View clinical trials related to Disease.
Filter by:We hypothesize that testosterone replacement will improve mood and quality of life in older men with low testosterone and mild depression. Study subjects will receive either testosterone gel or a placebo (inactive) gel for 12 weeks. Neither the subject or the investigator will know whether they are receiving placebo or testosterone gel. At the end of the initial 12 week period, all subjects will receive testosterone gel for 12 more weeks. Mood and quality of life measures will be obtained at baseline, at the end of the double-blind phase and at the end of the extension phase (when all subjects receive testosterone.)
The purposes of this study are: - to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the drug prazosin compared to placebo for combat stress-related nightmares, sleep disturbance and overall function in recently combat-exposed returnees from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). - to evaluate the effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine on behavioral symptoms and overall function in this population.
This study investigates the neuroprotective properties of low-dose lithium in young individuals at ultra-high risk of developping a first psychotic episode. Fourty individuals having some symptoms of an emerging psychotic disorders (without meeting the threshold for a full-blown mental illness) will be treated with a low dose of lithium (about a third of the dose that is usually used to treat acute mania). We will assess the progression of the conditions of these individuals on a montly bases for a year. We will do behavioural, cognitive and imaging assessments prior start of the treatment, after three months and one year. We hope to demonstrate that low dose lithium will stop or even reverse the progression of disease. We expect that behavioral, cognitive and in vivo brain imaging parameters in those individuals treated with low dose lithium improve, compared to the monitoring group.
Aim: In a population of first episode manic patients with psychotic features, we want to compare the side effect profile, the degree of adherence and the subjective well being, as well as the efficacy of two treatments: The standard treatment currently applied (lithium + chlorpromazine) and an alternative treatment more recently introduced (lithium + olanzapine). In addition, we want to study retrospectively the development of bipolar disorder and study prospectively the 6 and 12-month outcome of a cohort of patients presenting a first manic episode with psychotic features. Research Background: While the efficacy of lithium in the treatment of acute mania has been established by numerous studies, it is also known that up to 50% of the patients fail to respond when it is prescribed alone. It is therefore common practice to complement the treatment, most commonly with antipsychotics and benzodiazepines. It has been suggested that antipsychotic agents are faster acting and are superior in controlling hyperactivity compared to lithium, whereas mood stabilisation is better achieved by lithium, Typical antipsychotics, such as chlorpromazine, may therefore be useful as adjunctive medication to mood stabilisers, especially within the first few weeks of treatment of acute mania, and for patients exhibiting psychotic symptoms or hyperactivity. They however can induce side effects (somnolence, dizziness, dry mouth, extrapyramidal side effects such as rigidity of the muscles, and possibly tardive dyskinesia (involuntary movements or contraction of muscles), as well as akathysia (sense of restlessness). They finally have been suspected to contribute to the occurrence of post-manic depression. Recent publications in chronic populations have shown that atypical antipsychotics, such as olanzapine, are also an effective adjunctive treatment. Olanzapine has the important advantage to induce a very low incidence of extrapyramidal side effects, including tardive dyskinesia. It can however induce somnolence, dizziness, dry mouth, and rather commonly weight gain. Moreover, some authors have reported that olanzapine might induce mania. Both treatments appear then to have positive effects as well as undesirable side effects. Our project is to compare them. The literature concerning first episode mania is sparse, particularly in the domain of pharmacotherapy. One retrospective study showed that 77% of the patients received antipsychotics at discharge and 25% at 6 months follow-up. No comparison has however been made between typical and atypical antipsychotics, and there are no specific treatment guidelines of first episode mania with psychotic features. Project Summary: The hypothesis is that olanzapine and chlorpromazine will have a comparable efficacy as adjunctive treatment of the acute manic episode with psychotic features. We however think olanzapine will induce less side effects and will be better accepted by the patients, and therefore that the adherence to the treatment will be better than with chlorpromazine. We finally think the subjective sense of well being will be greater with olanzapine than with chlorpromazine.We will recruit 75 patients at the time of their first admission for mania with psychotic features at EPPIC. After signature of the informed consent, we will perform a baseline assessment first to confirm the diagnosis, and second to evaluate the level of psychopathology. The patients will then be randomly selected to receive either a treatment of lithium and olanzapine or a treatment of lithium and chlorpromazine. By the end of the study there will be 37 patients in each group.The patients will go through a baseline assessment including physical examination and usual laboratory investigation to exclude any physical illness. They will also go through a one-hour assessment of psychopathology. Between day 2 and 3 they will go through 2 hours of interview to reassess diagnosis and personal history. They will thereafter be assessed weekly for eight weeks on various dimensions: evolution of the intensity of the symptoms, appearance of depressive symptoms, occurrence of side effects and degree of adherence to the treatment, in an 1-hour interview. Subjective well being and quality of life will re evaluated at week 4 and 8, adding 45 minutes to the duration of the interview. This is a flexible dose, open trial, which means the doctor in charge of the patient will know which medication is being prescribed, and that he will be allowed to adapt the dosage according to what he feels necessary. This research project will allow us to organise a more specialised clinic for the care of first episode manic patients. We will take this opportunity to study carefully the months preceding the appearance of the first episode in order to try to reconstruct the prodrome of bipolar disorders. We will also, in an extension phase of the study, look at the long term outcome (at 6 and 12 months) of a first episode of mania.
This is a study to determine if the approach taken to treat patients in the Chrysalis Day Hospital Program will favourably effect their health status as assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI)
The purpose of the study is to investigate whether patients with brief depressive periods together with other fluctuating psychiatric symptoms, have this condition due to epilepsy or an other organic brain disorder.
The purpose of this research is to determine if Ziprasidone is safe and effective for use in children and adolescents with a psychotic illness, and to determine of Ziprasidone treatment leads to weight changes in children.
The purpose of this study is to develop a better tolerated and more effective pharmacologic treatment for individuals with Asperger's Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. This is an open-label investigation of aripiprazole in the management of the maladaptive behaviors of autistic disorder. We hypothesize that aripiprazole will be effective for reducing aggression and repetitive behavior.
The purpose of this study is to determine if galantamine augmentaion improves cognition in euthymic bipolar patients. In addition, the effect of galantamine on clinical measures of functioning and psychopathology will also be assessed.
This study will determine the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with divalproex and lithium for treating mania in people with rapid cycling bipolar disorder and a substance abuse disorder.