D-Cycloserine Augmentation to CBT With Exposure and Response Prevention in Adults and Adolescents With OCD

Open-Label Exploratory Investigation of D-Cycloserine Augmentation to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Exposure and Response Prevention for Adults and Adolescents Diagnosed With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - A Feasibility Study

This is a single site, open-label, feasibility study of cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention (CBT/ERP) adding the augmentation of D-cycloserine (DCS) for adolescents ages 12-17 with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are partial or non-responders to first line treatments of CBT or pharmacotherapy.

The primary goal of this study is to examine the feasibility and efficacy of DCS augmentation to CBT/ERP at the end of the session. The main treatment outcome will be measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The secondary goal of the study is to investigate the safety of DCS in adolescents with OCD. 18 adolescents will be recruited in this study. Patients who are currently on medication therapies for OCD must be stable for at least 12 weeks prior to and during the study.

This study consists of a screening period that contains a 90-minute psycho-educational session and treatment period of up to 5 weeks. During the treatment period, patients will receive ten 60-minute CBT/ERP sessions held twice weekly. At the end of each session, patients will receive a 50 mg dose of DCS. Following the administration of the DCS, patients will be asked to do their best not to ritualize and remain on the Children's Day Unit, where they will be observed and report to the research team if any ritualization has occurred. At the end of study participation, all participants will be offered 10 additional sessions of twice-weekly ERP without DCS administration. All participants will then complete a follow-up visit at 10 weeks after baseline.

The main treatment outcome will be measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The secondary goal of the study is to investigate the safety of DCS in adolescents with OCD. Additionally, we will explore the impact of patient's motivation to change, parental pathology, and family accommodation on the treatment progress and outcome in adolescents.

Present data collected from this protocol show that adolescents who completed and engaged in treatment experienced benefit to the combination of CBT/ERP and DCS. However, this is an unblinded study and the adolescents are receiving an intensive form of CBT/ERP with close monitoring following 2 hours after the administration of the DCS. The positive results may be due to this specific way in which the CBT/ERP was delivered or to the attention paid to participants during treatment sessions and monitoring periods. We recruited 5 additional adolescents diagnosed with OCD to serve as control group participants. These individuals all had a history of failed or partial response to at least one trial of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) medication or CBT/ERP. These participants also received ten sessions of twice weekly CBT/ERP delivered exactly as it was previously in this protocol, but without DCS administration. All control participants completed a follow-up visit at 10 weeks after baseline. Due to the small number of control participants, statistical analyses comparing the treatment groups were not completed.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients must be ages of 12-17 at the time of consent.
2. Both patients and parents must be able to speak and understand English.
3. Written informed assent by the patient and consent by the parent.
4. Ability and willingness to comply with study treatment and to attend study assessments.
5. Patients must be physically healthy males or non-pregnant females. Females of childbearing potential must comply with contraceptive restrictions noted in the protocol.
6. Patients must fulfill Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria for OCD, and OCD must be the primary disorder with a CY-BOCS score > 16
7. For patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the condition must be stable for 4 weeks on present treatment prior to screening.
8. For patients receiving treatment with an FDA approved Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI), the medication dose must be stable for at least 12 weeks prior to enrollment.
9. Patients who failed to respond to either CBT/ERP treatment or a SRI medication (as evidenced by a CY-BOCS score > 16).
10. Based on history, the patient is unlikely to require a change in medication during the course of CBT/ERP + DCS treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with any clinically significant abnormalities in laboratory parameters at screening.
2. Clinically significant metabolic-endocrine, hematological, gastrointestinal disease, pulmonary disease (for example, severe asthma, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus).
3. History of schizophrenia or any psychotic disorder, history of mental disorders or any present Axis I psychiatric disorder according to DSM-IV criteria (using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-R) assessment interview), except for patients with a diagnosis of ADHD and/or other anxiety disorders as secondary diagnoses.
4. Patients who have a history suggestive of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infection (PANDAS). - i.e., a sudden onset or exacerbation of symptoms temporally associated with a preceding streptococcal infection with first onset prior to puberty.
5. Patients who are receiving formal psychotherapy, other than the one delivered in the study, whether or not the focus of the therapy is on their OCD.