Allopregnanolone in Chronic Complex Traumatic Brain Injury

Starting soon · Phase 2 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

In brief

This study will determine if allopregnanolone (ALLO) improves depression and pain symptoms in patients who have a history of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) \[primary endpoints\]. The investigators will also determine if ALLO improves functional outcome \[secondary endpoint\]. Participants in this study will receive an intravenous infusion of either ALLO or placebo. Behavioral assessments will be conducted during the infusion and at several time points post-infusion.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT04003285
Run by: VA Office of Research and Development
People needed: 132
Starts: 2026-09-01
Expected to finish: 2027-06-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-06-04

Who can join

Age: 21 and older, up to 62. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

21-62 years of age, any ethnic group, either sex
History of mild TBI since 2001 and service in the U.S. Military since 9/11/01 (OEF/OIF/OND era)
The investigators will adhere to the operational definition of mild TBI suggested by the World Health Organization Task Force, with the exception of seizure and Glasgow Coma Scale score criteria (not available for these participants) with 1 or more of the following:
confusion or disorientation
loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less
post-traumatic amnesia for less than 24 hours
and/or other transient neurological abnormalities such as focal signs, and intracranial lesion not requiring surgery
Ability to participate fully in the informed consent process
HAM-D score 14 (HAM-D range for moderate depression=14-18)
Participants will meet DSM-5 criteria for major depressive disorder (by SCID)
The presence of psychotic features will be exclusionary
Single episodes or recurrent episodes will be permissible for study entry (the investigators will examine treatment responses in those who have had single depressive episodes versus those who have had multiple depressive episodes in exploratory sensitivity analyses
BPI (Brief Pain Inventory, Short Form) 'current' pain intensity rating item score 4 (scale of 0-10)
Pain must be musculoskeletal in nature
No anticipated need to alter psychiatric medications for 14-day duration of study involvement
No changes in psychotropic or behavioral interventions during the study or in the 2 weeks prior to study enrollment
Concomitant medications for co-occurring medical conditions are permissible for stable medical conditions that are reasonably well-controlled
for example, hypertension medications, statins, and oral hypoglycemic medications would generally be permissible if they appear to be effectively treating the underlying condition

You may not qualify if…

Participants with current suicidal or homicidal ideation necessitating clinical intervention or representing an imminent concern
Medications that could potentially confound study outcomes (for example, prednisone) are exclusionary
Current DSM-5 diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, or cognitive disorder due to a general medical condition other than TBI
Female participants who are pregnant or breast-feeding
Known allergy to study medication
Benzodiazepine, barbiturate, or opioid use within the last 2 weeks is exclusionary
Substance use disorder (DSM-5), other than nicotine use disorder
A serious medical illness, defined as an illness that requires hospitalization for additional care at the time of screening or one that has required hospitalization in the last month.
Any co-occurring medical illness should have a history of stable outpatient management
Report of a history of seizures, a history of stroke, a history of prostate cancer (or any other cancer other than non-melanoma skin cancer), a history of myocardial infarction, the presence of congestive heart failure, or any other serious health condition that would likely preclude safe study participation in the medical opinion of the PI or in consultation with the participant's PCP/other health care provider
Use of oral contraceptives, a hormone-releasing IUD, or other hormonal supplementation such as estrogen or progesterone, as there is a theoretical risk that a metabolite such as ALLO could potentially impact efficacy of oral contraceptives or estrogen replacement

Where it is running

Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC — Durham, North Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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