Brief Group Psychotherapy for Anxiety and Depression
Affective DisorderThe present work aims to develop a randomized clinical trial with a sample of 100 patients diagnosed with anxiety and depression in primary care. All participants are tested by several self-reports related to emotional disorders in a repeated measures design, pre and post treatment. It is our aim this study will demonstrate that brief psychological treatments should be prioritized over pharmacological treatment in Primary Care. In addition, emotional regulation will be assessed and examined as a key factor in the clinical improvement.
Reducing the Burden of Chronic Psychotic Disorders in Tanzania (CAPACITY)
SchizophreniaMedication Nonadherence1 moreThe proposed, three phase project will refine and test a first-ever care approach in SSA that combines LAI with a behavioral program specifically intended to promote medication adherence in chronic psychotic disorders (CPDs). In addition to the novel focus, innovative elements include: 1.) a manualized curriculum that targets specific barriers and facilitators to medication adherence in Tanzanians with CPD, 2.) targeting known, high-risk individuals with CPD (those who miss ≥20% of prescribed antipsychotic medication, and 3.) using existing injection clinic health workers to deliver the adherence promotion program. Strengths include the highly generalizable methods and use of LAIs that are available in low-resource settings.
Better Sleep in Psychiatric Care - Depression, Anxiety and Trauma, Pilot Study
Anxiety DisordersAffective Disorders2 moreBetween 50-80 percent of patients in psychiatry have insomnia-type sleep problems. In addition to reduced quality of life and impaired function, sleep problems can aggravate other psychiatric problems and increase the risk of relapse into, for example, depression. According to international guidelines, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) should be used as the first choice for treatment of insomnia. In practice, however, it is very uncommon for psychiatric patients to be offered CBT-i, instead most are treated with sleep medications. There is also a lack of research studies evaluating CBT-i in regular clinical practice. This pilot study investigated the feasibility of a group treatment with CBT-i at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Stockholm for patients with depression, bipolar disorder II, anxiety syndrome and PTSD. Changes in symptoms of insomnia, depression, and anxiety after treatment were also investigated. Patients with self-perceived sleep problems were offered a six-session group treatment based on CBT-i. The primary outcome was clinical feasibility, defined as: the influx of patients sufficient to start at least one group per semester (at least 8 patients); at least half of included patients participate in the first session; patients participate in at least half of the sessions; less than half of the patients drop out of treatment; group leaders find the treatment manual credible, easy to use and want to continue working with it after the study is completed. Secondary outcomes were changes in insomnia symptoms, and changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Models of Auditory Hallucination
SchizophreniaSchizo Affective Disorder1 moreThe purpose of this study is to address the shortcoming in clinical hallucination research by causally manipulating the neural loci of conditioned hallucination task behavior in-person in patients with psychosis using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), tracking the impact of this manipulation on the number of times participants with hallucinations report hearing tones that were not presented. With such a causal intervention, the veracity of this explanation of hallucinations will be either validated or disconfirmed. If validated, the task can be further developed as a biomarker for predicting the hallucination onset, guiding, developing or tracking the effects of treatments for hallucinations.
Influenza Challenge in Mood Disorders
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERThe aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of the influenza vaccine in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) as well as to elucidate the nature of the immunological abnormalities in MDD using a quasi-experimental design. Specifically, the investigators plan to induce transient, mild inflammation in medically-healthy study participants using the influenza vaccine. Initially the investigators will conduct a pilot project with up to 20 individuals in order to evaluate the time-point at which the peak inflammatory response to the vaccine occurs. Subjects will receive the seasonal influenza vaccine and provide blood samples 4 hours, 2 days, and 30 days post vaccination. Subsequent to the pilot study, both depressed and psychiatrically-healthy participants will be randomized in a parallel group, double-blind design so that they receive either influenza vaccine (seasonal vaccine) or saline (i.m). At baseline, subjects will provide a blood sample, complete a number of rating scales to measure mood and fatigue, and may complete approximately one hour of MRI scanning with or without simultaneous EEG recording. Two-days post vaccination, they will provide a second blood sample, complete more clinical ratings and may complete another identical MRI session with or without simultaneous EEG. Four weeks later, participants will be asked to return to provide a third blood sample and complete additional clinical ratings. The blood samples will be used to measure both innate and adaptive immune function and may be used to correlate the vaccine-induced immunological changes to neurophysiological changes in the brain measured by MRI and/or EEG.
Telmisartan Pilot Study on Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia
SchizophreniaSchizo Affective Disorder1 moreThis study is a 4-week pilot study for subjects with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder who have not experienced a significant relief of symptoms from current anti-psychotic medication. The Investigators hypothesize that 4 weeks of telmisartan at 80mg daily will alter blood biomarkers for inflammation and oxidative stress after 4 weeks treatment.
Improving Mental Health Outcomes: Building an Adaptive Implementation Strategy
Bipolar DisorderDepression1 moreThe overarching goal of this study is to build the most cost-effective adaptive implementation intervention involving a site-level implementation intervention strategy: Replicating Effective Programs (REP), and the augmentation of REP using either External Facilitation or a combination of an External and Internal Facilitation to improve patient outcomes and the uptake of an evidence-based program for mood disorders (Life Goals-LG) in community settings.
Effect of Systemic Inflammation on Emotion and Cognition in Patients With Mood Disorder - A Vaccine...
Major Depressive DisorderThe purpose of this pilot study is to investigate and compare the effect of a mild inflammatory stimulus (typhoid vaccine) on immune response, mood and cognition in healthy volunteers compared to patients with history Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (not currently depressed and no symptoms of depression in the past 6 months).
Effects of Metformin and Fish Oil on Treatment With Clozapine
SchizophreniaSchizo-affective DisorderOne purpose of this study is to test whether adding metformin will limit some of the unwanted effects of clozapine, compared to not adding metformin. Metformin is a medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Studies have found that people with type-2 diabetes often lose some weight when they take metformin, however the FDA has not approved metformin for weight loss, so for this study the use of metformin is investigational. This study will test whether metformin can help people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders lose weight. Another purpose of this study is to test whether adding fish oil will improve the benefit of clozapine and/or limit some of the unwanted effects of clozapine, compared to not adding fish oil. Fish oil is a medication used to reduce levels of some fats (triglycerides) in blood. Some studies have found that adding fish oil reduces psychosis (voices, suspiciousness). However the FDA has not approved fish oil for reducing psychosis, so for this study the use of fish oil is investigational. This study will test whether fish oil can help people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders have less psychosis. Fish oil is not an antipsychotic medication.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) Self-Referential Processing (rTMS-SRP)
SchizophreniaSchizo Affective DisorderThis will be a single site pilot study. 16 subjects with early phase psychosis (EPP), defined as medical record documentation of the onset of clinically significant psychotic symptoms within the past ten years, will be randomized 1:1 to double-blind treatment with 5 sessions of rTMS or sham stimulation directed at the bilateral precuneus over the course of 1 week. Subjects will undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedures, behavioral and cognitive assessments, and self-referential memory paradigm (SRMP) at baseline and immediately following the final rTMS or sham session. Contact with subjects will be conducted at two weeks after the end of study intervention for adverse event assessments. In the event new adverse events felt to be related to the study intervention have occurred following the termination of study procedures, subjects will be brought in for further safety assessments.