Active clinical trials for "Suicide"

The main complications of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) include graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and poor immune reconstitution leading to severe infections and leukemia relapse. Mature donor T-cells present in the transplant facilitate T-cell reconstitution but also induce GVHD, which itself impairs immune reconstitution. We have developed a strategy of alloreactive T-cell depletion, using T-cells expressing the Herpes simplex thymidine kinase (TK) suicide gene combined with a ganciclovir (GCV) treatment. This system permits the selective elimination of dividing TK+ T-cells in vivo. To test this hypothesis in preclinical settings, we have previously developed several experimental models of GVHD using TK+ T-cells in mice. The demonstration that a preventive treatment with GCV administered close to the time of HSCT could control GVHD brought the proof of concept. We now propose a clinical trial to test whether donor lymphocytes infusion (DLI) using TK-transduced cells permits to induce a graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect for treatment of relapse after HSCT, while GVHD can be controlled by GCV treatment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the proposed suicide preventive effects of lithium in a randomized controlled trial within a group of individuals with depressive disorders. The hypothesis being tested is that lithium treatment will significantly reduce the risk for another suicide attempt.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of three types of treatments for depressed teenagers who have attempted suicide.

Suicide-related experiences affect millions of people every year in the United States. Through decades of research, interventions targeting these experiences have developed with varied empirical support. Many of these treatments require regular attendance to in-person sessions with a trained behavioral health professional. Limitations of in-person services have led to the development of digital-based interventions, such as Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning (TEC). TEC is based in evaluative conditioning principles and is a brief (1-2 minutes) digital intervention designed to increase aversion to self-injurious behaviors while decreasing aversion to the self through a match game-like task. Initial assessment of the intervention demonstrated promising results although treatment effects did not remain over time. Separately, sanctification, or the process through which aspects of life are perceived as having divine character and significance, can come from a theistic or nontheistic background and does not require a belief in a God or higher power to be experienced. When something is discovered as sacred, that sacredness becomes a priority for the individual, initiating motivation to conserve what is viewed as sacred. The primary aim of the current study is to develop and test the effectiveness of an adapted version of TEC designed to increase affinity for sacredness of life and increase the connection to life as mechanisms for decreasing suicide-related experiences. Results will provide insight into the perception of sacredness of life as a potential treatment target and are foundational work in a novel approach to address the public health priority of prevention and treatment of suicide-related experiences.

Every year in the United States about 1 million people make a suicide attempt and more than 38,000 die by suicide. The risk of suicide is highest among individuals with mental illness who have been hospitalized due to suicidal thoughts or behaviors, yet there are few interventions known to reduce suicide risk in this population. This study will develop and pilot test a peer mentorship intervention by which trained peer professionals will use their own personal experience with recovery from mental illness to instill hope and belongingness in high-risk patients and provide additional support to prevent future suicidal thoughts or behaviors. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) develop a peer mentorship intervention to reduce suicide risk among patients psychiatrically hospitalized with suicidal ideation or following a suicide attempt; (2) Conduct a randomized controlled pilot study to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and fidelity of the peer mentorship intervention in preparation for a larger efficacy trial; and (3) an exploratory aim will be to measure potential mediators and moderators of intervention effectiveness in terms of belongingness, burdensomeness, and hopelessness according to the interpersonal theory of suicide.

Objective Attempted suicide is the main risk factor for repeated suicidal behavior. However, evidence of the effectiveness of follow-up treatments for these patients is limited. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of the Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program (ASSIP), a novel brief therapy based on a patient-oriented model of suicidal behavior. The ASSIP consists of three sessions followed by regular letters for 24 months. Method In this treatment study, 120 patients were randomly assigned to either the ASSIP intervention or a control group that received a one-session clinical assessment. Both groups received in- and outpatient treatment as usual. Study participants also completed a set of psychosocial and clinical questionnaires every 6 months during a 24-month follow-up period.

This study is a randomized controlled trial (n = 301) of a new single-session intervention, called Crisis Line Facilitation (CLF), compared to an enhanced usual care condition on utilization of the Veterans Crisis Line and other mental health services as well as suicide attempt(s). All participants were recruited during an inpatient psychiatric stay for the treatment of a recent suicidal crisis and will be re-assessed at 3-, 6- and 12-months post baseline. If successful, the proposed study will provide key data on the potential efficacy of a brief tool to improve the utilization of an existing resource, the Veterans Crisis Line, to reduce suicidal behaviors in VHA patients.

Observational evidence and findings from clinical trials conducted for other reasons suggest that lithium, a drug used for the treatment of bipolar disorder, and, to a lesser extent, depression, may reduce rates of suicides and suicide attempts. However, this hypothesis has not yet been adequately examined in a randomized clinical trial conducted specifically to test lithium's efficacy in preventing suicides. This clinical trial fills this gap. This study is feasible within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) because it is a large, integrated health system with existing programs for identifying patients at risk for suicide and delivering enhanced services. In VA, approximately 12,000 patients with depression or bipolar disorder survive a suicide attempt or related behavior each year, and 15% of them repeat within one year. Experimental treatment in this study will supplement usual care for major depression or bipolar disorder, as well as VA's standard, enhanced management for patients at high risk. The investigators will recruit 1862 study participants, from approximately 30 VA Hospitals. Participants will be patients with bipolar disorder or depression who have survived a recent episode of suicidal self-directed violence or were hospitalized specifically to prevent suicide. Randomly, half will receive lithium, and half will receive placebo. Neither the patients nor their doctors will know whether a particular person has received lithium or placebo. The treatment will be administered and the patients will be followed for one year, after which patients will go back to usual care. Recruitment will occur over 3 years. The investigators are primarily interested in whether lithium leads to increases in the time to the first repeated episode of suicidal behavior, including suicide attempts, interrupted attempts, hospitalizations specifically to prevent suicide, and deaths from suicide. In addition, this study will allow us to explore whether lithium decreases the total number of suicidal behaviors, and whether it has comparable effects on impulsive and non-impulsive behaviors. If there is an effect of lithium, the investigators will be interested in whether or not it could be attributed to improved control of the underlying mental health condition, or, alternatively, whether it represents a direct effect of suicide-related behavior.

The literature is characterized by a dearth of information on interventions for homeless youth, and no suicide prevention intervention has been tested with these youth. Such focus is critical as suicide is the leading cause of death among homeless youth. Therefore, this study seeks to address this gap in the research literature with the goal to identify an effective strategy to intervene in suicide ideation in this population.

The primary aim of the proposed study is to compare the efficacy of cognitive therapy (CT) with the efficacy of an enhanced usual care (EUC) intervention for reducing the rate of suicide ideation (SI) and the severity of depression and hopelessness among older men. The investigators expect that suicidal older men randomly assigned to the CT intervention condition will have a lower rate of SI during the follow-up period than participants assigned to the control condition.