youth with anxiety disorder/OCD by conclusively investigating an innovative research approach that manipulates glutamatergic pathways to mediate improved outcomes of exposure-based psychotherapy based upon a translational model of the neurobiology of OCD.

This study arm involves the subject receiving 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy with pill placebo taken 1 hour before the session.

This study arm involves the subject receiving 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy with d-cycloserine taken 1 hour before the session.

All patients will receive 10 sessions of therapy over 8 weeks using the evidence-based CBT protocol in POTS (2004). Sessions 1-4 will be held twice weekly; sessions 5-10 will be held on a weekly basis. Sessions 1-3 do not include exposures and are devoted to psychoeducation, cognitive therapy, and hierarchy development. Sessions 4-10 involve E/RP exercises specific to each youth.

D-cycloserine will be encapsulated into 25mg with identical placebo capsules. Youth will take (1 or 2) DCS or identical placebo capsule 1 hour before sessions 4-10. A 0.7mg/kg dosage corresponds with dosages found to be effective in adult studies (50mg/estimated average adult weight of 70kg=.71mg/kg). Accordingly, doses for this study will be about 0.7mg/kg. Two dosing levels will be used based upon weight ranges to ensure comparable mg/kg levels: children weighing 25-45kg will be given a dosage of 25mg (~0.56-1.0 mg/kg/day), and children ≥46kg will be given 50mg provided in two 25mg capsules (~0.50-1.08mg/kg/day). Doses will be given 1 hour before therapy sessions 4-10.

The pill placebo will be identical to the active study medication in every respect (e.g., size, shape, number of capsules, etc.).

The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale measures the severity of OCD symptoms. There are 10 questions that are summed to arrive at a total score, with higher scores representing more severe OCD symptoms (scores range from 0-40).

The Clinical Global Impression-Severity involves a trained clinician rating how severe the person's OCD symptoms are on a 0 to 6 scale, with higher scores corresponding to more severe symptoms. This rating only involves a clinician completing a single item.

Inclusion Criteria: Outpatient youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder between the ages 7-17 years. A Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale score ≥ 16 Child has a Full Scale IQ≥85 as assessed on the WASI (within 90% CI). English speaking Exclusion Criteria: Receiving concurrent psychotherapy or a past adequate trial of CBT for OCD. Families will have the option of discontinuing such services to enroll in the study. New Treatments: Initiation of an antidepressant within 12 weeks before study enrollment or an antipsychotic 6 weeks before study enrollment. No new alternative medications, nutritionals or therapeutic diets within 6 weeks of study enrollment. Established Treatment changes: Any change in established psychotropic medication (e.g., antidepressants, anxioloytics, stimulant, alpha agonist) within 8 weeks before study enrollment (6 weeks for antipsychotic). Alternative medications must be stable for 6 weeks prior to baseline. Current clinically significant suicidality or individuals who have engaged in suicidal behaviors within 6 months will be excluded. DSM-IV conduct disorder, autism, bipolar, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders; or substance abuse in past 6 months using all available information. Youth with hoarding symptoms that are their primary form of OCD. Weight less than 25.0 kg. Epilepsy, renal insufficiency, and current/past history of alcohol abuse. Pregnant or having unprotected sex [in females] as the effects of d-cycloserine on pregnancy are unknown. Presence of a significant and/or unstable medical illness that might lead to hospitalization during the study. Known d-cycloserine allergy.

Storch EA, Murphy TK, Goodman WK, Geffken GR, Lewin AB, Henin A, Micco JA, Sprich S, Wilhelm S, Bengtson M, Geller DA. A preliminary study of D-cycloserine augmentation of cognitive-behavioral therapy in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Dec 1;68(11):1073-6. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.07.015.