Impact of an Eight Week Exercise Intervention in Treating Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

Exercise Promotes Neuroplasticity in Depressed and Healthy Brains: An fMRI Pilot Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03191994
• Other study ID #: UOntarioIT
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• First received: June 8, 2017
• Last updated: June 16, 2017
• Start date: January 2, 2014
• Est. completion date: June 2018

Study information

• Verified date: June 2017
• Source: University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• Contact: Bernadette Murphy, PhD
• Phone: 905.721.8668
• Email: bernadette.murphy[@]uoit.ca
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

To investigate the impact of a structured eight week exercise intervention as an add-on therapy in treating Major Depressive Disorder. Using behavioural techniques and neuroimaging to measure changes in brain function following an exercise intervention in people with clinical depression. By correlating changes in the hippocampus with changes in HPA axis hormones, inflammatory cytokines and growth factors it is possible to determine which of the biochemical markers is most predictive of improved neural function.

Description:

Memory impairment is the most frequently reported cognitive symptom in people with depression. However, research in this area has presented mixed findings in terms of the type, severity and specificity of memory deficits. One finding that has been well established is the impairment in episodic memory (memory for a specific past experience in one's life) with a sparing of semantic memory (present knowledge of universal truths such as "the sky is blue"), and short-term memory. Behavioural and neuroimaging studies investigating the stage of the memory deficit in people with depression have found that both the encoding and retrieval processes are impaired. Although the neural underpinnings of impaired memory in MDD are not completely understood, the majority of evidence implicates abnormal activity in the hippocampal region critical for normal memory formation.

Exercise for depression has been a common research theme for the past several years however its mechanism of action remains unknown. Many studies have reported higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and increased habitual physical activity being associated with lower depressive symptomatology and greater emotional well-being, while lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness being associated with increased risk of developing depressive illness. Exercise alone or in combination with other treatment options, such as pharmacotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy have all been effective in treating depression with response rates for exercise being comparable to these mainstream therapies. Exercise protects against the development of neurodegenerative diseases delays the negative effects of aging and improves sleep quality. Exercise also reduces inflammation, normalizes cortisol secretion, increases hippocampal neurogenesis, increases cerebrovascular perfusion, improves the structure and function of the hippocampus, facilitates neurocognitive recovery from traumatic brain injury reverses brain volume loss in elderly and schizophrenic individuals and improves learning and memory. These findings suggest that the relationship between fitness and cognition is partly mediated by processes that involve cerebral circulation. These positive effects of exercise on neuroanatomy and vascularization can be partly explained by the interactive cascade of growth factor signalling associated with exercise that increases the ability of cerebral blood vessels to respond to demand. Habitual exercise is an effective way to improve endothelial function by increasing arterial compliance and decreasing arterial stiffness, oxidative stress, and vascular inflammation.

The overall goal of this research study is to investigate the effects of a well-defined, structured, supervised exercise program on brain function in healthy and clinically depressed individuals. This research aims to fill the gaps in the literature by elucidating the anti-depressant mechanisms which exercise targets and if these effects parallel young healthy sedentary individuals.

To investigate the effects of a moderate-intensity structured, supervised 8 week exercise program in people with MDD when combined with a Mental Health Day Treatment (MHDT) program, as compared to the MHDT on its own. All outcome measures will be assessed at baseline and 8 weeks. A non-depressed exercise control group will be used to compare the effects of exercise in depressed and non-depressed individuals:

i. depressive symptoms ii. anxiety iii. sleep quality iv. plasma IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10, BDNF v. salivary cortisol vi. performance on an associative memory task and concomitant fMRI hippocampal activation.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 40
• Est. completion date: June 2018
• Est. primary completion date: December 2017
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 50 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• all participants must have no contraindications to exercise, be considered 'low active' (exercise less than 3 times per week for less than 20 minutes), MRI safe MDD group must be diagnosed by psychiatrist based on DSM-V criteria and pharmacological medication stabilized for a minimum of 6 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• no immune disorders

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Depressive Disorder
• Depressive Disorder, Major
• Major Depressive Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Exercise
a structured, supervised eight week moderate intensity exercise intervention

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	University of Ontario Institute of Technology	Oshawa	Ontario

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

References & Publications (8)

