Repurposing Melatonin Receptor Agonists as Adjunct Treatments for Smoking Cessation

 描述（由申请人提供）：即使使用FDA批准的药物戒烟，大多数吸烟者在戒烟尝试后的头几天内复发。因此，有必要确定新的方法来优化治疗，以帮助更多的吸烟者在这一关键时期保持戒烟。有证据表明，尼古丁戒断期间的睡眠障碍可能是一个重要但被忽视的戒烟治疗目标。这一点尤其重要，因为现有的治疗方法不能减轻戒断相关的睡眠障碍。重要的是，睡眠困难是吸烟复发的预测。在这项概念验证研究中，我们假设FDA批准的褪黑激素受体激动剂雷美替酮与经皮尼古丁替代疗法（TN）联合使用，将通过减轻尼古丁戒断期间的睡眠障碍来促进戒烟。使用经过充分验证的药物筛选范例，我们提出了一个受试者内安慰剂对照交叉设计，其中一个受试者内因素为短期药物（雷美替翁与安慰剂）。50名寻求治疗的吸烟者将完成这项为期6周的研究，该研究包括两个为期2周的阶段，中间间隔2周的洗脱期。每个阶段包括1周的自由吸烟（基线）和1周的药物治疗（8 mg雷美替酮或安慰剂）加TN，同时尝试戒烟（戒烟评估）。吸烟者将获得少量的金钱奖励，以鼓励他们在生化方面证实戒烟。Ramelteon的独特性质降低了第二天残留效应，反弹失眠和身体依赖症状的可能性，这些症状使其他睡眠药物成为问题。我们选择TN是因为它对解决身体尼古丁戒断症状（例如，在研究期间，受试者将被要求保持睡眠日记并在睡眠时佩戴臂章，这提供了睡眠持续时间和质量的客观指标（SensewearPro）。所有受试者将在研究完成后接受标准TN。主要结果是通过一氧化碳呼气样本确认的禁欲总天数（五天）。这一指标高度预测了长期戒烟的成功率。中间结果将包括睡眠开始潜伏期（自我报告）和睡眠效率（SensewearPro臂章）。这项创新的研究将是第一个重新利用褪黑激素受体激动剂（雷美替酮）来评估其对寻求治疗的吸烟者的戒断相关睡眠障碍和短期戒烟成功的影响。重新使用已经“去风险”的药物消除了药物开发的一个关键障碍（即，安全性信号），增加药物上市的可能性。重要的是，我们的研究设计允许探索治疗效果的潜在机制。如果我们的假设得到支持，这些数据将为更大规模的II期临床试验奠定基础，并将这种辅助药物治疗扩展到其他戒烟治疗。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Even with the use of FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation, most smokers relapse within the first few days following a quit attempt. Thus, there is a need to identify novel approaches to optimize treatment to help more smokers maintain abstinence during this critical period. Evidence indicates that sleep disturbance during nicotine withdrawal may be an important, yet overlooked smoking cessation treatment target. This is particularly important since existing treatments do not mitigate withdrawal-related sleep disturbance. Critically, difficulty sleeping is predictive of smoking relapse. In this proof-of-concept study, we hypothesize that the FDA-approved melatonin receptor agonist, ramelteon, in combination with transdermal nicotine replacement therapy (TN), will promote smoking cessation by attenuating sleep disturbance during nicotine withdrawal. Using a well-validated medication screening paradigm, we propose a within-subject, placebo-controlled crossover design with one within-subjects factor of short-term medication (ramelteon vs. placebo). Fifty treatment-seeking smokers will complete this 6-week study, which consists of two 2-week phases separated by a 2-week washout. Each phase includes 1 week of ad libitum smoking (baseline) and 1 week of medication (8mg ramelteon or placebo) plus TN while trying to abstain (quit assessment). Smokers will be provided small monetary incentives for biochemically-confirmed abstinence. Ramelteon's unique properties reduce the likelihood of next-day residual effects, rebound insomnia, and symptoms of physical dependence which render other sleep medications problematic. We have chosen TN because it will be important to address physical nicotine withdrawal symptoms (e.g., headaches, constipation) and it is the most widely used treatment in the U.S. For the duration of the study, subjects will be asked to keep sleep diaries and wear an armband while sleeping which provides objective indices of sleep duration and quality (SensewearPro). All subjects will receive standard TN following completion of the study. The primary outcome will be the total number of days abstinent (out of five), confirmed by carbon monoxide breath sample. This measure is highly predictive of longer-term quit success. Intermediate outcomes will include sleep onset latency (self-report) and sleep efficiency (SensewearPro armband). This innovative line of research will be the first to repurpose a melatonin receptor agonist (ramelteon) to evaluate its effects on withdrawal-related sleep disturbance and short-term quitting success in treatment-seeking smokers. Repurposing medications that have been "de-risked" removes a key barrier to drug development (i.e., safety signals), increasing the likelihood that the drug will be brought to market. Critically, our study design permits exploration of putative mechanisms that underlie the treatment effect. If our hypotheses are supported, these data will lay the foundation for a larger Stage II clinical trial and to extend this adjunct pharmacological treatment to other treatments for smoking cessation.