Active clinical trials for "Depression"

The primary objective of the present study is to examine whether the combination of the antidepressant duloxetine and chronotherapeutic methods (including sleep deprivation, light therapy, and maintaining a regular sleep-wake rhythm) in patient with major depression, will induce an immediate improvement from depression and whether this antidepressive effect will be maintained in the long term (29 weeks). Patient will be randomised to the above mentioned treatment or to an active group receiving exercise.

The primary objective of the study was to determine the effects of 10-week adjunctive supplementation with 2 doses of LCn-3 fatty acids (fish oil) on cortical functional activity and biochemistry in adolescents with MDD. The primary prediction was that LCn-3 fatty acid supplementation would dose-dependently increase prefrontal cortical functional activation during sustained attention and increase regional biochemical indices of cortical metabolism and integrity concentrations in association with reductions in depressive symptoms.

Given 1) the established safety with short-term or long-term supplementation of Cr, 2) its potential usefulness in improving brain energy metabolism, 3) the reported abnormality in brain energy metabolism in MDD subjects, and 4) plausible association between depression and inflammatory mediators, we hypothesize that oral Cr augmentation will help reduce symptoms in MDD patients as well as normalize a deficit in brain energy metabolism and that improvement of MDD and brain energy metabolism will be correlated with inflammatory mediators changes. In this study, we plan to conduct an randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled augmentation study with creatine in addition to escitalopram. We will assess the efficacy and safety of the Cr augmentation and evaluate changes relevant to brain energy metabolism and inflammatory mediators.

For many depression patients treatment changes are required, including switching to another antidepressant and addition of a second antidepressant or a non-antidepressant agent ("augmentation"). The need to modify treatment is usually necessary because of partial or no response to first-line monotherapy or the failure to achieve remission although treatment response (improvement) has been obtained. These caveats of presently available antidepressant drugs highlight the need for innovative pharmacological treatment strategies. Recent data suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists and partial agonists at the NMDAR-associated glycine binding site may represent a novel type of antidepressant medications. These types of compounds protect vulnerable neurons against a variety of insults, including stress-induced damage, and may serve to enhance and maintain normal synaptic connectivity. In animal models, these compounds mimic the effects of clinically effective antidepressants. Furthermore, down-regulation of the glycine site of the NMDAR was found to be a common feature of currently used antidepressant medications. D-cycloserine (DCS , Seromycin) is a broad spectrum antibiotic, in use for over thirty years against tuberculosis, that acts as a partial agonist at the NMDAR-associated glycine site. Beneficial antidepressant effects have been reported with 500-1000 mg/day DCS regimens in depressed tuberculosis patients and recent preliminary findings suggest that DCS may also be beneficial in the treatment of major depressive disorder. The antidepressant effects of DCS seem to reflect consequences of its capacity to reduce NMDAR receptor function. In the present project, it is proposed to assess, using a random assignment, parallel-group, double blind, placebo controlled design, the effects of a NMDAR -antagonist DCS dose regimen, 250 --> 1000 mg/day for 6 wks, as adjuvant pharmacotherapy for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder patients. The study methodology includes the assessment of DCS effects upon symptoms profile, neurocognitive tests performance, amino acids serum levels, and brain electrophysiology parameters associated with the prepulse inhibition-startle response paradigm. It is hypothesized that significant beneficial DCS treatment effects will be registered.

This study will assess efficacy, safety and tolerability of agomelatine (AGO178) 25 mg and 50 mg in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This study includes an 8-week double-blind phase and a 52-week open-label phase.

The purposes of this study are to determine whether an investigational drug can help patients suffering from major depression with pain symptoms, and gather data on the safety of the investigational drug including any side effects that might be associated with it.

This study will examine the effects of combing naltrexone and fluoxetine (Prozac) versus fluoxetine and placebo in alcoholics with co-occurring major depression. Both groups will actively participate in the 6-month study, which includes weekly individual Dual Disorders Recovery Counseling during the first month and every two weeks during the second through sixth months, plus the naltrexone and fluoxetine or fluoxetine and placebo. Subjects will complete follow-up assessments at 9 and 12 months.

This 4-8 month study, with a 2-year follow up period, will compare sertraline (Zoloft®), venlafaxine (Effexor®), supportive-expressive psychotherapy, and placebo to determine which is more effective in treating major depression.

The study examines efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treating severely depressed patients who are medicated.

Telepsychiatry is a novel means of providing expert psychiatric treatment to patients who live far from a source of care. If it can be demonstrated that treatment via telepsychiatry is as effective as in-person treatment, then many individuals with psychiatric illness will have easy access to psychiatric care, even if they live in geographically remote areas.