Airaksinen E, Larsson M, Lundberg I, Forsell Y. Cognitive functions in depressive disorders: evidence from a population-based study. Psychol Med. 2004 Jan;34(1):83-91. — View Citation

Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Doraiswamy PM, Watkins L, Hoffman BM, Barbour KA, Herman S, Craighead WE, Brosse AL, Waugh R, Hinderliter A, Sherwood A. Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosom Med. 2007 Sep-Oct;69(7):587-96. Epub 2007 Sep 10. — View Citation

Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Moore KA, Craighead WE, Herman S, Khatri P, Waugh R, Napolitano MA, Forman LM, Appelbaum M, Doraiswamy PM, Krishnan KR. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Arch Intern Med. 1999 Oct 25;159(19):2349-56. — View Citation

Cotman CW, Berchtold NC, Christie LA. Exercise builds brain health: key roles of growth factor cascades and inflammation. Trends Neurosci. 2007 Sep;30(9):464-72. Epub 2007 Aug 31. Review. Erratum in: Trends Neurosci. 2007 Oct;30(10):489. — View Citation

Davenport MH, Hogan DB, Eskes GA, Longman RS, Poulin MJ. Cerebrovascular reserve: the link between fitness and cognitive function? Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2012 Jul;40(3):153-8. doi: 10.1097/JES.0b013e3182553430. Review. — View Citation

Erickson KI, Miller DL, Roecklein KA. The aging hippocampus: interactions between exercise, depression, and BDNF. Neuroscientist. 2012 Feb;18(1):82-97. doi: 10.1177/1073858410397054. Epub 2011 Apr 29. Review. — View Citation

Erickson KI, Voss MW, Prakash RS, Basak C, Szabo A, Chaddock L, Kim JS, Heo S, Alves H, White SM, Wojcicki TR, Mailey E, Vieira VJ, Martin SA, Pence BD, Woods JA, McAuley E, Kramer AF. Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Feb 15;108(7):3017-22. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1015950108. Epub 2011 Jan 31. — View Citation

Pajonk FG, Wobrock T, Gruber O, Scherk H, Berner D, Kaizl I, Kierer A, Müller S, Oest M, Meyer T, Backens M, Schneider-Axmann T, Thornton AE, Honer WG, Falkai P. Hippocampal plasticity in response to exercise in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Feb;67(2):133-43. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.193. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Brain function during an associative memory task	Participants will be MRI safety screened to ensure no metal implants. Using fMRI to determine brain activity during an associative memory task. Participants will be scanned on a 3-Tesla MR scanner. Scans will be acquired in the oblique coronal plane of the hippocampus. 416 functional scans will be acquired with a T2*-weighted gradient EPI sequence. Preprocessing will be performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping. General linear model will be performed at the single-subject level and statistical contrasts will be created modeling the hemodynamic response function of correct and incorrect responses. Random effects analysis will be performed using the contrast of t-test of correct > incorrect. Significant clusters from an independent samples t-test for correct>incorrect at baseline will be used to extract contrast beta values for correct>incorrect in pre and post scans. Average beta values will be imported into SPSS and a 2 x 2 repeated measures ANOVA (group x time).	eight weeks
Secondary	Depression scores	Depression severity was determined using the self-reported Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The BDI measures depression severity ranging from mile to severe depression. The higher the score the greater the depression severity.	eight weeks
Secondary	Biochemical markers	Peripheral venous blood will be collected from each participant at baseline and eight weeks by venipuncture into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes. Plasma proteins IL-1ß, IL-1Ra, IL-6, IL-10 TNF-a, BDNF and total CTHB will be quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISA) following manufacturer's protocols (R&D Systems, MN, USA; BioLegend, CA, USA). Cortisol was measured using participant saliva and quantified using ELISA. Outcome measures will be measured in picograms/ml	eight weeks
Secondary	Sleep quality	Sleep quality will be measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index a (PSQI) a self reported questionnaire. Sleep quality over the score over 5 is indicative of poor sleep quality.	eight weeks
Secondary	Anxiety	Anxiety will be measured using the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) a self-reported questionnaire. The higher the score the greater the anxiety severity.	eight weeks
Secondary	Memory performance	Associated memory task using face and names pairs. This was performed during the fMRI. Outcome measures include correct and incorrect reponses	eight weeks