Anxiety & Depression Association of America

This project will examine changes in depression and anxiety following a 10-week intervention promoting nature-based physical activity in mental health settings. We will recruit ten licensed therapists whose caseload includes adults with depression and anxiety. Following a training by our team, each participating therapist will recruit six clients, who will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. Clients in the intervention condition will engage in walk-and-talk therapy outdoors during weekly sessions and discuss strategies for being active outdoors on their own. We will assess changes in depression, anxiety, and nature-based physical activity in both groups.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

The goal of this study is to examine attentional biases for facial displays of emotion as a mechanism of risk in infants of mothers with postpartum major depression, and the potential role of infant arousal in the development of these attentional biases.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

Trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder (SUD) present major threats to public health. PTSD and SUD are major correlates of disability, often resulting in severe social and occupational impairment. Comorbidity between PTSD and SUD (PTSD/SUD) is common and frequently co-occurs with other mental health ailments including depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Comorbidity may be amplified in groups vulnerable to high trauma exposure, such as women with low socioeconomic status including women experiencing homelessness (WEH). Moreover, the reciprocal nature of PTSD/SUD (substances are used to cope with PTSD symptoms; substance use can create high-risk situations for new traumas to occur), can create a cycle of trauma and symptomatology leading to a critical health disparity. PTSD/SUD can be costly and difficult to treat, with treatment completion often low and relapse rates often high. Low-cost, complementary interventions, such as self-compassion (SC) interventions, which target key mechanisms that maintain PTSD/SUD, could improve treatment outcomes. SC interventions include practices that build skills to improve emotional responses, cognitive understanding, and mindfulness. Recent research supports the benefit of SC interventions for reducing PTSD, SUD, and related comorbidities, potentially with large effects. However, sample sizes have generally been small and randomized designs infrequently used. Moreover, while SC interventions may act to improve key mechanisms of treatment response and/or symptom maintenance (e.g., emotion regulation/dysregulation, trauma-related guilt, trauma-related shame, moral injury, and craving), such mediating factors have been underexplored. To address these limitations, the present proposal will implement community-based research principles and use a two phase, mixed-method design to adapt and test a widely used SC intervention (Mindful Self Compassion; MSC) for use with a sample of WEH with PTSD/SUD. The project will be conducted in partnership with a state-funded drug treatment facility that serves women and families experiencing high health disparities. Phase I was completed in 2023 and adapted the standard MSC course for use with trauma-exposed WEH with PTSD/SUD using the ADAPT-ITT model, an eight-stage model that engages community partners to increase feasibility and acceptability of interventions for at-risk populations. Phase II will be an open-label cluster randomized clinical trial (N=202) to test the benefit of the adapted MSC at improving primary (PTSD, substance use) and secondary outcomes (depression, anxiety, hopelessness) among a sample of WEH with PTSD/SUD residing in a residential drug treatment site. MSC (n=101) will be compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU; n=101). WEH in the MSC group will complete a 6-week (six sessions plus a half-day retreat) MSC intervention. The TAU group will engage in weekly check-ins with the research team but will not receive an intervention. WEH will be assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at a 4-month follow-up. One-on-one interviews will be conducted with the MSC group to collect qualitative data on experiences. An exploratory aim will be to elucidate mechanism of treatment-response and maintenance or remission of PTSD symptoms. These potential mechanisms will include SC, emotion regulation/dysregulation, trauma-related guilt, trauma-related shame, moral injury, and craving. Results may inform treatment for PTSD/SUD in WEH and other groups experiencing high health disparities and provide valuable insights into mechanisms underlying PTSD/SUD symptoms over time. Findings are relevant to military populations, which experience high rates of PTSD/SUD, and other populations disproportionately exposed to trauma.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

This study addresses the critical need for innovative therapeutic interventions in Veterans with serious mental illnesses (SMI) receiving care in VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs). The vast majority of individuals with SMI suffer from cognitive impairments, leading to chronic functional disability, and impaired outcomes, causing a significant strain on support networks and the VA healthcare system. This study aims to introduce an innovative mental health therapy, Targeted Cognitive Training (TCT), to Veterans struggling with serious mental illnesses (SMI). TCT works to improve basic sensory information processing and, ultimately, clinical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning. By using EEG biomarkers to identify Veterans with SMI receiving care within VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers who are most likely to benefit from this treatment, and by understanding how best to implement this therapy, the investigators hope to enhance care and improve life quality for Veterans with SMI.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

