Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

Investigators plan to explore whether Omega-3 fatty acid have effect on the violent behavior of the schizophrenia patients. Investigators will use PET to explore the influence on serotonin function of the brain to understand the mechanism of how Omega-3 fatty acid works. This study will enroll 100 patients of schizophrenia with violent behavior.Participants will be split into two groups randomly. In one group, participants will receive one pill of placebo per day, and in the other, participants will have one pill of 900mg Omega-3 fatty acid per day. This intervention will last 3 months.At week 0, week 4, week 8 and week 12, some scales will be evaluated. Meanwhile, the density of eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA),docosahexaenoic acid (DHA),noradrenalin(NE), dopamine(DA) and serotonin(5-HT) in blood will be tested.At week 0 and week 12, 10 patients of each group will be randomly selected to have the exam of PET.

Physical health problems are common in schizophrenia with a two- to three-fold increased morbidity and mortality rate, resulting in a 20 years reduction in life expectancy. A genetic vulnerability for developing cardiovascular disease has been documented in these patients, and many lifestyle factors also negatively influence physical health. Patients with schizophrenia are likely to smoke, are physically inactive and overweight, suffer from malnutrition due to unhealthy diet, and have reduced cardiorespiratory fitness. Moreover, these patients have increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus type II and metabolic syndrome. These aspects demonstrate the need for multi-disciplinary treatments of patients with schizophrenia and underline the need for addressing their physical health. Poor physical fitness seems to be associated with exacerbated negative symptoms and increased cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. However, evidence on physical activity and its consequences in schizophrenia is scarce. In this randomized controlled trial we investigate the effects of high intensity training in outpatients with schizophrenia on psychotic symptoms and well-being, cognition and cortical structure, tobacco smoking and substance use, in addition to metabolic indices.

The purpose of the study is to test a new treatment of social cognition deficits in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder by transcranial magnetic stimulation (theta-burst). The study will also identify clinical variables, cognitive and psychomotor most sensitive to treatment, to estimate the most sensitive treatment target, assess tolerance, to assess the impact of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on the brain a multimodal imaging study and compare the imaging variables (resting network, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging; MRSI) between patients before treatment and healthy subjects.

Efficacy and safety of Tandospirone combined with Atypical Antipsychotic drugs to Improve Cognitive function in Schizophrenia

In the current study, the investigators propose to measure the five domains of social cognition identified by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as relevant to individuals with psychosis (i.e., theory of mind, attribution style, emotion recognition, social perception, and social knowledge). The investigators will also explore the association between different domains of social cognition and outcomes relevant to psychotic disorder (e.g., symptomatology, social functioning, and vocational functioning).

A recent double-blind placebo-controlled study has tested the effect of methotrexate as an add-on treatment for patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, administering 10 mg of methotrexate or placebo once a week for a period of three months to 72 patients (Chaudry, Husain et al. 2015). Results showed improvement both in positive symptoms, as measured by the Positive symptoms subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and in total PANSS scores. The objective of this study is to replicate Chaudry et al.'s study. This proposed study will randomize schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients to methotrexate or placebo for a period of four months. The study will enroll patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder confirmed by the Modified Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis (SCID). In order to be eligible to enter the study, the patient must have a score of 4 (moderately ill) or greater on the Clinical Global Impression - Severity (CGI-S) scale. In addition, inclusion criteria reflect patients with moderate or more severity on positive symptoms, hence having a score of 4 (moderate) or above on two of the following four PANSS items: delusions, hallucinatory behaviors, conceptual disorganization or suspiciousness/ persecution. Patients receiving more than one anti-psychotic or depot antipsychotic will be allowed to participate, and patients receiving anti-cholinergic agents, beta-blockers, anti-depressants, mood-stabilizers, sedatives, and anti-anxiety agents will be allowed in the study. Because the clinical status of patients sometimes improves in the days following admission to the hospital, newly hospitalized patients will have their baseline visit 3 days or more after being hospitalized.

To explore the effects of combined traditional Chinese and Western medicine( Chinese acupuncture combined with Amisulpride Tablets) on negative symptoms, cognitive function and social function in patients with schizophrenia, and the side effects and safety of Chinese acupuncture combined with Amisulpride Tablets.

D2 dopaminergic receptor blockers, used to treat schizophrenia, can lead to the onset of movement disorders. Drug-induced movement disorders encompass several syndromes. Parkinsonism, dystonia, dyskinesia and akathisia are the most prevalent. All of them lead to poor adherence to the treatment instituted, decrease in the quality of life, relapses and hospitalizations. The pathophysiology of drug-induced movement disorders is complex and poorly understood, but seems to be associated with oxidative stress, as a result of an increase in free radicals generated from dopamine metabolism. Treatment strategies following the onset of drug-induced movement disorders include neuroleptic discontinuation, use of atypical antipsychotics and anticholinergics. A pre-clinical study showed that the antioxidant properties of vitamins B6 and B12, alone or in combination, prevented the development of orofacial dyskinesia induced by haloperidol. This clinical trial aims to evaluate the effects of vitamins B6 and B12 on the treatment of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective or bipolar disorder who present with tardive dyskinesia, dystonia and parkinsonism.

This study compares the efficacy and effectiveness of two of the second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) most used in our society in the treatment of schizophrenia (Aripiprazole and Risperidone) and the investigators do within an assistance program of early-stage psychosis individuals of the Community of Cantabria, clinical reference for the treatment of this disease in the Spanish Autonomous Community. Patients are included in a prospective naturalistic study, open flexible-doses and randomized into one of two possible patterns of treatment that includes the protocol.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric condition that is associated with significant distress and disability. In addition to cognitive difficulties in domains such as attention, memory, and problem-solving, individuals with schizophrenia can experience visual-processing abnormalities, including impairments in visual acuity, low-contrast stimulus detection, and perceptual organization (i.e., perceiving visual information in an organized "perceptual whole"). These visual impairments are clinically significant, with research indicating that specific visual-processing alterations are significantly related to poorer performance on higher-level cognitive tasks, impaired facial emotion recognition, impaired reading ability, and worse functional outcomes. Despite such findings, very few studies have evaluated the therapeutic potential of interventions that are specifically designed to improve visual processing ("visual remediation") for individuals with schizophrenia. Thus the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a computerized visual perceptual training program that targets low- and mid-level visual processes to improve visual, cognitive, and emotion-recognition functions in outpatients with schizophrenia through a small randomized controlled trial. The investigators will recruit up to 40 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who are receiving treatment in Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) Partial Hospital Program; half will be randomized to receive the computerized visual training, which will be delivered in small groups over a period of 12-14 weeks. The specific aims of this study are to collect preliminary data on: 1) the feasibility of participant recruitment and retention, and tolerability of the treatment components of the study; and 2) the efficacy of computerized visual training (VT) to improve low- and mid-level visual processes, and higher-level cognitive and social-cognitive performance. Based on preliminary data, the investigators hypothesize that the target number of participants will be successfully recruited and engaged in the VT intervention (n=16) and control condition (n=16), and that the participants who receive VT will demonstrate greater improvements on measures of low- and mid-level visual, higher-level cognitive, and social-cognitive functions compared to those who receive standard partial-hospital care without VT. The results of this initial trial will be used to inform the design and application for funding of a larger-scale investigation of visual remediation for individuals with schizophrenia.