Active clinical trials for "Depressive Disorder"

To determine whether individuals who suffer from depression and obesity are able to lose weight and show improvements in mood and cardiovascular disease risk factors following 20 weeks of a combined treatment of cognitive-behavior therapy for depression and behavior modification for weight loss. Participants will be assigned to one of three treatments: 1) cognitive-behavior therapy for the treatment of depression combined with an alternative approach to weight loss, 2) a weight loss intervention combined with a depression support and education , or 3) cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression combined with a weight loss intervention.

200 persons (100 with multiple sclerosis and 100 with epilepsy) with depressive symptoms are recruited via the multiple sclerosis clinics of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the epilepsy centre Alsterdorf and randomly assigned either to the online program deprexis or to a wait-list control condition. All participants receive free-of-charge online access to deprexis either immediately or with a six month delay. At three time points (1. prior to intervention, 2. after completion of the intervention nine weeks later and 3. at follow-up six month later), both groups are assessed via an anonymous online survey, which was implemented using the software package OPST®. The survey consists of different questionnaires. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) represents the primary outcome (IIT analysis for pre versus post). It is assumed that the severity of depressive symptoms will improve to a significantly greater extent in the deprexis than in the wait-list control condition in the course of nine weeks and will be maintained in a six month follow-up.

Problem: Depressive symptoms are a common mental health problem following traumatic brain injury (TBI), occurring in up to 87% of patients. Depression following TBI has important consequences including poor functioning, lack of ability to return to work and family activities and prolonged TBI symptoms. The reason depression develops in some patients following TBI is unknown, making treatment difficult. One type of brain protein that shows genetic differences between people is called the serotonin transporter. People can be divided by whether or not they have a short protein (S allele) or a long protein (L allele) which influences the amount of serotonin transporter. Serotonin is a key brain chemical in depression in many mental/psychiatric illnesses. We think that the genetic differences in the serotonin transporter, that may not make a difference before TBI, may become important after TBI due to the nature of these injuries. Methods: A consecutive sample of 200 patients attending a TBI clinic who have sustained a mild-to-moderate TBI (American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine criteria) within the last 2 months will be assessed for the presence of major depression (standard criteria, standardized interview). In phase I, blood samples from patients with mild-to-moderate TBI with depression and without depression will be checked for the presence of the 5-HTTPR genetic difference. This will allow us to study if the S allele is more likely in TBI patients with depression. In phase II, the patients with depression will be treated with the SSRI citalopram for 6 weeks. At 6 weeks, or upon discontinuation of citalopram, depression will be assessed again. This will allow us to study if depressed patients with the S allele respond more poorly to treatment. Persons assessing depression after treatment will not know the genetic makeup of each patient. Results Expected: If the serotonin transporter genetic difference confers susceptibility to depression following TBI, this will provide important information on what causes depression following TBI and document a risk factor for depression previously unstudied in this population. Also, as SSRI antidepressants are used to treat depression in TBI, this study may identify a subgroup of TBI patients in whom different medications should be given or additional medications are required.

This study is being conducted to determine the clinical response rate for the regimen of L-methionine, betaine and folate for unipolar depression.

During perimenopause (the time just prior to menopause), women often notice many biological, psychological, and social changes. In particular, some women experience depressive symptoms during perimenopause that are severe enough to warrant antidepressant medication. Whether or not women with perimenopausal depression respond to antidepressant medication may depend on the level of estrogen in their blood. This study will investigate whether estrogen will help women who only partially respond to antidepressant medications, as well as examine how different doses of estrogen may affect individuals differently.

Anxiety and mood disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems in childhood. They have severe long-term morbidity, and associated academic and social impairment. Building on the investigators' experience with outcome evaluation in clinically anxious or depressed children, they propose to evaluate within the school system a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention for children in grades 3 to 6 with elevated symptoms of anxiety or depression on standardized questionnaires. The participant's outcomes will be compared with those of similar children randomly assigned to an activity control group. Hypothesis 1a): Children in the intervention condition will show greater symptom reduction relative to children in the control condition (primary outcome: anxiety symptoms). Hypothesis 1b): Children in the intervention condition will show fewer symptoms during follow-up relative to children in the control condition. Hypothesis 2: Children with anxious or depressive symptoms treated in the school setting using CBT have a lower risk of developing internalizing disorders within 1 year of treatment than children in a control condition. Hypothesis 3: Self-esteem, anxiety and depression-related impairment, and academic functioning will improve more in intervention participants than in controls. Hypothesis 4: School characteristics, child age, and attitudes of participating personnel are predictive of treatment response.

This study will be measuring changes in depressive symptoms over a 7 week time period. Double-blind placebo controlled trial using the pharmacologic agents Paroxetine or Desipramine.

How duloxetine compares to a medication currently available for the treatment of patients diagnosed with depression

This study will develop an intervention that will increase the retention of Hispanics with major depression in antidepressant therapy.

Randomised, controlled, parallel-group, pilot clinical trial of ketamine vs. midazolam for depression relapse prevention in persons at high risk. The main purpose of the pilot study is to assess trial processes to help inform a future definitive trial.