View clinical trials related to Mental Disorders.
Filter by:Psychiatric consultation and short-term follow-up will produce equivalent clinical outcomes and be less costly when provided via videoconferencing (telepsychiatry) than when provided in-person.
The purpose of this study is to collect and compare information regarding the treatment and outcome of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease who are receiving either drug or nondrug treatment. Information will be collected from patients and their primary caregivers.
This study will gather information on the natural history of the basic symptoms of psychosis to identify factors that may affect the improvement or persistence of the symptoms.
Recent studies show that 25 – 30% of depressed patients never fully recover, resulting in a treatment-resistant condition. Thus, depression is a major cause of human suffering. We are interested in finding new ways of identifying and alleviating treatment-resistant depression, and we believe that recent advances in brain imaging can contribute to achieving that goal. In this project, we will use a novel compound ([N-methyl-11C]mirtazapine) that we invented for examining the neurochemistry of brain receptors involved in antidepressant actions. Our compound, [N-methyl-11C]mirtazapine, is closely related to the clinically effective antidepressant drug mirtazapine (Remeron®). It labels several types of noradrenergic receptors that have often been implicated in “stress reactions” as well as depressive disorders. We believe that our compound can identify specific molecular brain dysfunctions that are causally related to treatment-resistant depression. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a reliable relationship between the level of mirtazapine in the bloodstream and the occupancy of neuroreceptors by mirtazapine in the brain. We will apply our standard procedures of PET brain scanning and region-of-interest data analysis, using healthy volunteers who will receive a daily dose of mirtazapine (double-blind design with placebo, 7.5 mg or 15 mg daily for 5 days). We believe that this project could provide a procedure for assessing brain function in treatment-resistant depression, with the aim of improving the guidelines for successful, evidence-based treatment of depression.
Weight gain associated with antipsychotic medication use is a major side effect that limits the tolerability of these drugs. This often significant weight gain adversely affects health, increasing risks for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, cancers of the colon, kidneys, uterus, endometrium and esophagus and osteoarthritis. Beasley and colleagues (1997) reported that 40.5% of olanzapine-treated patients gained more than 7% of baseline weight. Much of the olanzapine induced weight gain occurs early in treatment, and antipsychotic-naïve and young patients (Woods et al., 2002) are particularly vulnerable to this side effect. One of the most promising medications to aid weight loss in patients taking olanzapine is amantadine. Attempts at preventing weight gain are expected to be more successful than attempts to reverse it once it occurs. It is now common clinical practice to educate all patients beginning treatment with olanzapine, and other antipsychotics, about healthy eating and the need for exercise. However, despite this effort, weight gain in this population continues. Beginning a weight-stabilizing medication after a low threshold of weight gain has occurred may have significant impact on patients' health and their willingness to continue to take antipsychotics. We propose to investigate the efficacy of amantadine as a weight-stabilizing agent in a population of first-episode psychotic subjects just beginning treatment with antipsychotic agents. This population is generally young and medically healthy, without contraindications to amantadine. They are often of normal body mass index and without obesity-related medical problems. They have much to gain in preventing the weight gain which so often progresses steadily over the course of treatment, is difficult to reverse and results in significant morbidity and mortality. Additionally, the first episode psychotic population tends to take fewer concomitant psychiatric medications. This is important since these medications may cause weight gain (long term use of mirtazapine, lithium, depakote) or weight loss (short term use of SSRI's) which could confound the effectiveness of amantadine to combat weight gain.
The purpose of the study is to assess demographic, treatment, and outcome data in schizophrenia patients receiving treatment with long-acting injectable, tablet, or liquid formulations of first generation (conventional) or second generation (atypical) antipsychotic medications.
The aim of the study is to test whether screening followed by brief problem-solving counselling in primary care could improve the quality of life of elderly patients with undiagnosed psychological problems. We hypothesize that undiagnosed psychological problems detectable by screening are common in the elderly and brief counselling could improve the quality of life of these patients.
This study evaluates the safety and tolerability of Asenapine in elderly patients with psychosis.
The primary objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the impact of switching 30 subjects from an existing antipsychotic to risperidone long acting on healthcare resource utilization. The study will be a ten month open-label, 'mirror-image', pilot study. Healthcare resource utilization during the 10 months prior to starting risperidone long acting will be retrospectively collected for all subjects (period A) at the beginning of the study. The utilization of direct medical resources will also be collected for 10 months after initiation of risperidone long acting (period B). In this design the patients will serve as their own control.
The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a combined social skills training and cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for seriously mentally ill veterans as they begin employment.