This feasibility clinical trial aims to assess the feasibility of implementing a 1-month app-based meditation program with officers in the juvenile legal system and other professionals working directly with legal-involved youth.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute is performing this research to accelerate diverse disease research using cells from the body (such as skin or blood cells) to make stem cells and other types of cells, conduct research on the samples, perform genetic testing, and store the samples for future use. Through this research, researchers hope to identify future treatments or even cures for the major diseases of our time.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

The study will examine the role of digital wellness modules (brief mindfulness and light to moderate physical exercise) delivered through a smartphone wellness application and their short-term effects on health behavior motivation and change, and longer-term quality of life and non-pathological affective states.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

To evaluate the safety and tolerability of iloperidone in adolescent patients with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder for up to 52 weeks of treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

The investigators are doing this study to learn more about how to prevent type 2 diabetes in teenage girls. The purpose of this study is to find out if taking part in a cognitive-behavioral therapy group, exercise training group, or a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and exercise training groups, decreases stress, improves mood, increases physical activity and physical fitness, and decreases insulin resistance among teenagers at risk for diabetes.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to understand how a cognitive-behavioral treatment (a form of psychological treatment) for depression changes the gut microbiome (micro-organisms that regulate the health of the gut), immune system, and the brain functioning in people living with HIV.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2022

open study

The overall objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of identifying transdiagnostic biomarkers of cognitive function mediated by neuromodulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that are translatable across disease groups in order to more accurately phenotype clusters of cognitive dysfunction. Completing behavioral paradigms with electrophysiology and TMS is a challenging frontier. This study focuses on the feasibility of such an endeavor for those with chronic pain or depression as well as healthy controls.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2022

open study

An open-label, single-arm, clinical research study about how to make transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an FDA-approved treatment, more effective for patients with late-life depression using fMRI.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2024

open study

The overall goal of the study is to determine if treatment of a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) improves the outcomes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We showed that MDD is present in 25% of CKD patients and independently associated with progression to End-Stage Kidney Disease, hospitalization, and death. Depression is also associated with lower quality of life (QOL), fatigue, poor sleep, and non-adherence to diet and medications. However, evidence for efficacy and tolerability of commonly-used antidepressant medications or nonpharmacologic treatments are limited in CKD patients. Our group was the first to conduct a double-blind randomized controlled trial for MDD treatment in 201 patients with non-dialysis CKD, and showed that sertraline, a commonly used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), was no more efficacious than placebo for improving depressive symptoms. It becomes imperative to test novel strategies to treat MDD in CKD. We propose to compare with a control group, the efficacy and tolerability of two novel treatment strategies - (1) Behavioral Activation Teletherapy (BAT) for 16 weeks, with the addition of bupropion, a non-SSRI antidepressant, at 8 weeks for patients whose depression has not remitted (non-remitters); and (2) bupropion for 16 weeks, with the addition of BAT at 8 weeks for non-remitters. In Aim 1, we will investigate the efficacy and tolerability of these 2 strategies vs. control for improvement in a primary endpoint of depressive symptoms in 201 patients (67 per group) with non-dialysis CKD stages 3b-5 and MDD at 2 sites, randomized 1:1:1 to either strategy or a control group of Clinical Management plus placebo. We hypothesize that either approach vs. control will result in a minimal clinically important difference of 2 points improvement in depressive symptoms, as ascertained blindly by the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology. In Aim 2 we will investigate the efficacy and tolerability of 8 weeks of (1) single-blind BAT plus placebo or (2) double-blind bupropion plus Clinical Management vs. control for improvement in depressive symptoms. In Aim 3, we will compare the efficacy of these 2 treatments strategies vs. control for improvement in CKD patient-centered outcomes including a. adherence to medications and healthcare visits; b. fatigue; c. sleep; and d. overall functioning. A clinical trial is urgently needed to address the evidence gap that exists for MDD treatment in CKD patients.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2020

open study

X-NOVA2 is a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of azetukalner as a monotherapy in adult participants diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

