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NCT02719392
A Pilot Study Investigating the Efficacy of Minocycline and N-Acetyl Cysteine for Bipolar Depression
Phase 4 trial testing N-acetylcysteine in Bipolar Disorder in 40 participants. Suspended.
1 June 2026
Quick facts
| Lead sponsor | Massachusetts General Hospital |
|---|---|
| Phase | Phase 4 |
| Status | Suspended |
| Study type | INTERVENTIONAL |
| Allocation | randomized |
| Design | parallel |
| Masking | double |
| Primary purpose | treatment |
| Enrollment | 40 |
| Start date | 9 August 2017 |
| Primary completion | 1 June 2026 |
| Estimated completion | 1 August 2026 |
| Sites | 1 location across United States |
Drugs / interventions tested
- N-acetylcysteine — full drug profile →
- Minocycline (MINOCYCLINE) — full drug profile →
- Placebo
Conditions studied
- Bipolar Disorder — all drugs for Bipolar Disorder →
- Bipolar Depression — all drugs for Bipolar Depression →
Sponsor
Massachusetts General Hospital
Who can join
Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Bipolar Disorder or Bipolar Depression. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
What's being measured
Primary outcomes are the specific endpoints the trial is designed to prove or disprove.
-
Illness severity on the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Bipolar Version (CGI-BP)
Time frame: 8 weeks
The CGI-BP is a modified version of the CGI designed specifically for use in assessing global illness severity and change in patients with bipolar disorder. We will use the overall severity subscale to determine outcome.
Sponsor's own description
The purpose of the Pilot Study Investigating the Efficacy of Minocycline and n-acetylcysteine for Bipolar Depression is to test the effectiveness of minocycline, n-acetylcysteine, and combined minocycline and n-acetylcysteine pharmacotherapy in order to fill the gap in treatments for bipolar depression. The treatment of bipolar depression remains the greatest unmet need in the management of this lifelong and chronic psychiatric disorder.
Publications & conference data
3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
-
Immune-based strategies for mood disorders: facts and challenges.
Colpo GD, Leboyer M, Dantzer R, Trivedi MH, et al · · 2018 · cited 69× · PMID 29179585 · DOI 10.1080/14737175.2018.1407242 -
Insights on Localized and Systemic Delivery of Redox-Based Therapeutics.
Buglak NE, Batrakova EV, Mota R, Bahnson ESM. · · 2018 · cited 9× · PMID 29636836 · DOI 10.1155/2018/2468457 -
Psychopharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics for Bipolar Depression.
Jha MK, Murrough JW. · · 2019 · cited 1× · PMID 32047368 · DOI 10.1176/appi.focus.20190009
Verify or expand the search:
- PubMed search for NCT02719392
- Europe PMC full search
- ASCO Meeting Library
- ESMO Meeting Library
- bioRxiv preprints
- medRxiv preprints
- Google Scholar
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Other recruiting trials for Bipolar Disorder
Currently open trials in the same condition.
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Other Massachusetts General Hospital trials
Trials by the same sponsor.
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- NCT06686901 — A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone Delivered Treatment for Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior · NA · not yet recruiting
- NCT05854212 — Behavioral Economics to Implement Nutrition Ranking in Food Pantries · NA · not yet recruiting
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Verify against primary sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
- WHO ICTRP — international registry index
- EU Clinical Trials Register
- Sponsor press releases (Google)
- Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02719392 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
- Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
- Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
- Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Massachusetts General Hospital
- Last refreshed: 14 May 2025
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT02719392.
Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing