Anxiety & Depression Association of America

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious mental illness that can put people at risk of self-harm and death. Many drugs are used to treat MDD, but it can take a long time for them to be effective. Researchers want to know if a faster-acting drug, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK), can better treat the symptoms of MDD. Objective: To test a study drug (HNK) in people with MDD. Eligibility: People aged 18 to 70 years with MDD. They must have had a screening assessment under protocol 01-M-0254. Design: Participants will be tapered off their current MDD drugs over 2 to 5 weeks. They will stay off of the drugs for up to 2 weeks prior to starting the study medication and procedures. They will have a physical exam with blood tests. They will have tests of their heart function, mood, and thinking. They will answer questions about their symptoms. They may choose to have imaging scans and scans of their brain activity. HNK is given through a tube attached to a needle inserted into a vein. Participants will receive infusions on this schedule: They will receive 4 infusions over 2 weeks. They will stay in the clinical center overnight after each infusion or for the duration of the study. They will receive no drugs for 2 to 3 weeks. They will have 4 more infusions over 2 weeks, with overnight stays after each or for the duration of the study. One set of 4 infusions will be the HNK. The other set of 4 infusions will be a placebo. A placebo looks just like the real drug but contains no medicine. Participants will not know when they are getting the HNK or placebo. ...

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

This research study seeks to find causes and treatments of depression in teenagers. The study goals are to increase our knowledge of treatments for depression and understand how the brain changes when teenagers have depression. The study will also compare teenagers with depression to those without mental health diagnoses. This outpatient study is recruiting participants ages 11-17 who are depressed. They must have a pediatrician or other medical provider, be medically healthy, and able to perform research tasks. They may not currently be hospitalized, psychotic or actively suicidal. Teenagers with depression are eligible even if they are taking medication. The study begins with an evaluation that includes clinical assessment, interviews, and questionnaires. - Visits may include paper-and-pencil and computer tests of mood, memory, and thinking; specialized computer games; and structural and brain imaging. If eligible, study participants may return several times a year for up to two years. This part of the study does not involve treatment. - Participants may be eligible for outpatient treatment for up to 25 weeks. This includes evidenced-based "talk" therapy. Participants may choose either Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A) or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). If indicated, participants may opt to receive standard medication treatments along with psychotherapy. Research includes computer tasks and brain imaging. All clinical evaluations, research tasks and visits are free of cost. Participants are compensated for research activities. Parents and teenager must agree to the teenager s participation in research. The study is conducted at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland and enrolls participants from the Washington DC Metro region within 50 miles of NIH. Transportation expenses are reimbursed by NIMH.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Dec 2017

open study

In pediatric dentistry, our primary goals are to prevent dental caries and, when necessary, provide treatment in a safe and comforting environment that minimizes anxiety for young patients. By familiarizing young patients with the steps involved in common dental procedures, tactile pre-visit imagery booklets can reduce the fear of the unknown. Study Objective/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether tactile pre-visit imagery could reduce dental anxiety and fear in pediatric patients prior to their first restorative procedure. An additional aspect of this study entails assessing the patient's behavior and determining if it improves with the use of a tactile pre-visit imagery booklet.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2026

open study

This early-stage pilot trial aims to examine the feasibility, tolerability, and safety of Floatation-REST, or Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy via floatation in frontline healthcare workers, first responders, and emergency medical personnel who experience post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2026

open study

Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs almost as often among men as it does among women. However, while there have been multiple programs designed to prevent maternal PPD, few, if any, interventions exist that have been created specifically to prevent paternal PPD. After engaging in evidence-based qualitative research with soon-to-be or new fathers, a novel interpersonal-therapy based digital program was created to prevent paternal PPD called Together in Parenting (TIP), which comprises multiple podcasts and digital educational handouts. The proposed pilot study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of using TIP as a paternal PPD intervention, will determine the optimal timing of administering TIP to future/new fathers, and will generate preliminary estimates of effect of the intervention to support a future efficacy study.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2026

open study

This study is being conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to explore whether adding psychedelic coaching can enhance the effects of ketamine or esketamine maintenance treatment in individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The investigators are currently enrolling participants who are receiving ongoing maintenance intravenous (IV) ketamine or intranasal esketamine (Spravato) treatment at the MGH Ketamine Clinic. Participation in the study will involve adding coaching sessions to your existing ketamine maintenance treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2026

