Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

This study will determine the effectiveness of treatment with glycine or d-cycloserine in addition to a normal antipsychotic regimen in improving negative symptoms and cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia.

The study examines the effect of cognitive training on cognitive functioning and everyday competencies of patients with schizophrenia. 120 patients are expected to be included in this randomized controlled trial running at two sites in Denmark starting January 2007 The effect of a 16-week, manualized program of cognitive training integrated in a comprehensive psychosocial treatment (OPUS) for first-episode schizophrenia patients is compared with the effect of standard treatment (OPUS). A six month follow-up assessment is conducted to investigate a possible long-term learning effect of cognitive training. Blinded assessments include the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery and a co-primary outcome measure of cognitive improvement: A translated version of the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA) adjusted to a Danish context. The cognitive training consists of four modules focusing on the domain of attention, executive functioning, learning and memory. Module 1 and 2 are based on computer-assisted training tasks, and the following modules focus on more practical everyday tasks and calendar training. Cognitive training takes place twice a week and every other week the patient and trainer engage in a dialogue on the patient's cognitive difficulties, motivational goals and his/her progress in competence level. The use of errorless learning principles, scaffolding and attentional externalisation aims at improving the patients' performance on cognitive and everyday tasks by learning to apply compensation techniques as well as limiting dysfunctional uses of available cognitive ressources (i.e. excessive self-focus, rumination). The study will provide MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery results from a relatively large Danish sample of first-episode schizophrenia and contribute with valuable normative data on the UPSA. It is hypothesized that cognitive training integrated in OPUS treatment enhances both cognitive and everyday competence of patients more than OPUS treatment alone. Expectations are that cognitive training will demonstrate a small to moderate effect on cognitive functioning and a moderate effect on everyday functioning as measured with the UPSA. Moreover, patients allocated to cognitive training are expected to show an improvement in self-esteem.

The purpose of this study is to learn how to help veterans play a stronger role in shaping their mental health care. Specifically we want to see if we can help veterans improve their mental health treatment by helping them decide if they want to involve family in their mental health treatment, and if so, how. The study will compare a "family member provider" program to an "enhanced treatment as usual approach" in achieving these goals.

This study will evaluate the impact of motivational guidance to exercise on people with schizophrenia, based on their participation in a walking program.

Many individuals with schizophrenia also suffer from marijuana addiction. Clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic medication, may prove useful at preventing drug relapse in schizophrenic individuals who are seeking treatment for marijuana addiction. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of clozapine, vs. treatment-as-usual with other oral antipsychotics at reducing marijuana use in schizophrenic individuals.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the tolerability and safety of paliperidone ER (extended-release) in doses between 3 milligrams per day and 12 milligrams per day in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and liver disease.

Having a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and being treated with certain of the newer antipsychotics are risk factors for development of diabetes. Subjects with these risk factors plus obesity and/or family history of diabetes who agree to study participation will undergo an oral glucose tolerance test. If the oral glucose tolerance test demonstrates that the subject is pre-diabetic (elevated glucose levels, but below the diabetic range), he/she will have his/her insulin resistance level measured, prior to random assignment to either stay on current antipsychotic medication or switch to ziprasidone. Insulin resistance will be measured again after four months. The primary hypothesis is that insulin resistance will decrease in those switched to ziprasidone relative to those continuing on their same antipsychotic medication.

The primary purpose of the study is to assess whether a planning and problem-solving training is more effective in improving work therapy performance in patients with schizophrenia than traditional training programs addressing basic cognitive functions.

This study will determine whether increasing D-serine within the body will improve negative symptoms and cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia.

The purpose of the protocol is to evaluate the efficacy of olanzapine compared with Aripiprazole in patients with schizophrenia.