Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

This is a 15 week trial to determine (1) the safety and tolerability of varenicline when used for smoking cessation/reduction in individuals with schizophrenia; (2) if treatment with varenicline affects the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Background: In this proposed study, we aim to investigate safety and efficacy of two synthetic retinoids - bexarotene (Targretin; LGD1069; 4-[1-{5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3,5,5,8,8-pentamethyl-2-naphthalenyl} ethenyl] benzoic acid) and fenretinide (Dihydroceramide N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl retinamide) on severity of psychopathology and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients in an double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The rationale behind add-on these medications to ongoing antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia patients is based on both the retinoid dysregulation hypothesis: the growth factors deficiency and synaptic destabilization hypothesis of schizophrenia. Furthermore, in our preliminary open clinical trial, we found that a low dose of bexarotene (Targretin, 75 mg/day) was safe and led to significant improvement on total PANSS scores, general psychopathology, on the positive and the dysphoric mood factor scores. The aim of the present study was to provide further insight into the safety and efficacy of bexarotene in comparison to fenretinide (a medication with smaller potential of adverse effects) and placebo in patients suffered from schizophrenia.

This study set out to determine the duration of maintenance treatment with therapeutic risperidone dose in schizophrenia. In a multi-center, open label, randomized, controlled study design, patients with schizophrenia who were clinically stabilized following an acute episode were randomly assigned to a 'maintenance group' (optimal therapeutic doses continued for at least 1 year), a 4-week group (optimal therapeutic doses continued for 4 weeks followed by a 50% dose reduction that was maintained for at least 11 months) or a 26-week group (optimal therapeutic doses continued for 26 weeks followed by a 50% dose reduction for at least another 6 months).

Creatine plays a pivotal role in brain energy homeostasis. Creatine supplementation is widely used in enhancing sports performance, and has been tried in the treatment of neurological, neuromuscular and atherosclerotic disease with a paucity of side effects. Dechent et al (1999) studied the effect of oral creatine supplementation for 4 wk demonstrating a statistically significant increase of mean concentration of total creatine across brain regions. These findings suggest the possibility of using oral creatine supplementation to modify brain high-energy phosphate metabolism in subjects with various brain disorders, including schizophrenia and major depression. Recently, Rae et al (2003) reported that creatine supplementation for 6 weeks had a significant positive effect on both working memory and Raven matrices. Several independent lines of evidence suggest the possible involvement of altered cerebral energy metabolism in schizophrenia. We are performing a double blind cross-over study of creatine in schizophrenia. Forty patients will be treated with creatine for 3 months in a double-blind crossover design. Rating scales will include scales for assessing negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia, clinical global impressions scale, scales for side-effects and a cognitive battery Creatine effects on brain energy metabolism and its possible cognitive enhancing properties raise the possibility of developing a new therapeutic strategy in schizophrenia focusing on treating metabolic hypoactive brain areas including frontal regions.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of D-cycloserine and glycine for treating negative symptoms (such as loss of interest, loss of energy, loss of warmth, and loss of humor) which occur between phases of positive symptoms (marked by hallucinations, delusions, and thought confusions) in schizophrenics. Clozapine is currently the most effective treatment for negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Two other drugs, D-cycloserine and glycine, are being investigated as new treatments. D-cycloserine improves negative symptoms when added to some drugs, but may worsen these symptoms when given with clozapine. Glycine also improves negative symptoms and may still be able to improve these symptoms when given with clozapine. This study gives either D-cycloserine or glycine (or an inactive placebo) with clozapine to determine which is the best combination. Patients will be assigned to 1 of 3 groups. Group 1 will receive D-cycloserine plus clozapine. Group 2 will receive glycine plus clozapine. Group 3 will receive an inactive placebo plus clozapine. Patients will receive these medications for 8 weeks. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia will be monitored through the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Positive symptoms will be monitored through the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and additionally subjects will complete the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Global Assessment Scale. An individual may be eligible for this study if he/she is 18 to 65 years old and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Cognitive behavioural family intervention (CBFI) is a brief psychosocial intervention that incorporates the model of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) into the family context. It builds upon the current trend of family interventions/psychoeducation with refocusing on the cognitive model within the family interpersonal relationship. Existing literature indicates that CBFI may be effective in improving positive and negative symptoms of people diagnosed with schizophrenia immediately following the programme. This mixed-method is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a CBFI programme for people with schizophrenia and their families in a local context. The findings may accumulate more evidence that CBFI is a brief and effective psychosocial intervention that is adapted to Hong Kong clinical settings.

A large proportion of people with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, especially in the early stages of the disease, regularly consume cannabis. Cannabis use is associated with poor prognostic outcome; however, there are no effective interventions targeted at reducing cannabis use or its deleterious effects in this population. The present trial is designed to test whether cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid whose effects are in many ways antagonistic to those of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can reduce psychiatric symptoms, cognitive deficits, and cannabis use in people with recent-onset psychosis who regularly consume cannabis.

This study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Virtual Reality Mindfulness in Patients With Psychosis.

To demonstrate that the effectiveness of brexpiprazole (2-4 mg/day) on quality of life is non-inferior to that of risperidone (4-6 mg/day) in adult patients with schizophrenia.

This study seeks to examine the effectiveness of NRX-1074 in the treatment of negative symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia compared to other agents at the glycine site which have demonstrated inconsistent results for negative symptoms. In addition to testing efficacy, we will examine the time course of response of symptoms as well as any effects on memory consolidation.