Clinical Research Directory

A Multimodal Imaging Study of Dopamine in Early Psychosis

The development of new treatments for psychosis, a psychiatric condition that is prevalent and highly disabling despite antipsychotic medications, has been limited, in part, by a lack of information from brain imaging studies during the period that leads to the development of psychotic symptoms. In this project the investigators will use Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) to examine a brain chemical that is involved in schizophrenia called dopamine and where it first becomes abnormal. The investigators will use multimodal PET/MR imaging (i.e., \[11C\]raclopride w/MPH challenge and NM-MRI) in the same CHR patients. The investigators will recruit 115 clinical high risk individuals. All subjects will undergo \[11C\]raclopride w/methylphenidate challenge and neuromelanin-MRI imaging along with clinical assessments. Patients will be followed every 3 months for two years or until conversion to psychosis, whichever comes first, to assess for conversion to psychosis and clinical outcomes.

A Study Exploring Changes in a Variety of Biomarkers Following Dosing With MT1988 in Participants at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how tests undertaken by people at high risk of developing psychosis (aged 17 to 30 years old) change when those people are given the study drug MT1988 daily for 8 weeks. This will help identify tests that could be used in later trials developing treatments for symptoms in people at high risk of developing psychosis, to measure whether those new treatments are effective. The main question this trial aims to answer is: Can any of the tests (biomarkers) used in this study detect changes in participants dosed with one of two different dose levels of MT1988? Researchers will compare the results from two dose levels of MT1988 to a placebo group. Researchers do not expect to see the test results change in participants taking placebo and this will be compared to changes expected in test results in participants taking MT1988. Participants will: * take a dose of MT1988 or placebo twice per day for 8 weeks * attend clinic appointments every two weeks to undertake assessments * report any side effects they experience to the researchers

Experience of UHR and PEP Individuals During Mindfulness: a Qualitative Phenomenological Study

The goal of this qualitative study is to explore and describe the lived experiences of individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) or first episode of psychosis (FEP) who have participated in a group-based mindfulness-based intervention. Secondary objectives include identifying potential adverse effects of a group-based mindfulness-based intervention among UHR or FEP.

Efficacy of Mindfulness in PREventing Progression to Psychosis in Individuals With an Ultra High Risk for Psychosis

The main objective is to evaluate the efficacy of a group-based mindfulness therapy programme in reducing distress associated with symptoms of UHR (Ultra High Risk) or FEP (first psychotic episode) compared with usual treatment. The secondary objectives were to study the efficacy of a group-based mindfulness intervention: on the reduction of psychotic symptoms; on the maintenance over time (6 months of follow-up) of the efficacy of the intervention on the distress associated with the symptoms of the UHR or PEP state; and on various dimensions associated with care: cognitive functions, anxiety, quality of life.

Stratification and Treatment in Early Psychosis Study - PROMOTE

The purpose of this trial is: * To investigate whether cannabidiol (CBD), compared to placebo, can reduce the severity of attenuated psychotic symptoms in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. * To confirm the safety of CBD in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. The trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre, international clinical trial. Individuals meeting clinical high risk for psychosis criteria will be recruited for the trial intervention component of the trial. Participants are randomised to treatment with oral CBD 300mg (oral solution 100 mg/mL) twice daily, or a matching placebo, for 104 weeks. By using a battery of clinical outcome assessments, the trial will be able to assess several biomarkers to predict clinical outcomes and response to treatment with CBD. Participants will be invited to provide blood samples, stool samples, cerebrospinal fluid samples (if aged 18 years or over) and complete neuroimaging assessments. Individuals who are not found to have mental illness as defined by DSM-5 criteria will be recruited to a healthy control group, to validate the biomarker component of the trial. Additionally, a control group of healthy volunteers will be recruited who will not take the trial intervention to aid calibration between datasets from sites acquiring MRI data and to inform and validate any possible multivariate signature associated with the CHR-P state, course or outcome by understanding how these measures are different in controls. Healthy controls will also be used for secondary case-control comparisons. Healthy controls will undergo clinical and biomarker assessments only.

Telehealth Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth at Risk for Psychosis

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of telehealth interventions for individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR). Psychosis typically emerges during late adolescence or early adulthood, significantly impacting long-term functioning. While CHR programs have the potential to reduce illness severity, individuals often face barriers such as stigma and limited access to services. Telehealth interventions could address these barriers and improve treatment accessibility and engagement. The study will focus on Group and Family-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family-Based CBT, and individual CBT, adapted for telehealth delivery (GF-CBT-TH, F-CBT-TH, and I-CBT-TH). Participants aged 14-25 who meet CHR criteria will be randomly assigned to one of these interventions. Feasibility will be measured by recruitment rate, attendance, and retention. The study will assess the impact of the interventions on cognitive biases, social connectedness, family emotional climate, and proficiency in CBT skills. The three intervention groups will be compared in terms of psychosocial functioning, symptom severity, rates of remission from CHR, and rates of transition to psychosis. Additionally, factors like patient treatment preference, family emotional climate, and sociodemographic factors will be explored as potential moderators of treatment outcomes. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with participants and clinicians to inform dissemination efforts.

