View clinical trials related to Schizophrenia.
Filter by:The main aim of this study is to investigate emotional regulation in individuals with schizophrenia using a qualitative methodology (semi-structured interview) and, therefore, from the person's point of view. Given the qualitative nature of the methodology used in this study, the investigators have no specific hypothesis. The investigators have a general hypothesis suggesting that the patients' discourse will enable us to highlight the emotional regulation difficulties described in the literature.
The purpose of this research study to test a blended intervention that combines Executive Function Training with Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training (E-CBSST). The aims include determining whether E-CBSST is feasible and increases Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training (CBSST) Skills Learning to a level that will lead to a clinically meaningful improvement in functioning.
One in three patients with schizophrenia experiences hallucinations that are refractory to conventional pharmacotherapy. For refractory auditory hallucinations, transcranial direct current stimulation -tDCS- has been proposed as a novel therapeutic approach. Although promising beneficial effects on auditory hallucinations have been found by targeting the left frontal and temporoparietal cortex, the high variability observed in clinical response leaves much room for optimizing stimulation parameters. For instance, options should go beyond the left temporoparietal junction as a unique and single target of hallucinations, taking into account the personalization of the targeting based on the actual brain networks involved in hallucinations, including those beyond the auditory modality, as well as multimodal hallucinations. The present study will take advantage of recent technological developments to propose a personalized therapeutic strategy to alleviate hallucinations in schizophrenia. This will involve: - the simultaneous targeting of multiple brain regions with High-Definition (HD)-tDCS, which is known for its precise and longer-lasting effects compared to conventional tDCS. - and the fMRI-capture of hallucinations, using a precise and reliable data-driven approach to identify the functional brain networks recruited during hallucinations. The aim of the study is to assess whether repeated sessions of HD-tDCS guided using the fMRI capture of hallucinations can reduce multimodal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia, compared to sham sessions of HD-tDCS.
The goal of this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial is to test the effect of 12 weeks of orally administered MitoQ (mitoquinol mesylate) supplementation on cognition in 50 people with early phase schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (E-SSD) who have mitochondrial dysfunction (called high risk, or HR). Cognitive impairments in SSD can cause significant disability. Yet, there are no effective treatments for cognitive impairments in SSD. It has been shown that alterations in a certain type of brain cell (parvalbumin interneurons, or PVI) underlie cognitive deficits in SSD. These PVI, which fire at a fast rate, utilize high amounts of energy from the mitochondria and are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress. MitoQ is an antioxidant. Research has shown that, in mice, MitoQ can reduce oxidative stress in the mitochondria. The main question that this clinical trial aims to answer is: • Does MitoQ supplementation, compared to placebo, improve cognition in HR patients? Secondary questions that this clinical trial aims to answer are the following: Does MitoQ supplementation, compared to placebo: - Improve positive and negative symptoms of SSD in HR patients? - Improve functioning in HR patients? - Improve/normalize blood markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in HR patients? The investigators will enroll 100 individuals with E-SSD. These enrolled participants will participate in an initial screening visit to determine if they qualify for the actual clinical trial. At the screening visit, the investigators will ask about psychiatric history to determine diagnosis; ask about medical history; do a physical exam; collect blood and urine samples; do a pregnancy test; and ask participants to bring in their current medications in their original packaging so it is known what they are taking. After the screening visit, the investigators will invite 50 HR patients (identified with a blood test) to continue with the clinical trial. Participants who qualify for the clinical trial will be asked to: - Take a supplement (MitoQ or placebo) once per day for 12 weeks in addition to their usual medications. - Come in for a study visit every 4 weeks over the 16-week study period. At these study visits, the investigators will do a physical exam; ask about symptoms and side effects; take blood and urine samples; and ask questions about general health and well-being, quality of life, mental health, emotional health, and mood. At visits 1 (baseline) and 4 (12 weeks), participants will also take a cognitive assessment.
