Recruiting
Early Phase 1

Propranolol

Sponsor:

University of Missouri-Columbia

Code:

NCT06066710

Conditions

Aphasia, Primary Progressive

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 50+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Propranolol

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Placebo

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to find out how the language of people with Primary Progressive Aphasia is affected by Propranolol. Propranolol is not FDA approved for the treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Propranolol is FDA approved for the treatment of heart conditions such as blood pressure.

This research is being done because there are currently no drug treatment options for language impairments and anxiety often experienced by people with Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Conditions

Aphasia, Primary Progressive

Study ID

NCT06066710

Start date

Jan 13, 2025

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 50+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1\. Age: 50 and older
  • 2\. Primary Progressive Aphasia diagnosis
  • 3\. Native English speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1\. Unable to provide consent
  • 2\. Taking alpha 2 agonists (clonidine and guanfacine)
  • 3\. Other major psychological or neurological diagnosis
  • 4\. Major head trauma that contributed to their condition
  • 5\. Allergic reaction to adhesives
  • 6\. Uncorrected vision/hearing impairments
  • 7\. Diabetes
  • 8\. Reactive airway disease
  • 9\. Untreated hypothyroidism
  • 10\. Bradyarrhythmia
  • 11\. Unexplained syncope
  • 12\. Pregnancy (assessed verbally on the days of MR imaging)
  • 13\. Drugs that interact with propranolol, such as alpha 2 agonists
  • 14\. Claustrophobia, inner ear implants, aneurysm or other surgical clips, metal foreign bodies in eye, pacemaker or other contraindication to MR scanning. Subjects with any implanted device that cannot be verified as MRI compliant will be excluded.

Study Design

Enrollment

30 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Propanolol and MRI

Participants will receive propranolol via oral capsule. The drug dosage will be titrated slowly to ensure the drug is tolerated well.

placebo comparator: Placebo and MRI

Participants will receive placebo via oral capsule.

Interventions

Propranolol

Propranolol will be given on a titration schedule in which participants will begin with small doses of the drug and increase to a larger dosage over the course of three weeks. Propranolol will be taken for a total of 9 weeks.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) will be performed at 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla, for both propranolol and placebo arms.

Placebo

Placebo will be given on the same schedule as the propranolol regime.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Neuropsychological Assessment Battery Naming Test [ Time Frame: Day 1, 4 Weeks, 8 Weeks, 10 Weeks, 14 Weeks,18 Weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

David Beversdorf, MD

573-882-6081beversdorfd@health.missouri.edu

Kim Ray

573-882-0515raykk@health.missouri.edu

Locations

University of Missouri-Columbia

Recruiting

Columbia, Missouri, United States, 65212

Contacts

David Beversdorf, MD

573-882-6081beversdorfd@health.missouri.edu

Kim Ray

573-882-0515raykk@health.missouri.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Missouri-Columbia

Last update posted

Jul 17, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-22. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Missouri-Columbia on 2026-07-17.