Clinical Research Directory

Efficacy of a Personalized, Response-based Transdiagnostic Intervention for Emotional Disorders Delivered Via the Internet: A Protocol for an Adaptive Trial

This adaptive randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of a transdiagnostic, internet-delivered psychological intervention for emotional disorders, tailored to patient´s early clinical response. 366 adults with clinically significant symptoms of depression and/or anxiety will begin a 12 module self-applied program. Based on sympron reduction after the first three modules, participants will be classified as early or late responders and randomized into different experimental arms. The main hypothesis is that a hybrid format (self-applied modules plus synchronous sessions with a therapist) will yield better outcomes for late responders. Outcomes include symptom reduction, emotional regulation and internet based therapheutic alliance.

Natural History of Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Suicide Risk

Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, are difficult to treat. One reason is that there are no objective ways to measure how these disorders affect the body and respond to different treatments. In this study, researchers want to perform tests on people undergoing clinical care for mood disorders. The purpose is to understand the experience of receiving treatment for depression, bipolar disorder, and suicide risk. We also hope that this study will help us to predict which medications will improve thoughts of suicide. People 18 years or older who are receiving treatment for depression, bipolar disorder, or suicide risk may take part in this study. Participants must have also been enrolled in protocol 01-M-0254. This study will be conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. The study typically lasts up to 12 weeks, but may last longer if a participant s treatment continues past that time. Participants will have weekly interviews and questionnaires while they are being treated for their mood disorder. Other tests are optional and include psychological testing, blood draws, sleep tests, and imaging scans. These will be done at the start and the end of research participation.

Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy in Adolescents With Depression and Eveningness

This study examines the efficacy of bright light therapy as a treatment for adolescents diagnosed with unipolar non-seasonal depression who exhibit an evening chronotype.

Development and Evaluation of a Digital Aftercare Program for Adolescents (12-17 Years) With Depressive Symptoms After Hospital Discharge (Mind-WIN Pilot Study) (Mind-WIN Pilot)

Mind-WIN is a digitally supported (app- and web-based) aftercare program for young people between the ages of 12 and 17, which was developed for adolescent patients with depressive symptoms and is intended to be used after inpatient treatment. The aftercare program includes interactive psychoeducational content and exercises on topics such as daily planning, early warning signs, self-care, and goal setting. This pilot study will assess the feasibility of the study design and methods. It will also examine the preliminary effectiveness of the Mind-WIN aftercare program on self-reported measures compared to the control group. These outcomes include the levels of depressive symptoms, mental health-related quality of life and psychosocial functioning. Participants are randomly assigned to one of the three study conditions: 1. Mind-WIN self-help only (intervention condition 1): Participants are given access to the Mind-WIN aftercare module. The content is completed in self-study including questions for reflection, quiz questions, videos of an experience expert, and audio exercises. . 2. Mind-WIN blended care (intervention condition 2): Participants are given access to the Mind-WIN aftercare module and they get additional therapeutic support (video calls to support the young people during module completion, emotional support and therapeutic conversations). 3. Care-As-Usual (waiting control group): Participants have access to standard medical care through the national health insurance system. At the end of the 18-week comparison period, they also have access to the Mind-WIN aftercare module (without therapeutic support). Researchers will compare the two Mind-WIN intervention groups (Mind-WIN self-help only and Mind-WIN blended care) to care-as-usual (waiting control group) to answer the following questions: * Is the study design and methods feasible with the target group? * Is access to the 12-week Mind-WIN aftercare program associated with greater stabilization in the assessed outcomes (at 12 and 18 weeks) compared to standard care?

CRISOL Mente: A Multilevel Community Intervention to Reduce Mental Health Disparities Among Latinos

Latinos in the U.S. experience significant disparities in access to mental health services due to lack of health insurance, language barriers, low availability of bilingual providers, mental health stigma, and fear of deportation. There is an urgent need to identify low-cost, culturally appropriate interventions to reduce mental health disparities among this population. This project will address that need by implementing and testing CRISOL Mente, a multi-level, culturally-congruent community intervention to improve the mental health of the Latino population in Philadelphia.

FMRI-neurofeedback in Depression

Previous studies with fMRI-neurofeedback in depression have demonstrated a good safety profile and considerable symptom reduction. The goal of this clinical trial is to compare fMRI-neurofeedback plus standard care with standard care in patients with depression. Participants will either receive standard care, or standard care plus a fMRI neurofeedback training, consisting of 5 neurofeedback training sessions. Symptom severity will be assessed before, immediately after and 6 months after the intervention.

Intermittent Theta-burst Stimulation for Major Depression: an Intensity-response Study

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) in 2018 as a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Hospitals worldwide use it to treat major depressive disorder (MDD). It is safe, effective, even for depressed patients unable to respond to standard pharmacological treatment and is more efficient than standard rTMS. In accordance with the approved treatment protocol, patients experience considerable sensory discomfort at a stimulation intensity of 120% of their resting motor threshold (rMT). Antidepressant effects of iTBS are believed to be mediated by modulating prefrontal excitability. There is still a lack of evidence to support the choice of 120% rMT as the optimal stimulation intensity, and the presumed superiority of higher stimulation intensities over lower intensities has yet to be proven. This knowledge gap has clinical implications since more tolerated treatments may lead to greater adherence, resulting in improved outcomes. The current study proposes a randomized, triple-arm, controlled trial to compare the efficacy of iTBS at 75% (iTBS75) and 120% (iTBS120) rMT with sham iTBS (SiTBS). Based on the following considerations, SiTBS was selected to be compared with iTBS75 and iTBS120: SiTBS will reveal placebo antidepressant effects and serve as a control. iTBS75 is selected because iTBS at 80% aMT exhibits significant excitatory effects on the motor cortex and corresponds to approximately 70% rMT. There is however, a distance of about 12.7mm between the coil and the motor cortex, whereas 14.4mm separates the coil from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Accordingly, a resting motor threshold of 70% at the motor cortex corresponds to a distance-adjusted rMT of 75% at the DLPFC. Lastly, iTBS120 is chosen as the standard stimulation intensity in current iTBS depression trials. It is our intention to investigate the potential antidepressant effects of iTBS treatment at a much lower stimulation intensity than the one currently employed by most centers in the United States and approved in these centers. Thus, our study can contribute to establishing a treatment regimen with increased adherence and lower withdrawal rates.