In its 2012's release guideline on therapy for schizophrenia, the EMA joined the FDA to acknowledge primary and persistent negative symptoms (PNS) as an unmet need in the treatment of schizophrenia. Functional brain imaging studies showed a correlation between NS and reduced perfusion in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC). Pre-frontal activation (PFA) using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) significantly improve PNS (meta-analyses: effect size SMD = 0.55, ΔPANSS-N = -2.5). Yet schizophrenia is likely to gather many different natural entities of distinct pathophysiological mechanisms. Pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach will not adapt to this diversity and might account for inconsistencies in the results. Progressive periodic catatonia (PPC) is a rare psychotic phenotype (0.1 - 0.5 ‰) which has been shown to be longitudinally stable (30-years follow-up) and consistent within families (about 1 third of first-degree relatives are affected). The core of this phenotype is a disintegration of psychomotor processes which progresses with each relapse, resulting in a "deficit state", i.e., PNS, responsible for most social and occupational disabilities. The investigators and others reported PPC to come with hyper-perfusions in premotor cortices compared to controls or non-PPC chronic psychoses (nPPC). These hyper-perfusions discriminate PPC from nPPC or depressive patients (Sensitivity = 82%; Specificity = 95%). Last, in independent proof-of-principle studies the investigators and others have shown that premotor inhibition (PMI) using rTMS significantly improved PNS in PPC and that the most dramatic improvements followed personalized accelerated rTMS protocols (5 days of rTMS; CGI-improvement = 2 which is equivalent to ΔPANSS-N = -10; lasting > 1 month - vs virtually no change for PFA). The efficacy index was very good (no side effects). the investigators hypothesize that: (1) in PPC, add-on personalized premotor inhibition (PMI) is more effective in reducing PNS than L-DLPFC activation (PFA); (2) patient stratification is relevant as personalized PMI will not be as effective in the nPPC group (even expected to be less effective than PFA).
This study purpose is to perform a pilot mechanistic trial repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) clinical trial in 34 people with schizophrenia (Sz). The trial will evaluate whether inhibitory 1 Hertz (Hz) rTMS targeting motor cortex can increase brain inhibition reflected in a decrease in the short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) score from pre-to-post-treatment. We will also collect preliminary data on the effect of rTMS on the resting functional connectivity of the motor cortex and other brain regions and the relationship of change in SICI to change in cognitive performance
The purpose of the study is to compare the effectiveness of stimulation of the left precuneus by intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation to placebo stimulation on the severity of schizophrenia symptoms.
Previous long-term follow-up studies on patients with first-episode schizophrenia have shown that up to 30% of patients who have never received antipsychotic medication treatment do not experience symptom relief or have poor treatment response after standard antipsychotic medication treatment, becoming treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Moreover, in long-term follow-up, patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia from the illness onset (TRO) account for 80% of all TRS patients. Preliminary studies abroad have found that TRO patients have characteristics such as early age of onset, male predominance, prominent negative symptoms, high proportion of positive family history, and long duration of untreated psychosis, but there is still no consistent conclusion on the pathological mechanisms. There is currently no research on this type of patient in China, and there are difficulties in early diagnosis of TRO patients in clinical practice. This study aims to establish a TRO prediction model by integrating data on demographics, disease characteristics, psychopathology, social function, and neurocognition from a cohort of patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Mathematical modeling methods such as K-Means/SVM and convolutional neural networks will be used. Therefore, in patients with untreated first-episode schizophrenia, early and accurate identification of TRO patients at the initial diagnosis stage and treatment with clozapine is particularly important for potentially shortening the treatment period and reducing the personal and societal burden of TRO patients. Based on the progress of existing research and the previous work of the research team, we speculate that TRO patients have unique clinical features. This project will establish a TRO prediction model based on multidimensional clinical data using mathematical modeling methods. From a clinical application perspective, the study selects TRO model prediction factors based on existing clinical assessment methods, making the model highly clinically applicable and generalizable. By establishing a TRO prediction model, not only can high-risk TRO patients be identified early in the initial diagnosis stage, enabling appropriate clinical treatment interventions, but it can also provide new insights into the future clinical treatment of TRO, promote the development of early and personalized precision identification and treatment of TRO, and improve long-term prognosis and reduce the burden of the disease for patients.
"The Norwegian Adult Mental Health Registry" (NAMHR) is a medical quality register collecting and systematizing data on patients and their treatment in specialist mental health care for adults in Norway. The main purpose is to create a documentation basis for quality assurance, evaluation, and improvement of assessment and treatment for patients who are offered treatment for mental disorders in the specialist health service. The register uses automatic data capture from various existing data sources. New patients are automatically included, but given the opportunity for reservations from the register without affecting their services and treatment.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about cognition in psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder). The main question it aims to answer is: Can we use magnetic stimulation to change processing speed (how quickly people can solve challenging tasks). Participants will be asked to perform cognitive tasks (problem-solving) and undergo brain scans before and after transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a way to non-invasively change brain activity. Forms of TMS are FDA-approved to treat depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. In this study, we will use a different form of TMS to temporarily change brain activity to observe how that changes speed in problem-solving.