View clinical trials related to Schizoaffective Disorder.
Filter by:This study is to determine the tolerability and efficacy of an accelerated schedule of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for treating symptoms of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
This research compares the relative efficacy of two empirically-supported, standardized programs of cognitive remediation for treatment of cognitive deficits and community function in schizophrenia to help inform best practices. The proposed study advances public health by developing and evaluating new behavioral techniques for improving psychosocial outcome in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia (SZ) and schizoaffective (SA) disorders are comprised of several debilitating symptoms. It was suggested that compounds with neuroprotective effects might be useful in the management of SZ/SA symptoms. Our previous clinical trials indicated significant beneficial effects for augmentations with two different neuroprotective agents: Pregnenolone and L-Theanine. Pregnenolone (PREG) is a neurosteroid, which displays multiple effects on the central nervous system. Our recent 8-week, randomized, double-blind trial among patients with chronic SZ/SA disorders, in which PREG versus placebo and DHEA was added to antipsychotics, yielded encouraging results: PREG augmentation demonstrated significant amelioration of positive symptoms, EPS, as well as an improvement in attention, and working memory performance of SZ/SA disorder patients (Ritsner et al 2010). L-Theanine is a unique amino acid present almost exclusively in the tea plant. It possesses neuroprotective, mood-enhancing, and relaxation activities. L-theanine augmentation to antipsychotic therapy can ameliorate positive, activation, and anxiety symptoms in SZ/SA disorder patients (grant # 06TGF-911, (Ritsner et al 2010). This proposed study would extend our prior research with Pregnenolone and L-theanine by combining both agents versus placebo. We hypothesized that addition of both these compounds to ongoing antipsychotics would significantly improve the clinical status of SZ/SA patients. Methods: In an 8-week, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial a combination of PREG (50 mg/day) with L-theanine (400 mg/day) versus placebo will be added to the stable ongoing antipsychotic treatment of 200 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. This trial will be conducted at five sites in Israel. Participants will be assessed at baseline and after 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of treatment. A battery of research instruments will be used for the assessment of psychopathology, side effects, general functioning and quality of life
It is the goal of this study adherence and quality of life in a population of people suffering from schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and to analyze if these factors are influenced by treatment, support, social services, and residential treatment. The study population is drawn from the the cantons Glarus and Graubunden as well as Liechtenstein.