Mobile Thinking Intervention: A Inital Test

This study will test the inital efficacy of a brief mobile intervention targeting biased thinking.

Interventions for Clinical High Risk Youth in Tunisia

Study participants will take part in one of the two types of treatments aimed at improving daily functioning as follows: either a Cognitive Training (CT) Program or an Enhanced - Treatment as Usual (E-TAU) Group. All group treatments will be provided at Razi Hospital and one of the sessions will be conducted at home. The Cognitive (thinking skills) Training and Neuropsychological Education Approach to Remediation (CT-NEAR) is a form of cognitive (thinking skills) training that consists of computer-game like brain exercises, learning about thinking skills strategies, and a "bridging group" to help participants use what is learned in daily life. Cognitive exercises are generally fun and playful and are done on a computer. The aim is to train thinking skills and ability to function better in daily life such as at school, university, or at work, or with friends and family. The program lasts 12 weeks with two weekly sessions in groups of 3 to 4 participants. Each session is 1½ hours in length and one of the sessions is which lasts 30 minutes is conducted at home using a tablet that will be provided by the study investigators.

Reducing the Duration of Untreated Psychosis in the United States: The Impact of Screening and Systematic Communication

The goal of this project is to investigate whether a systematic screening approach enhanced by an innovative model of communicating information about psychosis and treatment options to patients and families (ComPsych) can reduce Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) by facilitating early identification of first episode psychosis (FEP) cases, rapid referral to specialty care and engagement in treatment. The study team will use a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial design to compare a systematic screening and communication method (SCM) to systematic screening method (SM) to evaluate whether SCM substantially reduces DUP. The study team hypothesize that: (1) SCM will result in a higher number of individuals initiating specialty services compared to SM; (2) The mean DUP of FEP individuals in SCM condition will be lower than the mean DUP of FEP individuals in SM condition, due to the reduced time to initiate FEP services. We will also conduct a qualitative study to examine implementation barriers and facilitators of SCM.

Digital Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (d-DBT) for Youth at Clinical High Risk (CHR) for Psychosis

This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of a digital dialectical behavior therapy (d-DBT) intervention for youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. The study aims to assess the acceptability of the intervention to the CHR population, the feasibility of conducting a larger-scale clinical efficacy trial and the potential benefits in improving emotional regulation, reducing psychiatric symptoms, and enhancing overall functioning. Participants will be randomized to receive either the d-DBT intervention or treatment as usual over eight weeks.

French Validation of Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument- Child Youth

The clinical concept of a at risk mental state of developing psychosis is based on the identification of attenuated psychotic symptoms during the prodromal phase of psychoses (Schmidt et al., 2015). Early detection and support of these symptoms can delay the risk of transition to a first psychotic episode (van der Gaag, van den Berg, \& Ising, 2019). The Basic Symptom approach enables detection at the earliest stage of the prodromal phase. It postulates that subtle, subjective manifestations predating attenuated psychotic symptoms are present very early in the prodromal phase of psychosis and also have predictive value for the risk of developing psychosis (F. Schultze-Lutter, 2009). Basic symptoms are assessed using the Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument, available in an adult (SPI-A) and child/adolescent (SPI-CY) version. These scales are part of the international recommendations for the assessment of patients with a Clinical State at High Risk of Psychosis (CHR-P) (Schmidt et al., 2015; F Schultze-Lutter et al., 2015). The SPI-A is validated in French under the name "Outil d'Evaluation du Risque Schizophrénique version adulte (OERS-A)" (Schultze-Lutter et al., 2007. French translation by JR. Teyssier with the collaboration of F. Gamma and P. Loulergue), but no French version of the SPI-CY has yet been validated. In collaboration with Dr. Frauke Schultze-Lutter, the investigators have recently published a French translation of the SPI-CY (Schizophrenia Predisposition Instrument - Version for Children and Adolescents, F. Schultze-Lutter, M. Marshall, E. Koch, 2021. French translation by F. Bernardin and C. Dondé). This French translation must now be validated to ensure the inter-rater fidelity of the interview. We therefore propose to study the inter-rater reliability of the French version of the SPI-CY by comparing ratings between clinicians who have undergone training in basic symptoms and in administering the SPI-A and SPI-CY tools by Dr. Schultze-Lutter. This validation will be carried out by comparing, on the one hand, the rating of the SPI-CY by a clinician A who has administered it to the patient and, on the other hand, the blind rating of a clinician B on the basis of the interview recorded by clinician A with his patient. The investigators will also explore the links between the SPI-CY and other clinical scales such as the Multisensory Hallucination SCale (MHASC) (Demeulemeester et al., 2015), the Prodromal Questionnaire 16 (PQ-16) (Lejuste et al., 2021), the Audiograph (Giersch, Huard, Park, \& Rosen, 2021) and the Perceptual and Cognitive Aberrations (PCA) (McDonald et al., 2019).