The CORTEX Randomized Control Trial

Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Trial

Official title: The CORTEX Project: a Pre-post Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of a Computerized COgnitive Remediation ThErapy Progeam for Adult Inpatients With anoreXia Nervosa

Status Not yet recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Background: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a novel Computer-Assisted Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CA-CRT) program as adjunctive treatment to standard care (TAU) in improving cognitive skills in adult inpatients with anorexia nervosa (AN) Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to compare the experimental condition with controls receiving TAU only. A minimum sample of 54 subjects with a diagnosis of AN will be recruited in each site. After the initial screening, participants will be randomized to either the experimental group or the control condition. The treatment will last 5 weeks and consists of 10 individual CRT sessions with 15 individual CA-CRT sessions. The impact of the intervention on selected primary and secondary outcomes will be tested at the end of the intervention.

Expected results: We expect subjects assigned to the CA-CRT group to develop more flexible and holistic thinking styles, and achieving increased clinical outcomes.

Clinical Trial Description

For this reason, the present multicenter Randomized Control Trial (RCT) aims to implement a new CA-CRT for AN (CA-CRT-AN) and to test its feasibility and efficacy as an adjunctive intervention on selected neuropsychological (cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, visuospatial processing, and attention) and psychological measures (eating disorders, health-related quality of life - HRQoL, and motivation to change) in populations of inpatients with AN following a nutritional rehabilitation program compared to controls following the treatment already used in the clinics (TAU).

Patients with AN will be invited to take part in the study at admission to each rehabilitation center according to the above-mentioned inclusion/exclusion criteria, and those eligible will be randomly assigned to either the experimental (CA-CRT) or control group (TAU).

Before the randomization, they will be asked to sign the informed consent to participate in the research and complete the psychodiagnostic (BAI, BDI II, OCI-R) and psychological (EDE-Q, WHOQOL-BREF, URICA) measures under the supervision of a clinical psychologist independent of the study. The selected neuropsychological measures will be also administered at baseline Randomization will be stratified by center and performed using permuted block technique within each site by a researcher independent of the study. Subjects will be assigned to one of two conditions: both groups received usual hospital care, and the experimental group, in addition, will receive the CA-CRT treatment.

At the end of the treatment (after 5 weeks), subjects in both conditions will be re-administered with neuropsychological tests and psychological measures The total duration of the research will be 6 months, considering a discontinuous enrollment related to the admission to the clinics ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anorexia
• Anorexia Nervosa

• NCT number: NCT05912036
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Istituto Auxologico Italiano
• Contact: Giada Pietrabissa
• Phone: +393495324303
• Email: giada.pietrabissa@unicatt.it
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 1, 2023
• Completion date: May 31, 2024