View clinical trials related to Schizophrenia; Negative Type.
Filter by:Schizophrenia patients commonly present with persistent negative symptoms which remain the main reason for dysfunction after recovery from an acute episode of psychotic symptoms. Negative symptoms in schizophrenia exact significant burden with no effective pharmacological or behavior treatment options thus far. Neuromodulatory modalities present a novel and alternative treatment approach and recent trials have shown preliminary evidence for the efficacy of intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) to treat negative symptoms in schizophrenia. In this study, we aim to examine the effectiveness of an accelerated iTBS treatment protocol as an augmentation treatment regime for patient in rehabilitation care with persistent negative symptoms. We propose a pragmatic, open label and single arm clinical trial. Forty patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia, who had been stabilized from psychotic symptoms and currently suffering from dominant negative symptoms will be recruited and undergo accelerated iTBS treatment for 5 consecutive sessions each day for 5 working days. Participants will be followed up immediately, 1 month and 3 months after the end of treatment. Clinical assessment includes, BNSS, The Brief Negative Symptom Scale; SANS, Scale for the assessment of negative symptoms; SAPS, Scale for the assessment of positive symptoms; PANSS, Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale; MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale; CDSS, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia: SDS, Sheehans' disability scale and EQ-5D. The primary endpoint of the trial is the change of negative symptoms as assessed by PANSS, negative symptoms subscale immediately after the treatment. This study will determine whether accelerated iTBS is effective to be delivered as an augmentation therapy for patients with persistent negative symptoms. The optimal treatment system for this population can be immediately translated to clinical practice and benefit patients in need.
The purpose of this study is to attempt to treat cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, with the nutritional supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that affects approximately 65 million people worldwide, and causes significant disability and suffering. Patients with schizophrenia often hear voices and have persecutory delusions. Though these are the most recognizable features of the illness, the deficits most closely linked to disability are known as cognitive deficits and negative symptoms. Cognitive abilities refer to the ability to perform mental tasks that require focus and attention, and also include memory and verbal skills. Negative symptoms refer to a lack of interest in the world, and decreased social interactions. In our study, the investigators aim to improve these symptoms and deficits by targeting the glutamate system. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, and its regulation is abnormal in schizophrenia: glutamate levels are too low at some receptors, and too high at others. As well, free radicals surrounding glutamate receptors also interfere with their proper function. N-acetylcystine (NAC) is a safe and widely-available dietary supplement that may restore glutamate to its correct levels in the brain, and may also help protect the brain from antioxidant damage. In our study, patients with schizophrenia will be randomly assigned to receive either NAC or placebo for 8 weeks. Brain levels of glutamate and an important antioxidant, glutathione, will be measured before and after treatment, using a neuroimaging technique known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Cognitive and negative symptoms will also be assessed before, during and after treatment. The investigators hypothesize that glutamate and glutathione will be normalized in patients' brains, and that their negative and cognitive symptoms will be improved, too.
Schizophrenia is a complex, challenging, and heterogeneous psychiatric condition, affecting up to 0.5% of the population and responsible for nearly 2% of all Canadian health-care expenditure. Much of the morbidity of the illness is related to its negative symptoms, including amotivation, asociality, anhedonia and flattened emotional affect, which lead to functional impairment and withdrawal from social and occupational domains. In contrast to positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, there are currently no effective treatments for negative symptoms, which experts recognize are largely responsible for the long-term disability of a majority of patients with schizophrenia. Advances in neuroscience have allowed a greater understanding of negative symptoms and have identified key structures and circuits believed to generate and maintain them. Here, we propose the application of a targeted therapy, deep brain stimulation, to alter the circuits driving negative symptoms.