open study

This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of brenipatide when administered with standard of care (SoC) compared to placebo plus SoC in delaying the return of major depressive symptoms. The trial is divided into three periods as follows: a screening period that will last approximately 1 month, a treatment period that will last a minimum of 12 months, and the follow up period that will last approximately 2 months. The duration of study participation may vary and may be shortened if depression symptoms worsen or if withdrawal from the study occurs for any reason.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2026

open study

The purpose of this study is to test whether transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is an acceptable and helpful treatment for ongoing symptoms of posttraumatic stress syndrome disorder (PTSD) in 12-20 year olds. Ongoing PTSD refers to symptoms that continue after completing trauma-focused psychotherapy. About 1 in 4 patients need additional help to overcome PTSD after completing psychotherapy. Currently, scientists do not know the best way to help adolescents with persistent PTSD, and this study will test TMS as a possible treatment, and hopefully lead to future studies including more people.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2026

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn more about decision making in psychosis spectrum disorders, like schizophrenia. Participants will be people who have had symptoms of a psychosis spectrum disorder start within the last five years. The investigators will study how two study agents change decision making in people with psychosis, by asking participants to complete some brain games on the computer before and after taking the study agents. The investigators hope to improve our understanding of psychosis to help people in the future. The main research questions are: - Does a single dose of modafinil change how people with psychosis play the brain games? - Does a single dose of d-serine change how people with psychosis play the brain games? - Does a single dose of modafinil change brain activity? - Does a single dose of d-serine change brain activity? Participants will: - Complete an interview and self-report questionnaires. - Complete safety screening activities, like a blood draw, a urine drug test, and an alcohol breathalyzer test. - Complete functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans. fMRI uses magnets to take pictures of the brain. There will be six scanning appointments in the study, with two scans each. Appointments will be about a month apart. - Take a single dose of a study agent during each scanning appointment. The study agent will be taken after the first fMRI. There are three study agents in total: modafinil, d-serine, and a placebo. Each participant will take each study agent twice during the study. - Play brain games on a computer that measure decision making, thinking, and problem solving skills

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2026

open study

Older adults who are 50 years of age and older with depressive symptoms, pain and difficulty with mobility will participate in the SPARK intervention study that includes 8 nurse visits in participants' homes to help participants with participants' pain and mood.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2026

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how well JNJ-54135419 works (efficacy) in addition to comprehensive standard of care (SoC) in rapidly reducing the symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD, a mental disorder characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities) as compared with psychoactive placebo (does not contain JNJ-54135419) plus SoC in adolescent participants with acute suicidal ideation or behavior.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2026

open study

The goal of this study is to determine if a relationship can be detected between the administration of an opioid and quantitative respiratory depression in spontaneously breathing non-intubated patients who have undergone general anesthesia and have received perioperative opioids. The primary aim is to determine the temporal effect of opioid administration on respiratory depression as assessed by minute ventilation with a reduction of at least 20% in the percent of predicted minute ventilation. A secondary aim is to determine a dose response of opioid administration and its effect on minute ventilation. The investigators aim to determine the influence of opioid administration on minute ventilation on spontaneously breathing patients during post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Feb 2026

open study

In this study, investigators are testing whether a higher dose of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), can be safely used in people with depression. Participants will come to the Brain Stimulation Lab and receive mild electrical stimulation through electrodes placed on their scalp. The study begins with a safety run-in, where the first few participants will receive stimulation at gradually increasing levels (2, 4, and 6 milliamps) while being closely monitored. If no serious side effects are found, later participants will receive repeated 6 milliamp sessions for 5 days total. Investigators will check skin comfort, mood, and overall tolerability after each session.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2025

open study

The long-term goal of this study is to address the adoption of the new trauma center requirement to establish best practices of screening for acute stress with an intervention to prevent both adolescent PTSD and substance use. The investigators will develop, refine, and pilot test the Adolescent Stress and Substance Intervention Subsequent to Trauma (ASSIST) video interventions that build upon the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma guidelines to improve mental health care during and after hospitalization for traumatic injury. The aims are: PHASE I - Primary Aim 1: To develop and refine two ASSIST video interventions for adolescents and parents admitted to a level 1 pediatric trauma center. PHASE II - Primary Aim 2a: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and implementation potential of the ASSIST video interventions. - Primary Aim 2b: Develop the ASSIST implementation protocol using a national advisory panel of pediatric trauma center leaders. Participants in PHASE 1: Parent and child duo: - Review storyboards for the video interventions - Participate in qualitative interviews at hospital admission and 1 month following discharge Pediatric trauma center clinical staff members: - Complete qualitative interviews Participants in PHASE II: Parent and child duo: - Shown their own video interventions - Complete assessments at admission and 1-, 2-, 3- months after discharge

