Predictors of Response to Pramipexole in TRD (RePRAM)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical and Biological Predictors of Response to Pramipexole in Patients with Resistant Depression
IRAS ID
359859
Contact name
Beata Godlewska
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford/Research Governance, Ethics & Assurance Team
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
000000, 000000
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Clinical depression is a common disorder usually treated in primary care with psychological therapies and antidepressant medication. However, a significant proportion of people (about 2-3 in 10) do not improve with current first-line therapies and are regarded as having treatment resistant depression (TRD).
TRD is a major problem for both patients and society because of the high level of suffering and associated disability. Current medicines for TRD are not particularly effective for many people and often have adverse effects which patients find distressing.
There is some evidence that pramipexole, a medicine already commonly used in Parkinson's Disease, may be an effective treatment for TRD. This evidence includes a large multisite clinical trial, PAX-D, led by the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. Pramipexole is unlike current antidepressant drugs in that it acts on a brain chemical called dopamine, which is known to influence people’s motivation to pursue goals and affect how rewarding they find them. Lack of motivation is a key symptom of depression so any antidepressant effects of pramipexole may be linked to increased motivation.
However, not every person treated with pramipexole responds to treatment. This study will aim to identify individual characteristics that can predict who will go on to respond to treatment and who will not. They will include behavioural, clinical, biological, and novel digital features. Knowing such predictors will help identifying a group of patients who will likely respond to treatment with pramipexole, and those for whom starting pramipexole would likely only delay other treatments, which exposing them to the risk of side-effects.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0266
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion