UMMS Affiliation
Department of Psychiatry
Publication Date
2019-09-05
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Mental and Social Health | Mental Disorders | Psychiatry | Therapeutics
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Altered neurotransmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Whether SAGE-217, an oral, positive allosteric modulator of GABA type A receptors, is effective and safe for the treatment of major depressive disorder is unknown.
METHODS: In this double-blind, phase 2 trial, we enrolled patients with major depression and randomly assigned them in a 1:1 ratio to receive 30 mg of SAGE-217 or placebo once daily. The primary end point was the change from baseline to day 15 in the score on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D; scores range from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating more severe depression). Secondary efficacy end points, which were assessed on days 2 through 8 and on days 15, 21, 28, 35, and 42, included changes from baseline in scores on additional depression and anxiety scales, a reduction from baseline of more than 50% in the HAM-D score, a HAM-D score of 7 or lower, and a Clinical Global Impression of Improvement score of 1 (very much improved) or 2 (much improved) (on a scale of 1 to 7, with a score of 7 indicating that symptoms are very much worse).
RESULTS: A total of 89 patients underwent randomization: 45 patients were assigned to the SAGE-217 group, and 44 to the placebo group. The mean baseline HAM-D score was 25.2 in the SAGE-217 group and 25.7 in the placebo group. The least-squares mean (+/-SE) change in the HAM-D score from baseline to day 15 was -17.4+/-1.3 points in the SAGE-217 group and -10.3+/-1.3 points in the placebo group (least-squares mean difference in change, -7.0 points; 95% confidence interval, -10.2 to -3.9; P < 0.001). The differences in secondary end points were generally in the same direction as those of the primary end point. There were no serious adverse events. The most common adverse events in the SAGE-217 group were headache, dizziness, nausea, and somnolence.
CONCLUSIONS: Administration of SAGE-217 daily for 14 days resulted in a reduction in depressive symptoms at day 15. Adverse events were more common in the SAGE-217 group than in the placebo group. Further trials are needed to determine the durability and safety of SAGE-217 in major depressive disorder and to compare SAGE-217 with available treatments. (Funded by Sage Therapeutics; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03000530.).
Keywords
SAGE-217, major depressive disorder, clinical trial
Rights and Permissions
Copyright © 2019 Massachusetts Medical Society. Publisher PDF posted after 6 months as allowed by publisher's author permissions policy at https://www.nejm.org/author-center/permissions.
DOI of Published Version
10.1056/NEJMoa1815981
Source
N Engl J Med. 2019 Sep 5;381(10):903-911. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1815981. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
The New England journal of medicine
Related Resources
PubMed ID
31483961
Repository Citation
Gunduz-Bruce H, Silber C, Kaul I, Rothschild AJ, Riesenberg R, Sankoh AJ, Li H, Lasser R, Zorumski CF, Rubinow DR, Paul SM, Jonas J, Doherty JJ, Kanes SJ. (2019). Trial of SAGE-217 in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. Psychiatry Publications and Presentations. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1815981. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/psych_pp/903
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Mental and Social Health Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Psychiatry Commons, Therapeutics Commons