Active clinical trials for "Psychotic Disorders"

The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the treatment of auditory hallucinations in patients currently on risperidone treatment who are experiencing recent onset psychosis.

Overweight and obesity have become a serious global public health problem and the prevalence of these conditions is even higher among persons with mental disorders, compared with the general population. Overweight and obesity are partially associated with sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits. The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a health promotion intervention targeting physical activity and eating habits in persons with mental disorders. The study hypothesis is that between baseline and the end of the intervention, and after a 6-month follow up period, significant differences in the primary and secondary outcomes between the intervention and control group will be identified. The investigators also hypothesize that the health promotion intervention will be cost-effective.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether individuals with psychotic spectrum disorders ( Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder,Schizophreniform Disorder, Bipolar Disorder (Type I),Bipolar Disorder (Type II),Major Depressive Disorder With Psychotic Features,Substance-Induced Psychoses,Psychosis Not-Otherwise-Specified (NOS)randomly assigned to a stepped behavioral intervention for the prevention of weight gain will experience less weight gain than individuals who receive usual care. There are several studies that have examined the effect of pharmacological and non-pharmacological behavioural approaches for weight loss in patients with psychosis, however studies examining strategies for prevention of obesity are lacking. This study is an important and novel approach to studying the problem of obesity in those with psychosis.

This is an open label 8-week trial of modafinil up to 400 mg daily added to a stable antipsychotic regimen to evaluate the effect modafinil on cognition, sedation, and weight in patients with chronic schizophrenia. We hypothesize that modafinil, a wake-promoting agent, will lead to improved cognition, increased wakefulness, and decreased weight in patients with schizophrenia who are on stable antipsychotic regimens

EDIPP is a multisite trial of early identification and intervention to prevent the onset of psychosis in adolescents and young adults, carried out at six sites across the United States. The hypothesis is that very early identification and intervention will be effective in delaying or preventing onset of psychosis and improving social and occupational functioning.

Individuals with schizophrenia frequently have impairments in attention. These impairments have been shown to be related to overall functioning. Some research suggests that Olanzapine may be associated with improvement in various aspects of attention. The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether switching from a typical antipsychotic to Olanzapine improves task engagement. Individuals who taking typical antipsychotics will be randomly assigned to either 1) remain on their typical antipsychotic medications, or 2) be switched from their typical antipsychotic medications to Olanzapine. All participants will be enrolled in a twice-weekly 20 session cognitive training program that is specifically designed to target attention deficits and promote active engagement. Improvements in attention will be compared between individuals who remained on their typical antipsychotic medications and those that were switched to Olanzapine.

Surveys suggest that up to 80% of veterans with a persistent mental illness have a co-occurring substance use disorder. Substance abuse among this population is problematic and often results in poor engagement in treatment and thus, frequent hospitalizations and an unstable illness course. Regarding treatment engagement, data from a VA New Jersey facility indicated that 50% of those veterans discharged from the acute psychiatric hospital unit to outpatient care did not attend their initial screening appointment and another 30% dropped out within six weeks. To assist with the transition from inpatient to outpatient care, we previously developed an eight-week augmentation intervention entitled, Time-Limited Case Management (TLC). TLC integrates evidence-based interventions of 1) Dual Recovery Therapy; 2) Critical Time Intervention Case Management along with 3) Peer Support with the goal of assisting individuals with the transition from inpatient to outpatient care.

The investigators want to relate disturbances in first-episode schizophrenic patients in (dopaminergic) D2 receptors, brain structure, brain function, and information processing to each other and to psychopathology. Additionally, the investigators want to examine the influence of D2 receptor blockade on these disturbances. The investigators expect disturbances in the dopaminergic system at baseline to correlate with specific structural and functional changes and with disruption in information processing as measured with psychophysiological and neurocognitive methods - and investigators expect D2 receptor blockade to reverse some of the functional and cognitive impairments. The investigators do not expect any effect of treatment on brain structure.

Given today's high prevalence of common mental disorders and related sick leave among teachers an urgent need exists for a more sustainable working life for this professional group. One way of doing this is by improving schools' social and organizational risk management. Recent reports have shown that many schools in Sweden however lack a structured approach to the management of social and organizational risks. In 2015, we launched the first Swedish occupational health guideline to support a structured prevention of social and organizational risks at the workplace with the aim of preventing common mental disorders. The long-term goal of this study is to support the implementation of this guideline within schools in order to improve social and organizational risk management and in doing so reduce risk factors for mental ill-health and related sick days. The objective of the study is to fill the current research-to-practice gap by conducting a cluster-randomized controlled trial that compares the effectiveness of two implementation strategies for implementing the guideline in schools. The strategies that will be compared are training (ARM 1) versus training in combination with implementation teams and workshops (ARM 2). Our hypothesis for the study is that schools that receive support in implementing the guideline through combined strategies are more responsive to working in a structured and systematic manner with the management of social and organizational risks than schools that only receive training. The trial will be conducted in 20 primary schools in two municipalities in Sweden. All schools have agreed to participate. The primary outcomes are adherence to the guideline (implementation effectiveness) and self-reported exhaustion among schools personnel (intervention effectiveness); the secondary outcomes are risk factors for mental ill-health and absenteeism. Data will be collected at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months by mixed methods (i.e. survey, focus-group interviews, observation, and register-data).

Cognitive deficits are some of the most prominent and disabling symptoms of schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that schizophrenia involves alterations to the functioning of a neural system under the control of a brain chemical called GABA. The present project will compare the effects of low-dose clonazepam (at a sub-sedating dose) to placebo, for effects on GABA- modulated brain activity measured by EEG, and associated cognitive processes in people who have schizophrenia.