This study is only enrolling at Baylor College of Medicine. The other research locations listed serve to support data analysis only. This research study is to investigate the use of technology called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to potentially improve Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression (TRBD) symptoms in patients with severe cases. DBS involves the surgical implantation of leads and electrodes into specific areas of the brain, which are thought to influence the disease. A pack implanted in the chest, called the neurotransmitter, keeps the electrical current coursing to the brain through a wire that connects the neurotransmitter and electrodes. It is believed DBS may restore balance to dysfunctional brain circuitry implicated in TRBD. The goal of this study is to enhance current approaches to DBS targeting in the brain and to use a novel approach to find a better and more reliable system for TRBD treatment. Its important for participants to understand that this is an investigational study where there could be a lack of effectiveness in improving TRBD symptoms. There may be no directly benefit from taking part in this study. This study is expected to last 20 months and involves 3 main steps. 1. Medical, psychiatric, and cognitive evaluations. 2. Implantation of a brain stimulation system. 3. Follow up after implantation of device, including programming, recording, and psychiatric testing. There are risks and benefits to this study which need to be considered when deciding to participate or not. Some of the risks are from surgery, the DBS device and programming, the tests involved, and potential loss of confidentiality, as well as other unknown risks. Some of the more serious risks involved in this study and the percentage that they occur: 1. Bleeding inside the Brain (1 to 2 percent). 2. Infection from the procedures (3 percent) 3. Seizure caused from the procedures (1.2 percent) However, the benefit of this study is that it may help relieve or decrease TRBD symptoms. This form of treatment has shown to reduce symptom severity in other cases. This could potentially improve quality of life and activities in daily routines. There is also a potential benefit to society in that the data the investigators will obtain from this study may help increase the understanding of the mechanisms underlying TRBD symptoms, as well as enhanced Deep Brain Stimulation techniques. Study participation is expected to last 20 months from the time the DBS device is activated and should include approximately 23 visits. These visits also include 8 separate, 24 hour stays at the Menninger NeuroBehvaioral Monitoring Unit (NBU). These 24-hour sessions will occur at multiple points throughout the study (1 week prior to surgery, the week preceding device activation, the week following activation, then after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months). Participants will need to stay locally for the week of the NBU stay (typically Monday through Friday). Study visits will include clinician administered assessments and questionnaires, subject reported assessments, neuropsychological testing, and mobile behavioral assessments which will occur around 23 visits over the course of 20 months.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The specific aim of this proposed study is to investigate the feasibility and therapeutic potential of transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) as a treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). Specifically, the investigators will study the effects of amygdala tFUS on corticolimbic activation during an emotion regulation task in BD, the effects of amygdala tFUS on corticolimbic resting-state functional connectivity in BD, and explore the relationship between tFUS-associated changes in amygdala activity and mood symptoms. The investigators hypothesize that transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) of the amygdala will be associated with decreased amygdala activation and increased ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation during a modified version of the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) paired with affective pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The investigators also hypothesize that tFUS of the amygdala will be associated with increased resting-state functional connectivity between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Finally, the investigators hypothesize that tFUS-associated reductions in amygdala activity could be positively correlated with reductions in depressive symptom scores and global improvement.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

This is a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, multi-center study to evaluate the efficacy of AXS-05, compared to bupropion, in preventing the relapse of depressive symptoms in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) who have responded to treatment with AXS-05.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently accompanied by difficulty concentrating, poor memory, and inability to keep up with tasks, which negatively impacts a person's ability to function at work and in relationships. Currently available treatments do not fully relieve all symptoms. A published research report showed positive evidence that the stimulant medication methylphenidate was beneficial in treating these problems. This study will evaluate the ability of methylphenidate to treat PTSD and associated neurocognitive complaints in Veterans. An innovative feature is the study's N-of-1 design. In this design, every participant will move back and forth every 4-5 weeks between treatment with methylphenidate and treatment with placebo, in random order and under double-blind conditions, over a 20-week period. The investigators will compare the aggregated change in PTSD and neurocognitive symptoms between periods of treatment with methylphenidate versus placebo. Results will help clinicians to better choose the best treatment for Veterans living with PTSD.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2024

open study

A randomized controlled trial will compare hippocampal neuroplasticity, antidepressant, and cognitive outcomes between individualized amplitude and fixed 800 mA amplitude ECT in older depressed subjects (n = 25 per group, n = 50 total). Relative to fixed 800 mA ECT: H1: Individualized amplitude arm will have improved RUL antidepressant outcome (IDS-C30 response rates and reduced BT electrode placement switch at V2). H2: Individualized amplitude arm will have improved cognitive outcomes (DKEFS-Verbal Fluency

