Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

This study will evaluate whether Tolcapone improves cognition in healthy volunteers as well as patients with schizophrenia. Talcapone is a drug that has been FDA approved for Attention Deficit Disorder and allegedly increase the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain. ...

The purpose of this study is to better understand the neural correlates of cognitive control (CC) deficits in schizophrenia and determine how these mechanisms can be modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). CC is a critical neurocognitive process that is required for flexible, directed thought and action based on goals and intentions. Identifying and developing paradigms to improve CC is therefore a mental health priority. Current theories of CC postulate that recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is essential for this process by maintaining high-level information that it can then use to orchestrate patterns of activation in other brain networks to support optimal performance. tDCS is a safe, noninvasive method of modulating regional brain excitability via brief (15-20 m) application of a weak (1-2 mA) current. The goal of the proposed experiments is to combine tDCS with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test the hypotheses that 1) acute tDCS over the DLPFC can improve performance during a CC task (the dot pattern expectancy (DPX) variant of the AX-Continuous Performance Task) in schizophrenia patients and healthy control subjects, and 2) acute tDCS over the DLPFC can increase recruitment of the DLPFC during the DPX. Effects of tDCS on brain functional connectivity (during CC as well as during the resting state) will also be examined, as well as effects on an episodic memory task. The current study will be the first to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the effects of tDCS on the neuronal mechanisms of CC in schizophrenia, and has potentially important implications for therapeutic development for this treatment refractory yet disabling aspect of the illness.

One 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.

The purpose of this grant is to evaluate the efficacy of sodium butyrate as a novel treatment for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). The proposal consists of a small preliminary open label study to assess tolerability and side effects of sodium butyrate in schizophrenic patients receiving antipsychotic treatment, followed by a larger double-blind study of the effects of sodium butyrate on cognitive function and symptoms in SZ patients who are not in an acute exacerbation of the primary symptoms and show continued cognitive deficits. Secondary aims will be to evaluate its effects on improving symptoms and functioning in SZ, and the relationship of the drug's clinical effects to epigenetic and inflammation related biochemical changes.

Early onset schizophrenia "early dissociative disorder" is a rare disorder with a low incidence of approximately (1/5000 to 1/20000). Its link with autism spectrum disorders remains unknown although both are serious neurodevelopmental diseases. As part of the 2011-2013 Interregional hospital Clinical Research program, University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Pediatric Hospitals of CHU de Nice Lenval identified patients with a complex phenotype characterized by an early schizophrenia associated with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities in mild to moderate. This phenotype could be a new syndrome. The goal of our project is to define the genetic causes of this phenotype. The technique of high throughput sequencing will be used to obtain the sequence of exomes of these patients and their families. This study will therefore be important to give an accurate diagnosis for patients and their families. Moreover, we believe that this project will identify new genes involved allowing a better understanding of the pathophysiology. Recent studies show the involvement of mutations in several genes (eg NRXN1 and UPF3B) in these different clinical phenotypes. However, the genetic basis of the childhood and early onset schizophrenia are much less well known than those of autism spectrum disorder

The purpose of this grant is to evaluate the efficacy of sodium butyrate as a novel treatment for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). The aims will be to evaluate its effects on improving symptoms and functioning in SZ, and the relationship of the drug's clinical effects to epigenetic and inflammation related biochemical changes.

This 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.

Schizophrenia is a severe, often chronic mental disorder, characterized by positive and negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. The serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia was proposed in the 1950s, but only recently, pimavanserin, the first antipsychotic medication with selective affinity for the serotonin 2A receptor was approved. The aim of this translational proposal is to test the clinical validity of the serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia and to guide development of operational, objective criteria for stratification of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients before antipsychotic treatment. Our previous data have strongly suggested, that a subgroup of antipsychotic-naïve patients will respond to serotonin 2A receptor (2AR) blockade. This treatment will cause minimal side-effects compared with conventional dopamine D2/3 receptor blockade. In this Danish, investigator-initiated trial, we will establish a cohort of 40 antipsychotic-free, first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients and enrol them in a 6-week open label, one-armed trial with selective serotonin 2AR blockade (pimavanserin). Before initiation of pimavanserin patients will undergo: positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the serotonin 2AR binding potential using the radioligand [¹¹C]Cimbi-36; magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of cerebral glutamate levels; structural Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI), including Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI); cognitive and psychopathological examinations; Electrocardiography (ECG), and blood sampling for genetic- and metabolic analyses. Matched healthy controls will undergo parallel examinations, but not medical treatment and PET . ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. provides the study medication (pimavanserin). ACADIA had no influence on study design and will not take part in data processing or publication of the results of the study.

Comorbid substance abuse leads to many deleterious effects such as medical comorbidities and nonadherence, which is one of the most problematic issues. People with schizophrenia and substance use disorders (SUDs) are at an increased risk nonadherence compared to those who do not use alcohol and illicit drugs. The investigators propose that this new marketed injectable antipsychotic with many benefits over other available long acting injectable agents would be beneficial in the dually diagnosed population and may represent a specific schizophrenia subpopulation where long acting agents may be considered an important therapeutic option.

Early intervention in psychosis might be associated with better outcomes. However, intervention in the pre-psychotic phase has been questioned as, using current criteria, only 20-50% of individuals classified as prodromal develop a psychotic disorder within a 1-2 years period. Treatment agents investigated in the pre-psychotic phase of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders should, therefore, not have major side effects. This proposal investigates omega-3 fatty acids (1.2 gramm per day eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid;EPA/DHA) as a beneficial and possible preventive therapeutic agent in young people at ultra high-risk for developing a psychotic disorder.