Losartan and Emotional Learning

Last updated: October 2, 2024
Sponsor: University of Oxford
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

1

Condition

Emotional Processing

Treatment

Placebo

Losartan potassium 50mg

Clinical Study ID

NCT06628154
R80447
  • Ages 18-50
  • All Genders
  • Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Summary

This study explores the effects of single-dose losartan (50mg) versus placebo on emotional processing in healthy volunteers.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Willing and able to provide informed consent

  • Aged 18-50 years

  • Score of or below 45 on the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS; Rizvi et al.,

  • Sufficient written and spoken English skills to understand what the study involves,and to complete the questionnaires

  • Non- or light-smoker (5 cigarettes a day)

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Past or present DSM-5 axis-I diagnosis (based on SCID results at screening) otherthan anxiety disorder, dysthymia or unipolar depression

  • First-degree family member with severe psychiatric illness

  • CNS-medication last 6 weeks (including as part of another study)

  • Current blood pressure or other heart medication (especially aliskiren or betablockers)

  • Diagnosis of intravascular fluid depletion or dehydration

  • History of angioedema

  • Impaired kidney function (based on self-report)

  • Very low blood pressure (defined as repeated (at least three consecutivemeasurements) measures of blood pressure under standardised conditions where eitherthe systolic or the diastolic blood pressure or both are below 90/50 mmHg (inaccordance with established standard definitions: DOI 10.1186/s12887-016-0633-7))

  • Lifetime history of epilepsy or other neurological disease (e.g. autism, ADHD)

  • Lifetime history of systemic infection, or clinically significant hepatic, cardiac,obstructive respiratory, renal, cerebrovascular, metabolic, endocrine or pulmonarydisease or disorder which, in the opinion of the investigator, may either put theparticipants at risk because of participation in the study, or may influence theresult of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study

  • Significant loss of hearing that is not corrected with a hearing device

  • Women: pregnancy, breast-feeding

Study Design

Total Participants: 60
Treatment Group(s): 2
Primary Treatment: Placebo
Phase: 1
Study Start date:
August 14, 2024
Estimated Completion Date:
July 31, 2025

Study Description

The renin-angiotensin system is a major hormone system involved in blood pressure regulation. However, its major receptors are also found in the brain, particularly in areas implicated in anxiety and depression. In line with this topography, drugs blocking angiotensin-II receptors have been shown to have effects on cognition that are opposite to those seen in emotional disorders. For instance, angiotensin receptor blockade improves fear extinction, and it dampens stress responsivity to highly aversive images. In line with such cognitive effects, population-based studies suggest that angiotensin receptor blockers - compared to other antihypertensive drugs - prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder following trauma exposition and improve outcomes in patients taking SSRI.

This study aims to shed further light on how the renin-angiotensin system affects different aspects of cognitive processing in humans relevant to emotional disorders. In a double-blind, randomized between-group design, we will investigate the effects of a single dose of losartan (50mg) versus placebo on emotional processing in N=60 healthy volunteers aged 18-50 years. Results from this study will help us understand how the renin-angiotensin system affects emotional processing in humans, and they will help us identify potential synergistic overlaps with the cognitive mechanisms of action of effective treatment of emotional disorders.

Connect with a study center

  • Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford

    Oxford, Oxfordshire OX37JX
    United Kingdom

    Active - Recruiting

Not the study for you?

Let us help you find the best match. Sign up as a volunteer and receive email notifications when clinical trials are posted in the medical category of interest to you.