Active clinical trials for "Bipolar Disorder"

The study proposes to conduct a pilot study of biological predictors of lurasidone response in bipolar depression.

Despite an increasing pharmacopoeia of effective medications for the treatment of bipolar disorder, patient outcomes continue to be impacted by treatment adherence. Non-adherence to treatments is also a major obstacle in translating efficacy in research settings into effectiveness in clinical practice. Non-adherence with bipolar disorder (BD) medication treatment dramatically worsens outcomes. Reasons for non-adherence among individuals with BD are multi-dimensional, and it has been suggested that a multifaceted intervention will be more effective. The study is aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention on enhancing medications adherence in patients with bipolar disorders.

Dextromethorphan has been reported affording neuroprotection on dopaminergic neurons and having protective effect against inflammation-related neuron damage. These anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of dextromethorphan would suggest potential clinical benefits of dextromethorphan add-on therapy to valproate for bipolar disorder patients. This hypothesis was based on the findings that the mood stabilizers have been reported to be neuroprotective through the release of neurotrophic factors such as GDNF from astroglia. Thus, the combination treatment of mood stabilizers and dextromethorphan might improve the therapeutic efficacy for bipolar disorder patients.

The treatment of bipolar disorders is always a challenge in daily practice. Mood stabilizers are partially effective in the treatment of depressive phase of the illness, although there are some reports relating to the antidepressant properties of these drugs. Other conventional methods (pharmacological) and non- conventional treatment are not effective or involve risks and side effects. Several studies with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) showed that magnetic stimulation daily over the left prefrontal cortex may improve the mood of patients. TMS is a noninvasive method of stimulating the brain. The instrument used nowadays in local research and application Clinical is a metallic coil formed in figure 8 (coil format 8). This instrument was capable of stimulating only surface areas of the brain, primarily the cerebral cortex, at depths of up to 3 inches below the scalp. From this angle, there is clearly a need for a means of producing magnetic fields which can reach deeper brain areas, such as those involved in mood disorders. TMS has little, if any effect in these brain areas. To this end, new coils, calls "H", that promote the stimulation of deep brain areas were developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA. This new coil - H1 that will be evaluated in this study has been tested for safety in NIH in 2003 by Dr. Abraham Zangen. Yet there are very few prospective clinical, randomized and controlled trials, on the effects of early and late in clinical-cognitive condition and safety of TMS with H1 coils in treating episodes of bipolar depression. The application of EMT with H1 coils can reach deepest regions of the brain and improve the clinical and cognitive condition of subjects with episodes of bipolar depression, and may be confirmed as a safe and virtually free of side effects. By an absence of treatment actually effective for bipolar depression, this study will show whether there are clinical and cognitive benefits of deep TMS with H1 coil in patients with bipolar depression.

The investigators' hypothesis is that add-on varenicline will be effective (versus placebo) in initiating abstinence from smoking in subjects with stable, euthymic bipolar disorder who are motivated to quit smoking within four weeks. This primary outcome will be assessed from randomization to 12 weeks or end of the treatment phase of the study. Secondarily, the investigators also hypothesize that varenicline will prevent relapse in the subsequent 12-weeks follow-up non-treatment phase. Furthermore, the investigators plan to test the effectiveness of varenicline in reducing nicotine withdrawal symptoms or urges to smoke, as well as its safety for use in stable bipolar patients when used as an add-on treatment for smoking cessation. The investigators plan to test these hypotheses by conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled add-on treatment trial of Chantix with 60 recruited subjects diagnosed with DSM-IV bipolar disorder for a period of three months. The investigators will follow-up with them three months later to evaluate extended abstinence.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of risperidone compared with other atypical antipsychotic drugs on the physical maturity, growth and development of children, and the risk of prolactin-related adverse events (side effects) associated to these drugs.

Depression and bipolar disorder (mania and depression) may be related to problems with nerve cells not being regenerated as fast as normal and are accompanied by cognitive difficulties including memory, attention and planning problems. There is thus a need for better, more efficient treatments with effects on cognitive function. Erythropoietin (Epo) is involved in brain repair and may be a candidate for future treatment strategies. The investigators have demonstrated that a single dose of Epo improves mood and reduces the processing of negative emotional information in healthy volunteers similar to effects seen with antidepressants. With the current study the investigators aim to build upon this discovery by investigating whether repeated Epo administration has antidepressant effects and is able to reverse cognitive difficulties in patients with depression or bipolar disorder. It is hypothesized that Epo will improve mood in treatment-resistant depression and improve cognitive function in this group and in patients with bipolar disorder in remission. If the study reveals beneficial effects of Epo, this would highlight Epo as a candidate compound for future treatment of depression and bipolar disorder, with the potential to directly promote brain repair mechanisms.

This clinical study is designed to test the hypothesis that lurasidone is effective, tolerable, and safe for the treatment of patients with bipolar I depression

This clinical study is designed to test the hypothesis that lurasidone is effective, tolerable, and safe for the treatment of patients with bipolar I depression

Among antidepressant treatments, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) stands as the most effective in treating acute depression. However, patient concerns with the cognitive side effects of ECT have encouraged the development of new and more focal forms of brain stimulation such as transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). The investigators' current study of tDCS as a treatment for depression suggests that this technique has antidepressant effects and is safe, painless and well tolerated. However, not all patients may respond to this treatment and the concern of possible relapse in some patients who respond to tDCS has raised interest in finding treatments that may enhance and prolong the antidepressant effects of tDCS. This study will investigate whether D-Cycloserine, a medication shown to lengthen the effects of tDCS on brain activity, can also enhance/prolong the antidepressant effects of tDCS in people suffering from depression.