View clinical trials related to Schizophreniform Disorder.
Filter by:The participants in the study will receive psychiatric treatment at the UCLA Aftercare Research Program. All participants in this 12-month RCT will receive cognitive training. Half of the patients will also be randomly assigned to the aerobic exercise and strength training condition, and the other half will be randomly assigned to the Healthy Living Group condition. The primary outcome measures are improvement in cognition and level of engagement in the in-group and at-home exercise sessions. Increases in the level of the patient's serum brain-derived neurotropic factor (specifically Mature BDNF) which causes greater brain neuroplasticity and is indicator of engagement in aerobic exercise, will be measured early in the treatment phase in order to confirm engagement of this target. In order to demonstrate the feasibility and portability of this intervention outside of academic research programs, the interventions will be provided via videoconferencing. The proposed study will incorporate additional methods to maximize participation in the exercise condition, including the use of the Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) platform to enhance motivation for treatment based on Self-Determination Theory principles, and a "bridging" group to help the participants generalize gains to everyday functioning. In addition, the exercise group participants will receive personally tailored text reminders to exercise.
Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain. Studies with rodents indicate that levels of KYNA can impact levels of the neurotransmitters glutamate and dopamine. One way to reliably increase KYNA levels is by ingesting the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is a normal part of the human diet. Tryptophan gets metabolized/changed to other chemicals in the body- including KYNA. By giving people 6 grams of tryptophan, the investigators will be able to increase the KYNA level in a controlled way. The investigators will then be able to study the effects of KYNA on neurotransmitters by using cognitive tests and magnetic resonance imaging techniques (measuring brain activity and brain chemistry using the MRI magnet). The overall goal of the study is to examine how the medication N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when added to tryptophan, affects various cognitive functions, such as verbal and visual memory. The investigators will also use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine how NAC affects brain activity and chemicals.
This a randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial which aims to determine the beneficial effects of minocycline augmentation to clozapine in partial responders to Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia (TRS).
The study examine the effectiveness of an integrated care program including therapeutic assertive community treatment (ACT) for people with psychotic disorders fulfilling severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI, ACCESS-II study).
Environmental risk factors for the development of schizophrenia include infections during the perinatal period or later in life with Toxoplasma gondii (TG) being one of the candidate agents. A recent review (Torrey and Yolken, 2003) on TG in schizophrenia and other serious mental disorder reported higher antibodies to TG in patients compared to controls in 18 of 19 studies, one having been conducted by the investigators group. In a second, independent study on first-episode schizophrenia (n=56) and control subjects (n=32), sera were sampled and standard instruments used to assess diagnoses and psychopathology, respectively to screening controls. For the total sample, contacts with animals during pregnancy and age emerged as a non-significant predictors of TG IgG titers. Means of patients' and controls' TG IgG titers did not differ significantly but variances did; a subgroup of patients' titers reached much higher levels than those of controls. Patients in the high TG IgG subgroup were older (p=0.001), also they were older when psychiatric symptoms appeared, more individuals had regular animal contacts during pregnancy, or rural upbringing including regular animal contact, more consumption of raw meat, and a higher absolute treatment response (all trend levels). Regarding the short term course of patients, the investigators detected decreasing IgG titers in several individuals A power analysis demonstrated that results fell short of significance due to lack of statistical power. Based on the power analysis, the investigators propose an opel label, multicenter study at three regionally different sites within Germany (Halle, Hamm, Heidelberg). The investigators intent to study 173 first-episode patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and schizophreniform disorder and 173 matched controls. The investigators hypothesize that - according to the heterogeneity of the illness - a subgroup of patients will exhibit higher TG IgG titers compared to the remaining patients and to controls; that this subgroup will have had regular contact with animals during pregnancy and early life as well as developmental delays; and that clinical improvement, response to treatment, and subjective well-being will run parallel with TG IgG decrease. Patients shall be assessed on admission to hospital, at discharge and at 6- and 12-month-follow-up with respect to TG antibody titers, symptomatology, neuropsychology, predictors of outcome, quality of life, and neurological soft signs. In controls two assessments shall be performed, 12 months apart. All foreseen assessments will be performed using standard measurement instruments with sound reliability and validity such as the SCID and the PANSS. Exposure to cats, other warm-blooded life-stock, and raw meat will be assessed using a special questionnaire.
In the last decade cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches for patients with schizophrenia have been developed, which where especially designed to reduce severity of positive symptoms, readmission rates, treatment non-compliance and disability. Although CBT addresses the key problems of early onset psychoses (EOP)treatment and first evaluations of CBT in adults with schizophrenia are promising, no experience with CBT in adolescents with EOP are available. Therefore the present study is conducted to develop a modified CBT (mCBT) for adolescents with EOP, to explore its acceptance and feasibility and to provide data for a realistic estimation of achievable effect size. Patients are randomized to receive either mCBT+TAU or TAU over a 9 month period. mCBT is an individual outpatient treatment of 20 session and 5 psychoeducational sessions with parents. Follow-ups for two years every 6 months are planned.
This is a double blind randomized investigation of donepezil for patients suffering from schizophrenia, undergoing ECT. Patients will be randomized to receive either donezepil or plasebo, in order to gauge whether donezepil has a protective effect on memory disfunction, while patients are treated with ECT. Several parameters will be invistigated at baseline: general psychopathological measures, memory function scales, side effects scales. The same measurements will be taken throughout the trial and one month after ending the ECT.