View clinical trials related to Psychotic Disorders.
Filter by:The aim of the proposed pilot study is to find out whether varenicline (ChantixTM) treatment decreases alcohol use and smoking in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Varenicline may also improve cognition (memory and concentration) and negative symptoms (e.g. poor attention, poverty of speech, apathy, affective flattening, anhedonia) in patients with schizophrenia and comorbid nicotine and alcohol dependence.
Since side effects of antipsychotics, dopamine D2 receptor blockers, frequently occur in older patients with schizophrenia and the risk is dose dependent, clinical guidelines universally advocate the use of lower doses. However, there is no report to test this dosing guideline with measurements of D2 receptor blockade caused by antipsychotics. In this study, dopamine D2 receptor occupancy will be measured, using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), in 40 patients aged 50 and older with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders before and after a gradual 40 % dose reduction of antipsychotics that was safely achieved in the past study while setting a target dose still above the lower limit of the dose range recommended in clinical guidelines for older patients. Our goal is to relate changes in clinical outcome, including subjective and objective clinical ratings, to dopamine D2 receptor occupancy, and compare these results with the data for younger patients in the literature.
Women with a close relative who has experienced mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder often have a poor understanding of the causes of the illness, and are often very worried about the chance that any children that they have will become affected with the same illness. Often, because of this fear, these healthy women choose not to have children. Genetic counseling is a process where information about the causes of illnesses, and about chances for family members of individuals with these illnesses to become similarly affected is provided in a supportive environment by a specially trained healthcare professional. This study will investigate whether genetic counseling can reduce perceptions of risk and stigma, and increase perceived control and knowledge about the causes of the illness, amongst women who have a first degree relative with a major mental illness.
People who have experienced mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder often have a poor understanding of the causes of their illness, and that they are often very worried about how the illness affects their families. In particular, affected individuals worry that there is a high chance that any children that they have will become affected with the same illness. Often, because of this fear, affected individuals choose not to have children. Genetic counseling is a process where information about the causes of illnesses, and about chances for family members of individuals with these illnesses to become similarly affected is provided in a supportive environment by a specially trained healthcare professional. This study will investigate whether genetic counseling can reduce perceptions of risk and stigma, and increase perceived control and knowledge about the causes of the illness, amongst individuals who have a major mental illness.
The study attempts to evaluate a histamine analog long used for the treatment of Meniere's disease, betahistine, that shows promise in reversing the antihistaminergic effects thought to be involved in antipsychotic induced weight gain. Hypothesis to be tested: A. Patients who have gained a developmentally inappropriate amount of weight on antipsychotics (AP) will see their weight and BMI decrease with betahistine augmentation as compared to placebo augmentation. B. Betahistine augmentation in AP treated patients will increase levels of satiety in a standardized meal situation and decrease caloric intake as compared to placebo augmentation. C. Metabolic effects of betahistine augmentation in AP treated patients will be reflected in differences in waist circumference, hip circumference and waist hip ratios D. Betahistine augmentation in this population will lead to decrease in fasting glucose-lipid lab values related to the development of metabolic syndrome as compared to placebo augmentation
The study examines the effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the principal active ingredient of cannabis, on neural synchrony. Neural synchrony is studied using electroencephalography (EEG).
Emotional and behavioural problems as well as a lack of social competence are supposed to be common phenomena in adolescents with borderline intellectual functioning, consequently impairing their social and vocational integration. Considering the lack of evaluated group interventions for this population, a cognitive-behavioural training is developed and its effectiveness is examined in a population of students attending special vocational schools. 77 adolescents with borderline intelligence are enrolled participated in the study. They are randomized either to the intervention group, who received 9 group sessions over a period of 3 months additionally to the standard vocational training (Social Competence Training for Adolescents with Borderline Intelligence, SCT-ABI) or to the control group who received only the standard vocational training. Outcome measures at the end of the intervention and at a 6-months follow-up assessment comprise self-reports, caregiver-reports, and behavioural observations of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural factors of social competence.
We hope to learn more about the biology of psychiatric illness with the hope of improving the diagnosis and treatment of such psychiatric conditions as major depression.
Primary Objective: To test the effect of pramlintide on body weight in clozapine- and olanzapine-induced weight gain in persons with schizophrenia who are currently taking either drug; measures of the metabolic syndrome will be evaluated as well.
NMDA receptors are brain receptors that are stimulated by glutamate. Poorly functioning NMDA receptors are thought to be involved in the pathology of schizophrenia. This hypothesis is based on the observation that PCP, which blocks the NMDA receptor, produces symptoms and cognitive impairments similar to schizophrenia. Efforts to enhance the function of the NMDA receptor with glycine and D-cycloserine have met with limited success. An alternative approach would be to use the drug acamprosate. Acamprosate, FDA-approved for maintenance of sobriety after detoxification from alcohol, seems to act through modulation of the NMDA receptor. In the lab, acamprosate has been noted to act as an antagonist when the NMDA receptors are maximally stimulated but as an agonist when NMDA receptor stimulation is minimal. This "smart drug" action makes acamprosate appealing for use in schizophrenia. If acamprosate works as a smart drug in patients, then we would predict that it would enhance the function of NMDA receptors in schizophrenia and improve cognition and the symptoms of the illness. Additionally, acamprosate seems to modulate the NMDA receptor in novel ways distinct from glycine and D-cycloserine. We will also see if the response to acamprosate differs based on whether participants do or do not have a past history of alcohol use disorders.