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation and effectiveness of the psychosocial eHealth intervention, My Wellbeing Guide, on the proposed primary outcome, depressive symptoms, in patients diagnosed with cancer who receive care at Northwestern Medicine and the University of Miami Health System. Eligible patients will be directly contacted by the study team for recruitment. The intervention includes cognitive behavioral therapy management strategies for health-related stress in the form of animated videos, interactive activities, and written content. The intervention will be delivered via an online application over an 7-week period. Intervention participants will also complete four assessments: baseline (at the beginning of the research study), post-intervention (7 weeks after baseline), a 6-month follow-up, and a 12-month follow up. Participants are randomized into either an intervention application (described above) or a control application (which will provide links to helpful resources for patients with cancer, such as the contact information for cancer support services at Northwestern University and the University of Miami, and the link to the National Cancer Institute website, and the American Cancer Society website.) Control participants will also complete four assessments: baseline (at the beginning of the research study), post-intervention (7 weeks after baseline), a 6-month follow-up, and a 12-month follow up.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2022

open study

This is a study to find out if a device that temporarily alters brain activity (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, rTMS) might be used to change how people with anxiety or related concerns cope with feared or anxiety-producing situations. The study is recruiting people who recently started treatment for anxiety or a related concern. The study involves 3 visits to the Medical University of South Carolina. At the first visit, participants do interviews and surveys asking about anxiety and related concerns, and they also do tasks where they see and react to emotional pictures while their brain activation is measured. At the next two visits, participants receive rTMS, which works by rapidly turning a focused magnetic field on and off repeatedly over the head in a way that passes directly through the hair, scalp, and skull and onto the brain and can temporarily increase brain activity under the magnetic field. After rTMS, participants do two tasks where they see and react to emotional situations while wearing sensors on their hand, arms, face, and head. Each visit in this study is expected to last between 2 - 4 hours. This is not a treatment study, but the study is being conducted with the hope that it will help improve treatment in the future.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

The purpose of this study is to test the drug CORT108297, which blocks the hormone cortisol, for treatment of PTSD in Veterans, and establish a safety profile that will inform the design of future studies.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2022

open study

This is a double blind active placebo controlled clinical trial for individuals within an inpatient setting with moderate to severe depression. The purpose of this study is to assess if nebulized ketamine can reduce depressive symptoms.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2024

open study

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of an innovative approach to treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), particularly in cases where patients have not responded well to traditional therapies. Specifically, the objective is to evaluate the antidepressant effects of a Dose-Optimized and Spaced Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (DOS-tDCS) protocol in participants with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) compared to spaced tDCS only and sham tDCS in a 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). The proposed method involves applying low-intensity electrical currents through the scalp in a manner that is both more intense and more frequently spaced than standard treatments. This approach is hypothesized to lead to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms. Participants in the study will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: the experimental group receiving the DOS-tDCS treatment, a group receiving spaced tDCS only, or a control group receiving a sham (placebo) treatment. Outcomes will be measured over a period of six weeks. The study's goal is to offer a potentially more accessible and effective treatment option for individuals who have not benefited from existing MDD therapies.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

The goal of this parallel arm prospective randomized control trial study is to compare outcomes in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR) Surgery patients after exposure to a virtual psychological intervention (VPI) versus standard care. The main question the investigators are asking is if virtual administration of psychological CBT modules will be an accessible and convenient vehicle to improve ACLR outcomes. Participants will be placed either into a treatment group receiving virtual modules of cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to standard of care ACLR surgery or the control group receiving only the standard of care ACLR surgery. The investigators hypothesize that ACLR patients in the VPI cohort will have improved return to sport and post operative outcomes compared to controls.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study