Aging and Reward System Response to Inflammation and Anxiety Study

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES · May 2, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The "Aging and Reward System Response to Inflammation and Anxiety Study" is a clinical trial aimed at understanding how inflammation affects older adults, especially those experiencing anxiety. The study will look at whether older adults lose pleasure or motivation when exposed to inflammation. Researchers will assess this by using questionnaires, computer tasks, and brain scans.

To participate, you need to be between 60 to 80 years old and generally in good health. The study is particularly looking for individuals with significant anxiety symptoms, but some participants with low anxiety will also be included. If you join, you can expect to take part in some assessments and possibly undergo a brain scan. However, there are several health conditions and medication use that could prevent eligibility, so it’s important to discuss your health history during the screening process. This study could help improve understanding of how anxiety and inflammation are linked in older adults.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Participants will be required to be in good general health (as evaluated during the phone and in-person baseline session)
• • Participants will be aged 60 to 80 years.
• • 3/4 the participants (n=30) will be those with clinically significant anxiety as defined by a score of 5 or greater on the GAD-7;
• • 1/4 the participants (n=10) will be those with low anxiety as defined by a GAD-7 score of \<5.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Presence of chronic mental or physical illness (except for anxiety)
• • History of allergies, autoimmune, liver, or other severe chronic diseases
• • Current and regular use of prescription medications such as steroids, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirin, immune modifying drugs, opioid analgesics, statins, antihypertensive drugs, anti-arrhythmic drugs, and antidepressant medications (none in the last 6 months)
• • Nightshift work or time zone shifts (\> 3hrs) within the previous 6 weeks
• • Previous history of fainting during blood draws.
• • Claustrophobia
• • Metal in the body
• • Presence of co-morbid medical conditions not limited to but including cardiovascular (e.g., history of acute coronary event, stroke) and neurological diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease), as well as pain disorders;
• • Presence of comorbid inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune disorders;
• • Presence of an uncontrolled medical condition that is deemed by the investigators to interfere with the proposed study procedures, or to put the study participant at undue risk;
• • Presence of chronic infection, which may elevate pro-inflammatory cytokines;
• • Presence of an acute infectious illness in the two weeks prior to an experimental session.
• • Current Axis I psychiatric disorders other than anxiety as determined by the Research Version of the Structured Clinical Interview
• • Lifetime history of suicide attempt or inpatient psychiatric admission.
• • Sleep Disorders: Current history of sleep apnea or nocturnal myoclonus;
• • Phase-shift disorder
• • Current and/or past regular use of hormone-containing medications including steroids;
• • Current and/or past regular use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs;
• • Current and/or past regular use of immune modifying drugs that target specific immune responses such as cytokine antagonists;
• • Current and/or past regular use of analgesics such as opioids;
• • Current and/or past regular use of cardiovascular medications, including antihypertensive, anti-arrhythmic, antianginal, and anticoagulant drugs;
• • Current smoking
• • Current excessive caffeine use (\>600 mg/day) because of the known effects on pro-inflammatory cytokine levels;
• • Evidence of recreational drug use from urine test.
• • Body mass index \> 35 because of the effects of obesity on proinflammatory cytokine activity
• • Any clinically significant abnormality on screening laboratory tests
• • Clinically significant abnormalities in electrocardiogram