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2026

open study

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of NBI-1065845 compared with placebo as an adjunctive treatment in delaying relapse of depressive symptoms (maintenance of effect) in participants with MDD.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2025

open study

This study seeks to examine the effects of treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram, a first-line treatment for depression, in combination with placebo or with extended-release memantine, on neuropsychological function, regional brain activity assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and depressive symptoms, in participants with Major Depressive Disorder. Escitalopram is administered in an open-label fashion in this study; extended release memantine is administered in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled manner.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2026

open study

This double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will examine the effect of probiotic Visbiome on the brain and gut microbiome of individuals 15 to 24 years of age.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2025

open study

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with substantial impairments in quality of life and is among the most disabling psychiatric disorders. Exposure therapy is among the first-line of treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) . Extinction learning is thought to be a core mechanism of therapeutic exposure. Fear and safety signal learning are traditionally associated with activity and connectivity within the canonical corticolimbic "fear circuit", which includes the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and hippocampus. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technology that can augment brain plasticity, learning, and memory. The proposed study will test if obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with inhibitory safety learning deficits and if transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) normalizes functional connectivity and safety signal processing to recover extinction deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2025

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if zelquistinel works to treat depression in adults. It will also learn about the safety of zelquistinel. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does zelquistinel reduce depression scores in participants compared to participants who take a placebo (a look-alike tablet that contains no zelquistinel)? What medical problems are observed in participants who take zelquistinel? Participants will take one tablet of zelquistinel or placebo every week for 6 weeks. Participants will visit the clinic every week of the 6 week period to have the severity of their depression evaluated.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in pediatric patients who are experiencing major depressive episodes (MDEs) associated with a primary diagnosis of bipolar I or bipolar II disorder as confirmed by Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL), according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

The purpose of this mixed methods study is to adapt CAPABLE as CAPABLE Transplant to accomplish two things: 1) To resolve barriers to being classified as active on the Kidney Transplant (KT) waitlist, 2) as a surgical prehabilitation intervention targeting the pre-frail/ frail KT waitlist population. It consists of two phases- an open label pilot and a randomized waitlist control trial, and 3) pilot test the feasibility and acceptability for CAPABLE Transplant in symptom and waitlist specific metrics amongst low-income active kidney transplant waitlist candidates.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group, fixed-dose study in patients with a primary diagnosis of MDD according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) who have an inadequate response to ongoing ADT.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

The purpose of this Expanded Access Treatment Protocol is to make NRX-101 available to patients who have treatment-resistant depression and who are unable to participate in, or do not have access to, the ongoing NRX-101 clinical trial. The objective of the program is to provide treatment access while monitoring safety in the context of NRX-101 administration paired with theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation..

Type: Expanded Access

open study

The purpose of this clinical trial is to answer the question: can the investigators predict which adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD) will successfully respond to treatment? To answer this question, the investigators plan to recruit 190 adult participants who experience extreme forms of social anxiety to undergo brain imaging before and after 12 weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Adults in the SAD group who do not respond enough to group CBT may be offered the opportunity to complete an additional 12 weeks of individual CBT while receiving SSRI medication (sertraline, see below) for SAD. Data collected from participants who experience anxiety will be compared to a group of 50 participants with little or no social anxiety, who will serve as a comparison group.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

Pregnant women in South Africa (SA) are at high risk of HIV acquisition. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use during pregnancy is both safe and effective in preventing HIV. However, posttraumatic stress (associated with intimate partner violence and/or other traumas) and depression negatively impact PrEP adherence among women in SA. Addressing posttraumatic stress and depression will likely improve PrEP adherence and persistence (i.e., sustained PrEP adherence over time) during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which are periods of dramatically increased HIV risk. The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of a cognitive behavioral intervention that targets common underlying factors of posttraumatic stress and depression to improve PrEP adherence and persistence during pregnancy and the postpartum transition. The specific aims of the project are to (1) explore the mechanisms by which posttraumatic stress and depression impact PrEP adherence and persistence during pregnancy via qualitative interviews; (2) develop a brief PrEP adherence and persistence intervention (~4 sessions) that reduces the negative impact of psychological mechanisms common to posttraumatic stress and depression on PrEP use, and builds behavioral skills to improve self-care; and (3) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and signals of preliminary efficacy of the intervention, which will be integrated into antenatal care, in a pilot randomized controlled trial. All data will be collected in the Midwife Obstetrics Unit (MOU) in Gugulethu, a peri-urban settlement and former township community outside of Cape Town, SA.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2025

open study