View clinical trials related to Schizophrenia.
Filter by:Continuation of antipsychotic drug treatment for at least 12 months after remission of the first psychotic episode represents the gold clinical standard, and it is recommended by all international treatment guidelines. Numerous studies have shown that the risk of relapse is significantly increased, if drug treatment is terminated prematurely. However, only a minority of patients achieve functional remission, even if they fully comply with treatment. Long-term adverse effects of the currently available drugs, specifically brain grey matter loss and development of supersensitivity psychosis, might outweigh their benefits. Thus, the current standard of long-term maintenance antipsychotic treatment, which has the primary goal of relapse prevention, has to be questioned. Here the investigators hypothesize that intermittent treatment (experimental) with antipsychotics, which is directed exclusively against the positive symptoms of Schizophrenia, is associated with less loss in total grey matter volume than maintenance treatment (control). Furthermore, the investigators hypothesise that this targeted treatment approach is associated with better functional outcome (fewer negative symptoms, better cognitive performance, better quality of life) than continuous antipsychotic treatment,although the latter is initially associated with fewer relapses.The aim of the present study is to compare two different drug therapies -maintenance therapy versus on-demand, intermittent therapy- in terms of their treatment's success and the structural changes in the brain.
The main purpose of the protocol is to test the efficiency of art-therapy versus metacognitive rehabilitation on the visual perception disorders observed in patients with schizophrenia.
The purpose of this multicenter-study is to investigate safety of psychopharmacological treatment and rates of adverse drug reactions in gerontopsychiatric inpatients. Elderly people are at higher risk for developing side effects under pharmacological treatment due to an altered metabolic situation, higher comorbidity rates and often polypharmacy. Furthermore gerontopsychiatric patients can often not articulate their symptoms clearly, for example due to pronounced cognitive impairment. The aim of the study is to gain valid data of possible adverse drug reaction rates, their potential risk factors and outcome, as well as medical prescription practises. To assess these outcomes an intensive pharmacovigilance-monitoring will be conducted at the five participating study sites. At Baseline demographic data, previous and present disorders, use of drugs, previous and present medication, quality of life, cognitive function, physical examination results, laboratory results and ECG will be assessed. Afterwards patients are visited weekly and screened for possible adverse drug reactions. All adverse drug reactions will be coded in the MedDRA-system. In case of a possible serious adverse drug reaction serum levels of all psychotropic substances applicated will be assessed. Drug combinations will be analysed using an established advanced bioinformatic tool (mediQ). Diagnosis, medication intake and possible adverse drug reactions are documented continually. 2 weeks after discharge from the ward, patients will be contacted by phone to assess catamnestic data.
The proposed Phase IIb/III study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of NaBen® in improving the symptoms of schizophrenia in adults. NaBen® is granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by US FDA as add-on treatment for schizophrenia. The trial is designed as a multi-center, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, in which adult subjects with schizophrenia will be enrolled. The study will include four parts: a 2 week Screening part, a 4 week run-in part, an 8 week double-blind treatment part, and a 52 week Open-Label Extension part.
Symptomatic treatment of the negative symptoms in schizophrenia (such as social withdrawal, affective flattening, poor motivation, and apathy) with medications and psychotherapy are almost non-existent, whereas treatment of the positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) has been more effective with psychotropic medications. The proposed research on human subjects using a non-invasive technology (such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation [rTMS]) will provide efficacy data for treating negative symptoms. The hypotheses are that 1) Cerebellar stimulation will cause activation of thalamic and frontal cortical networks associated with attentional processes as a component of the "distracted" affect of schizophrenia; 2) Cerebellar stimulation will cause activation of the reticular activating system (RAS), and this will allow the "mutism", which is a negative symptom, to be partially improved.
Aim: To examine the efficacy of the combination of galantamine and memantine for the treatment of cognitive deficits in outpatients with schizophrenia. Hypothesis: A combination of galantamine and memantine will improve cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia. This is an open-label study to evaluate whether a six week course of galantamine ER and memantine XR is effective in improving the cognitive performance of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The primary outcome measure will be the change in level of cognition as measured by the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). The results of the MATRICS collaborative project recommended the need for standardized cognitive tests that better distinguish the different facets of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. The MCCB will assess the following seven domains: attention/vigilance, reasoning and problem solving, processing speed, social cognition, verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, and working memory. The MCCB will be administered at baseline and at the end of the study. We will report total score and each domain score in the MCCB at baseline and six weeks.
The aim of this study is to evaluate tDCS effects on schizophrenia symptoms, particularly on auditory verbal hallucinations. tDCS applied with cathodal (inhibitory) electrode over the left temporal parietal junction and anodal (excitatory) electrode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Social cognition impairment is critical to the pathology and morbidity of a number of psychiatric disorders, including the schizophrenia spectrum, the autism spectrum and the personality disorders, thus representing a dimension consistent with RDoC. As such, this study aims to a) further characterize the unique deficits in social cognition (recognition and interpretation of social cues and representation of thoughts, intentions, and feelings of others) across disorders, including the schizophrenia spectrum (which includes schizophrenia, SCZ, schizoaffective disorder, SAD, bipolar disorder, BD, and schizotypal personality disorder, SPD), the autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared to healthy controls (HC); b) assess the effect of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) as a regulator and novel treatment of social cognition impairment in these disorders; and c) enhance our understanding of the specificity and exact mechanisms of impairment to inform the accurate dosing of OXT required to modulate social cognition in these disorders and identify a model of optimum social cognitive function. Addressing these questions will further catalyze research into a model of optimum social cognitive activity, and accelerate industry development of agents suited to routine clinical administration.
The Objective of this study is to investigate the long-term efficacy of intranasal oxytocin in improvement of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia who have residual symptoms dispute being on adequate treatment with antipsychotic medication.
One purpose of this study is to test whether adding metformin will limit some of the unwanted effects of clozapine, compared to not adding metformin. Metformin is a medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Studies have found that people with type-2 diabetes often lose some weight when they take metformin, however the FDA has not approved metformin for weight loss, so for this study the use of metformin is investigational. This study will test whether metformin can help people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders lose weight. Another purpose of this study is to test whether adding fish oil will improve the benefit of clozapine and/or limit some of the unwanted effects of clozapine, compared to not adding fish oil. Fish oil is a medication used to reduce levels of some fats (triglycerides) in blood. Some studies have found that adding fish oil reduces psychosis (voices, suspiciousness). However the FDA has not approved fish oil for reducing psychosis, so for this study the use of fish oil is investigational. This study will test whether fish oil can help people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders have less psychosis. Fish oil is not an antipsychotic medication.