View clinical trials related to Psychotic Disorders.
Filter by:Depressive and anxiety disorders (termed as 'Common Mental Disorders') affect as many as one in four persons attending primary care; most patients do not receive effective treatments. Although the integration of mental health in primary care is accepted as the only feasible way of managing Common Mental Disorders in developing countries, there is no evidence demonstrating how this can be done in a manner which is effective and affordable. The hypothesis of this trial is that a Collaborative Stepped Care package will be both clinically and cost-effective for the treatment of Common Mental Disorders in primary care.
Individuals with schizophrenia frequently have impairments in attention. These impairments have been shown to be related to overall functioning. Some research suggests that Olanzapine may be associated with improvement in various aspects of attention. The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether switching from a typical antipsychotic to Olanzapine improves task engagement. Individuals who taking typical antipsychotics will be randomly assigned to either 1) remain on their typical antipsychotic medications, or 2) be switched from their typical antipsychotic medications to Olanzapine. All participants will be enrolled in a twice-weekly 20 session cognitive training program that is specifically designed to target attention deficits and promote active engagement. Improvements in attention will be compared between individuals who remained on their typical antipsychotic medications and those that were switched to Olanzapine.
The current study aims to develop and evaluate a practical, short-term support and education program for relatives of individuals with schizophrenia. This program has been developed to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in the following ways: 1. The intervention specifically targets those factors empirically demonstrated to improve family functioning and well being. Specifically, this pilot intervention aims to: a) increase relatives’ knowledge about schizophrenia spectrum disorders; b) help families attribute distressing behaviors of their ill relatives more accurately, by helping them to distinguish behaviors that are directly related to the illness from personality characteristics; c) improve attitudes towards the patient and reduce stress in interactions with the patient; d) encourage problem-focused coping strategies; e) reduce burden; f) provide opportunities for relatives to expand their social support network; g) help families learn about and utilize community resources. 2. The program involves both individual and multifamily group components, in order to reap the benefits of both formats. Specifically, multifamily psychoeducation groups (involving individuals from several different families) tend to be more economical and allow participants to learn from each other, increase their social support networks, and reduce feelings of stigma. In contrast, individualized programs can target the specific needs of participants.
This is a pilot study evaluating the feasibility of a new family-based intervention for schizophrenia. It is designed to help clients diagnosed with schizophrenia to overcome the devastating effects of neurocognitive deficits on everyday functioning (Family-Directed Cognitive Adaptation, FCA). Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are known to contribute to devastating functional impairments and caregiver burden, as clients rely on caregivers for help with basic living needs, such as personal hygiene, time management, social skills, and progress towards vocational and educational goals. Specifically, we will 1) Develop a manualized, family treatment program designed to improve adaptive functioning of patients with schizophrenia, and 2) Conduct a pilot feasibility study to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of this intervention, and to collect preliminary outcome data. This will lay the foundation for a controlled trial of the efficacy of the intervention. We expect that: 1. The FCA intervention will be well-received and well-tolerated by clients and families, as demonstrated by a high level of interest in the program, a low rate of attrition, and a high rate of participant satisfaction. 2. Client participants in the FCA intervention will show improvements in adaptive, independent-living skills (e.g., personal hygiene and self-care, medication management, time management, social skills, and responsibility for health maintenance) that will be maintained three and six months following completion of the intervention. 3. Family members participating in the FCA program will show reduced burden of care and time spent caregiving, greater satisfaction in their relationship with the client, improved self-efficacy in the caregiver role, and reduced psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, and hopelessness) at the completion of the program and at three and six-month follow-up interviews.
Pilot data indicates that pentazocine decreases manic symptoms in hospitalized individuals. To follow up these initial findings, we plan to conduct a larger, more rigorous, double-blind study. We will examine whether pentazocine, an agent with kappa-opiate activity, decreases manic symptoms.
This research investigates the benefits of productive activity and cognitive rehabilitation for patients with schizophrenia. Key questions are: 1. does cognitive rehabilitation plus work activity produce better outcomes than work activity alone? 2. Is cognitive rehabilitation more helpful for individuals with moderate or greater cognitive impairment than for individuals without such impairment? 3. Does cognitive rehabilitation reduce the dropout rate and increase participation in work activity for cognitively impaired subjects? 4. What features of cognitive rehabilitation are most important for clinical and rehabilitation outcomes?
Patients with schizophrenia have problems in thinking, known as cognitive dysfunction. This appears to be responsible for their difficulties in social and occupational functioning. One particular cognitive function that may be important for schizophrenia is called context processing. This refers to the ability to properly use information in the environment to guide thinking and behavior so that it is appropriate to the present circumstance. Problems with this function may explain why patients with schizophrenia think and act in unusual ways, and often have problems managing aspects of their lives that healthy adults take for granted. This cognitive function depends on a region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which shows impaired function in schizophrenia as well. Unfortunately, the biochemical aspects of this dysfunction are presently unknown, and it is not clear whether current psychiatric medications can improve this function. A recent FDA-approved medication that may improve this function is modafinil. Studies in animals and healthy adults show that this medication can improve cognitive functions which are related to context processing. We plan to study the effects of modafinil on context processing and the brain activity that underlies this function. We will use functional MRI and electrophysiology to examine the effects of modafinil, both after a single dose and after sustained (4 week) treatment. We predict that when patients receive modafinil they will perform better on cognitive tests and have improved activity in the regions of the brain that are responsible for these cognitive processes.
The study will compare the effectiveness of antipsychotic medications for patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder for whom a medication change may be indicated because of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of sustained-release quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel®) in the treatment of patients with Acute Bipolar Depression for 8 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: Seroquel SR and Seroquel XR refer to the same formulation. The SR designation was changed to XR after consultation with FDA.
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of sustained-release quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel®) in the treatment of patients with Acute Bipolar Mania for 3 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: Seroquel SR and Seroquel XR refer to the same formulation. The SR designation was changed to XR after consultation with FDA.