BioClock: Bright Light Therapy for Depressive Disorders

Bright Light Therapy (BLT) is a proven treatment for depression in seasonal and non-seasonal depressive disorders, as well as bipolar disorder. To make BLT more effective and practical in clinical settings and tailor it to individual needs, it is necessary to optimize the treatment approach, understand how the treatment works, and identify patient characteristics that predict response. This clinical trial has three main goals: * Optimize the administration of BLT for patients with depressive episodes. * Gain a deeper understanding of the treatment mechanisms. * Determine which patients benefit the most from the treatment. The specific objectives are as follows: * Investigate whether additional treatments and interventions related to lifestyle and the biological clock can enhance the effects of BLT. * Examine how BLT influences the body's internal clock and sleep quality, and how these factors contribute to the outcomes. * Identify patient characteristics and behaviours that can predict treatment outcomes. * Develop a brain model to better understand the impact of BLT on the brain. In this study, patients will receive BLT with a light intensity of 10,000 lux for 30 minutes each morning over 5 consecutive days. The treatment duration will range from one to three weeks, depending on the improvement of depressive symptoms. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: * Home - Patients will receive BLT at home, following the standard guidelines for light therapy in the Netherlands. * LightCafé, fixed time: Patients will receive BLT in a café-like setting called the LightCafé, where the focus is not only on symptom improvement but also lifestyle enhancements and fostering social connections. The treatment time will be the same every day. * LightCafé, varying time: Patients will also receive BLT at the LightCafé, with treatment timing varying each day. Additionally, this group will wear glasses in the evening that filter blue light. The study includes a baseline phase of up to two weeks, a treatment phase of up to three weeks, and a three-month follow-up phase. Patients will wear a motion watch to assess sleep-wake behaviour and physical activity during the day. Additionally, they will wear a broach that measures their personal light exposure throughout the day. Eight one-minute questionnaires per day will be sent to the participants' smartphones to assess vitality, sleep, and mood during the treatment. Predictors of treatment response, such as clinical characteristics, sleep measures, circadian parameters, and light-related behaviours, will be evaluated at baseline. In a small group of patients, salivary melatonin curves will be assessed before and after treatment. MRI scans will provide insights into functional and structural brain changes following light therapy treatment.

The Cerebral and Cognitive Changes After Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) Treatment for Depression

The present project aims to assess the neurocognitive impact of a two-week once-a-day regimen of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) compared to sham iTBS, when targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) in clinically depressed outpatients. The study investigates the relationships between changes in cerebral measures and cognitive performance on an N-back task in relation to the antidepressive effect following iTBS.

LIVES: Personalized Lifestyle Intervention for Patients With Depression

Persons with affective disorder have a considerably increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To a considerable extent, this is due to an unhealthy life style. At present, no adequate lifestyle interventions are available for these patients. In the present pilot intervention study we study the acceptability and feasibility of a newly developed lifestyle intervention that is specifically tailored to the needs of patients with affective disorders treated in mental health care or general practice.

Effects of CBT and BLT in Youth With Unipolar Depression and Evening Chronotype

The goal of this prospective randomised controlled trial is to examine the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy and bright light therapy in youths with unipolar depression and evening chronotype. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. What is the efficacy of CBT-D and CBT-D plus bright light therapy in reducing depression severity in adolescents with depression and eveningness? 2. What are the effects of CBT-D and CBT-D plus bright light therapy on the subjective and objective sleep and circadian measures, as well as the quality of life, daytime symptoms, and functioning (e.g., sleepiness, fatigue)? Participants will participate in 8 weekly group sessions of CBT-D intervention based on the well-established CBT elements for treating depression. Concurrently participants will also be asked to wear a portable light device at home for 30 minutes daily for seven weeks, starting from the second week of the group intervention. Participants in the CBT-D only group will receive a placebo light via the device, whereas participants in the CBT-D plus light therapy group will receive the active bright light via the device.

Integrated Tele-Behavioral Activation and Fall Prevention for Low-income Homebound Seniors With Depression

This study will test clinical and cost effectiveness of an integrated tele- and bachelor's-level counselor/coach delivered behavioral activation (BA) and fall prevention (FP) for low-income homebound older adults. The long-term objective of the proposed study is to improve access to depression treatment and fall prevention for growing numbers of low-income homebound seniors. We plan to recruit 320 low-income, racially diverse homebound seniors who are served by a home-delivered meal (HDM) program and other aging-service agencies in Central Texas. In a 4-arm, pragmatic clinical trial with randomization prior to consent, the participants in the integrated Tele-BA and FP (TBF hereafter) arm will receive 5 Tele-BA sessions and 4 in-home FP sessions. Those in the Tele-BA or FP alone arms will receive the respective intervention and 4 bimonthly telephone check-in (booster) calls, and those in the Attention Control (AC) arm will receive 5 weekly telephone check-in calls followed by 4 bimonthly follow-up calls. Follow-up assessments will be at 12, 24, and 36 weeks after baseline.