View clinical trials related to Psychosis.
Filter by:This is a feasibility study of cognitive behavioural therapy-informed groups for psychiatric inpatients with positive symptoms of psychosis.
Previous studies have shown that cardiorespiratory fitness (how well the heart and lungs are able to function during physical activity) is often reduced in people with psychosis. The goal of this research study is to test the hypothesis that aerobic exercise can lead to small changes in brain functioning that can influence visual perception and attention in psychosis. The type of aerobic exercise used in this study is called Sprint Interval Training, or "SIT". Information from this study will help to develop interventions that enhance cognition and maximize the quality of life for persons living with psychosis. The exercise procedure used is called SIT, which involves training rigorously on a stationary bike for a short period of time followed by a resting period.
The project will evaluate thermoregulatory processes among individuals with and without first-episode psychosis.
Cognitive behavioural family intervention (CBFI) is a brief psychosocial intervention that incorporates the model of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) into the family context. It builds upon the current trend of family interventions/psychoeducation with refocusing on the cognitive model within the family interpersonal relationship. Existing literature indicates that CBFI may be effective in improving positive and negative symptoms of people diagnosed with schizophrenia immediately following the programme. This mixed-method is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a CBFI programme for people with schizophrenia and their families in a local context. The findings may accumulate more evidence that CBFI is a brief and effective psychosocial intervention that is adapted to Hong Kong clinical settings.
Schizophrenia is a severe, often chronic mental disorder, characterized by positive and negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. The serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia was proposed in the 1950s, but only recently, pimavanserin, the first antipsychotic medication with selective affinity for the serotonin 2A receptor was approved. The aim of this translational proposal is to test the clinical validity of the serotonin hypothesis of schizophrenia and to guide development of operational, objective criteria for stratification of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients before antipsychotic treatment. Our previous data have strongly suggested, that a subgroup of antipsychotic-naïve patients will respond to serotonin 2A receptor (2AR) blockade. This treatment will cause minimal side-effects compared with conventional dopamine D2/3 receptor blockade. In this Danish, investigator-initiated trial, we will establish a cohort of 40 antipsychotic-free, first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients and enrol them in a 6-week open label, one-armed trial with selective serotonin 2AR blockade (pimavanserin). Before initiation of pimavanserin patients will undergo: positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the serotonin 2AR binding potential using the radioligand [¹¹C]Cimbi-36; magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of cerebral glutamate levels; structural Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI), including Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI); cognitive and psychopathological examinations; Electrocardiography (ECG), and blood sampling for genetic- and metabolic analyses. Matched healthy controls will undergo parallel examinations, but not medical treatment and PET . ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. provides the study medication (pimavanserin). ACADIA had no influence on study design and will not take part in data processing or publication of the results of the study.
Community-based treatments for adolescents at risk for psychosis are not widely available, nor are there established, gold-standard psychosocial group interventions for this population. The HOPE TEAM, Helping Overcome Prodromal Experiences through Treatment and Evaluation of Adolescent Minds (PI: Bachman; funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation) is an early detection and intervention program for youth at clinical high risk for psychosis which aims to help them by engaging existing community resources, providing assessment, and offering trauma-informed psychotherapy. Embedded within the Family Care Connection Center at Turtle Creek, the HOPE TEAM offers individual psychotherapy as part of its clinical service model. The present study seeks to evaluate, in a small and preliminary sample (n = 20), the feasibility and effectiveness of a 24-week Cognitive-Behavioral Social Skills Therapy (CBSST) group intervention for CHR adolescents who are part of the HOPE TEAM. To that end, the current proposal will seek to conduct brief research assessments to assess the group members' perceptions of the group's utility, as well as their current clinical symptoms and functioning prior to, during, and after participating in this group. The goals of this pilot project are to 1) identify which aspects of the group perceived to be most and least helpful by participating adolescents, and 2) evaluate whether participation in the group meaningfully improves participants' clinical symptoms and functioning. The investigators aim to use these pilot data to guide future selection of treatment targets in this clinical practice, and to identify future strategies for increasing satisfaction and retention in community-based group interventions for CHR adolescents.
The proposed study aims to use a form of neuromodulation, known as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), to improve the effectiveness of the metacognitive training (MCT) program for treatment of delusions in schizophrenia. tACS is a non-invasive brain stimulation method utilizing weak electrical currents applied to the head to influence neural firing (Antal & Paulus, 2013). Brain regions implicated in delusional thinking will be targeted in the hopes of promoting thinking patterns that will allow participants to question delusional beliefs, reducing the severity of delusions and increasing the positive effects of MCT (Whitman et al., in press; Whitman, Minz & Woodward, 2013). Electroencephalogram (EEG) and behavioural assessments will be used to measure treatment effects. However, before tACS will be administered to individuals experiencing delusions associated with schizophrenia we will conduct various control-phase (pilot) studies to gain a better understanding on how tACS temporarily alters performance on cognitive processes by biasing dominant patterns of oscillations. The objective of the pilot studies is to establish the effectiveness of the EGI GTEN system in modulating brain oscillations in the cortex of healthy participants by means of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). In this control/pilot phase of our study, we aim to establish that we can induce changes in the power of a specific frequency band in targeted cortical regions with neuromodulation using the GTEN system, and we will assess whether doing so temporarily alters performance on simple cognitive and perceptual processes in healthy controls. This will be the first step towards translating our stimulation protocol to the patient population for our primary study of interest (tACS as an adjunct to metacognitive training for delusions in psychosis).
The primary objective is to determine if ziprasidone is superior to standard therapies in the emergency department treatment of the acutely agitated patient. The primary outcome will be the length of time taken until the patient is ready to be evaluated by the psychiatric service, or until a disposition is made.
This is a 15 week trial to determine (1) the safety and tolerability of varenicline when used for smoking cessation/reduction in individuals with schizophrenia; (2) if treatment with varenicline affects the symptoms of schizophrenia.