Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

The overall aim of this study was to develop a meta-cognitive group intervention in order to apply it and to understand and distinguish the components that influence participation among people with schizophrenia

Background: Presence of a series of typical physical symptoms is an enduring and functionally relevant feature of early-onset schizophrenia (EOS). Psychotherapy improves clinical symptoms in adults with schizophrenia, although data in adolescents with EOS remain scarce. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of the adapted group psychotherapy in improving clinical symptoms from a perspective of neuroimaging in a sample of symptomatically stable adolescents with EOS. Methods: Investigators conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial using multidomain, adaptive, group psychotherapy in 28 EOS patients, who were randomly allocated into either training (group psychotherapy) or active control (health education) groups. Data of diffusion tensor imaging, and clinical symptoms were obtained at baseline and after an average of 2 hours/day, 2 days/week for 4 weeks of intervention.

The goal of this pilot feasibility and proof of concept study is to evaluate whether Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) as adapted for group delivery in an early psychosis intervention (EPI) program has a clinically significant impact on the concerned significant other (CSO) and Identified patient (IP), and whether a larger, definitive trial is feasible. The intervention aims to improve treatment engagement and reduce distress, as reported by the CSO. To assess feasibility of the intervention for a definitive trial of CRAFT-EPI, the investigators will evaluate recruitment, retention, and assessment completion rates.

We investigated the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on the symptoms and cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia

The purpose of this study is to find out the time it takes to absorb, distribute, breakdown and remove the drug from the body in healthy participants and subjects with schizophrenia and whether it causes any side effects.

The purpose of this study is to attempt to treat cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, with the nutritional supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that affects approximately 65 million people worldwide, and causes significant disability and suffering. Patients with schizophrenia often hear voices and have persecutory delusions. Though these are the most recognizable features of the illness, the deficits most closely linked to disability are known as cognitive deficits and negative symptoms. Cognitive abilities refer to the ability to perform mental tasks that require focus and attention, and also include memory and verbal skills. Negative symptoms refer to a lack of interest in the world, and decreased social interactions. In our study, the investigators aim to improve these symptoms and deficits by targeting the glutamate system. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, and its regulation is abnormal in schizophrenia: glutamate levels are too low at some receptors, and too high at others. As well, free radicals surrounding glutamate receptors also interfere with their proper function. N-acetylcystine (NAC) is a safe and widely-available dietary supplement that may restore glutamate to its correct levels in the brain, and may also help protect the brain from antioxidant damage. In our study, patients with schizophrenia will be randomly assigned to receive either NAC or placebo for 8 weeks. Brain levels of glutamate and an important antioxidant, glutathione, will be measured before and after treatment, using a neuroimaging technique known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Cognitive and negative symptoms will also be assessed before, during and after treatment. The investigators hypothesize that glutamate and glutathione will be normalized in patients' brains, and that their negative and cognitive symptoms will be improved, too.

This study aims to evaluate a novel group psychological intervention targeting anxiety triggered by urban environments for people with paranoia.

The objectives of this 12-week study are to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of AVP-786 as an adjunctive treatment compared with placebo in patients with residual schizophrenia.

Many neurological diseases, including AIDS dementia, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, involve an inflammatory component thought to specifically involve glial cell activation. The Investigators has been concerned with the development of tools for noninvasive imaging of inflammatory processes in psychotic disease. Here, the investigators aim to use PET-based neuroimaging with carbon-11 N,N-diethyl-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5,7-dimethylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-acetamide, ([11C]DPA)-713 to quantify regional distribution of translocator protein (TSPO), a putative marker of inflammation, in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, type I. The investigators will focus on patients in the early stages of disease (within first five years of onset of schizophrenia diagnosis and within first five years of first manis, respectively) to minimize the confounds of age-, chronic illness-, and medication- effects on our results.

Development of interventions that can effectively target and remediate the cognitive and functional impairment associated with serious mental illness is a treatment priority. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, non-invasive neuromodulation technique that is capable of stimulating brain activity to facilitate learning. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the pairing of two therapeutic techniques, cognitive remediation and tDCS, as a cognitively enhancing intervention. This study is designed to test the hypotheses that cognitive remediation paired with tDCS will be more efficacious than cognitive remediation delivered with sham stimulation and that intervention-induced cognitive change will be sustainable. To examine the incremental benefit of pairing tDCS with cognitive remediation, clinically stable outpatients between the ages of 18-65 who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder will be enrolled in a double-blind, double-baseline, sham-controlled clinical trial. Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either tDCS or sham stimulation concurrent with working memory focused cognitive remediation. Training will be offered to participants in a small group format. Training will consist of 48 sessions, with 2-3 sessions scheduled in a week. Each training session will last 2 hours. One hour will be spent completing cognitive exercises that require working memory skills on a computer. TDCS or sham stimulation will be offered concurrent with the first 20 minutes of training with a StarStim neuromodulator. One mA of anodal stimulation will be applied to the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and the cathodal electrode will be placed in the contralateral supraorbital position. Upon completion of working memory training, participants will transition to a 45-minute bridging group focus on application of cognitive skills in everyday life. To assess intervention-induced change, working memory, other aspects of cognition, functional capacity, community functioning, and symptom severity will be assessed pre- and post-intervention. Sustainability of intervention-induced change will be assessed with an assessment session 6 weeks post-intervention. Mixed effect, repeated measure ANOVAS will be used to analyze intervention-induced change.