Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

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.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effect of emotional prosody on the perception of emotional discourse in the schizophrenic spectrum. The investigators hypothesize that participant may use emotional prosody as an emotional cue to understand the emotional content of discourse.

Importance: The problems of side effects of metabolic disturbances in schizophrenic patients have been of worldwide concern for some time. Patients with dyslipidemia have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. A Chinese herb, Hawthorn, is widely used for the treatment of dyslipidemia. Objective: Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of Hawthorn on lipid profile levels in schizophrenic patients treated with antipsychotics. Design, Setting, and Participants: A longitudinal case-control study was used in a general hospital in Taiwan. A total of 59 schizophrenics treated with antipsychotics, and 76 healthy adult subjects, who were all hospital workers, were enrolled in this study. Main outcomes and measures: All participants received Hawthorn at a dose of 3 gm/day for six months.

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 objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cariprazine relative to placebo in the prevention of relapse of symptoms in participants with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder with onset of psychosis occurring in late teen early twenties, with cognitive impairments and negative symptoms frequently emerging much earlier. Such cognitive impairments and negative symptoms but much milder are also observed in high-risk groups (such as relatives of schizophrenia patients), who may or may not develop the full blown psychotic disorder. Our study plans to recruit such non-ill subjects to test the effects of galantamine on clinical/physiological/cognitive measures. This study serves several goals: If a drug is found effective in treating subtle deficits, then it will provide treatment strategy in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum personality disorders and for early intervention in schizophrenia. In addition, one of the difficulties of testing a drug on schizophrenia is that patients take other medications (i.e., antipsychotic drugs) that can change the effects of the test drug. The proposed study will be in subjects who will not be taking antipsychotic medications. Our study will be carried out in two sessions, at least one month apart. Subjects will be randomly assigned to the two possible order of administration: the drug and then placebo, or the placebo and then drug. Subjects will be given a lead-in 3 days of 4mg/ twice a day of galantamine (or placebo) followed by 8 mg (or placebo) on the 4th day, the day of testing. We will administer a battery of clinical/cognitive/neurophysiological tests after the 8 mg drug dose.

To assess the safety and efficacy of SPD489 low-dose and high-dose treatment groups to placebo when given as adjunctive therapy to antipsychotic medication in clinically stable adults with persistent predominant negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of intensive computerized cognitive training in preventing the onset of psychotic disorder and improving adaptive functioning in adolescents at high risk of schizophrenia.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether genotyping for CYP2D6 and 2C19 polymorphisms or intense clinical monitoring of treatment and adverse effects improves the antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia. This study is designed as a three-armed prospective randomized controlled clinical trial and includes 300 patients with schizophrenia. Patients are followed for a period of one year. During the study period the following effect measures are registered: Time to discontinuation of all antipsychotic medications Number of changes in medication dose Number of changes in medication Compliance (patients´ adherence to medical treatment) Clinical symptoms Adverse effects

Aggressive, persistent aggression and impulsive behavior are frequently observed in schizophrenic patients. According to some researchers "more than 50% of all psychiatric patients and 10% of schizophrenic patients show aggressive symptoms varying from threatening behavior and agitation to assault"(1). It is a common cause of psychiatric admission and is a therapeutic issue. The treatment of these symptoms is a clinical problem for both patients and staff. Violent behavior, a major detrimental factor in stigmatization of the mentally ill, also poses physical danger for the patients themselves. Current pharmacotherapy of pathologic aggression involves the use of multiple agents (typical and atypical antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, beta-blockers, antiandrogenic hormones, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) on empiric basis, with varying degrees of response (2-6). Unfortunately, these approaches lead to numerous side effects. Poor or noncompliance with pharmacotherapy makes it difficult to choose the appropriate preparation. Currently, typical neuroleptics are still the first choice in treating acute aggressive symptoms, while risperidone and olanzapine could be alternatives (5-7). Typical depot neuroleptics should be considered in cases where medication compliance is a problem. Most clinical information on treating of aggression has been collected about atypical neuroleptics, particularly regarding clozapine. Clozapine is indicated in psychotic state and/or in drug-resistant schizophrenic patients. According to the FDA - it is the drug of choice in suicidal and aggressive patients, due-to psychotic state. It was found helpful in nearly 30% of resistant schizophrenic patients. Concerning the parenteral administration of clozapine - very little data is available today. This study aims to investigate efficacy and safety (psychopathology, and side effects) of parenteral clozapine in treatment of aggressive behavior in schizophrenic patients in a double-blind trial.