View clinical trials related to Psychotic Disorders.
Filter by:We are conducting a randomized, 24-week, double-blind study, comparing fluoxetine with aripiprazole in 48 patients with attenuated positive symptoms at a level of at least moderate severity.
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.
Treatment adaptation and implementation study for adult jail inmates with co-occurring substance use disorders.
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.
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.
The primary objective of this study is to determine whether aspirin is effective in alleviating symptoms of the clinical high risk (CHR) syndrome for psychosis. The investigators further aim to determine whether it may delay or prevent the onset of psychosis in those currently experiencing CHR symptoms. As secondary measures the investigators aim to collect laboratory studies of inflammation markers and genetic samples to determine whether certain genetic profiles correlate with risk for psychosis, or response to aspirin treatment.
The study looks at whether treatment with iloperidone (Fanapt) is associated with improvements in social cognition in individuals who have been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Social cognition (the ability to understand your feelings and the feelings of others) is closely related to functional outcomes, including communication, empathy, and emotional recognition.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether two commonly-prescribed antipsychotic medications (aripiprazole and risperidone) have different effects on brain function and cognition in schizophrenia patients.
Current Canadian Clinical Practice guidelines emphasize the need for effective psychosocial adjuncts to pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia (Canadian Psychiatric Association 2005). This randomized control trial seeks to contribute to the body of evidence supporting psychosocial treatments by assessing the effectiveness of metacognitive training (MCT) and cognitive remediation (CR) at treating the persistent positive and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. MCT is a therapy designed to improve patient awareness and insight into the cognitive biases that are frequently seen in schizophrenia; it has been associated with decreased psychopathology (specifically decreased positive symptoms) and improved psychosocial function. CR is a therapy designed to improve performance in a variety of neurocognitive functions such as attention, memory, and executive functioning; it has been associated with improved cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Both MCT and CR will be compared to treatment as usual (TAU) as done previously (Kumar er al., 2010; Moritz et al., 2011). Hypotheses: 1. MCT will produce greater change in delusions (severity and conviction) than CR and TAU. 2. CR and MCT will produce greater change in social/everyday functioning than TAU. 3. CR will produce greater improvement in basic attention and memory measures relative to MCT and TAU. 4. MCT will produce greater reduction on tasks measuring targeted reasoning biases relative to CR and TAU. 5. CR will increase efficiency of functional networks on a working memory task relative to MCT and TAU. 6. MCT will lead to a greater decrease in the neural response to evidence matches relative to CR and TAU.
Background: - Oxytocin is a chemical that the brain normally produces. It plays an important part in the way humans and other animals act in social and emotional situations. Adults with schizophrenia have been studied to see if oxytocin can reduce some symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hearing voices, feeling suspicious, and not feeling interested in daily life. These studies show that oxytocin may help. However, it has not been studied in children who develop schizophrenia. Researchers want to see if oxytocin, given as a nasal spray, is safe and can reduce schizophrenia symptoms in children. Objectives: - To see if an oxytocin nasal spray can reduce schizophrenia symptoms in children. Eligibility: - Children above 10 years of age who have childhood-onset schizophrenia, and have schizophrenia symptoms in spite of taking medication. Design: - This study will last 4 weeks. Participants will stay in the hospital for the entire period of the study. Participants may also have an extra 2 weeks of study medication and 1 week of testing immediately following the initial 4 weeks. - Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical and psychiatric history. They will provide blood and urine samples, and have imaging studies of the brain. They will also have tests to look at their social and emotional functioning. These tests will take 1 week to perform. - Participants will have either oxytocin or placebo nasal spray twice daily for 2 weeks. - At the end of the 2-week period with nasal spray, there will be 1 week with no nasal spray. All the tests of week 1 will be repeated. - The optional extra 3 weeks (2 weeks with oxytocin and one week for testing) will be similar to the second, third, and fourth weeks of the study. All participants will have oxytocin during this period.