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Effects of add-on Celecoxib treatment on patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and inflammatory cytokine profile trial (TargetFlame): study design and methodology of a multicentre randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract:

Neuroinflammation has been proposed to impact symptomatology in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While previous studies have shown equivocal effects of treatments with add-on anti-inflammatory drugs such as Aspirin, N-acetylcysteine and Celecoxib, none have used a subset of prospectively recruited patients exhibiting an inflammatory profile. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety as well as the cost-effectiveness of a treatment with 400 mg Celecoxib added to an ongoing antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders exhibiting an inflammatory profile. The “Add-on Celecoxib treatment in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and inflammatory cytokine profile trial (TargetFlame)” is a multicentre randomized, placebo-controlled phase III investigator-initiated clinical trial with the following two arms: patients exhibiting an inflammatory profile receiving either add-on Celecoxib 400 mg/day or add-on placebo. A total of 199 patients will be assessed for eligibility by measuring blood levels of three pro-inflammatory cytokines, and 109 patients with an inflammatory profile, i.e. inflamed, will be randomized, treated for 8 weeks and followed-up for additional four months. The primary endpoint will be changes in symptom severity as assessed by total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score changes from baseline to week 8. Secondary endpoints include various other measures of psychopathology and safety. Additional health economic analyses will be performed. TargetFlame is the first study aimed at evaluating the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of the antiphlogistic agent Celecoxib in a subset of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders exhibiting an inflammatory profile. With TargetFlame, we intended to investigate a novel precision medicine approach towards anti-inflammatory antipsychotic treatment augmentation using drug repurposing.


Clinical trial registration: http://www.drks.de/DRKS00029044 and https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=DRKS00029044

Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1007/s00702-022-02566-6

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Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-4939-9465



Publisher:
Springer
Journal:
Journal of Neural Transmission More from this journal
Volume:
130
Issue:
8
Pages:
1039–1048
Place of publication:
Austria
Publication date:
2022-11-19
Acceptance date:
2022-11-02
DOI:
EISSN:
1435-1463
ISSN:
0300-9564
Pmid:
36401749


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1309254
Local pid:
pubs:1309254
Deposit date:
2023-09-05

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