Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trials

The proposed study aims to test ixekizumab, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against interleukin 17A (IL-17A), in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Read Less

This is a phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm trial to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of centanafadine once-daily (QD) extended-release (XR) capsules for the treatment of adult subjects diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of centanafadine QD XR capsules as monotherapy or as adjunct to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram. Read Less

This research study is designed to look at the involvement of the glutamate system in depression. Each subject will undergo a screening appointment to determine study eligibility. Thereafter, the study will take 2 or 3 visits depending on schedule availability and will consist of one MRI scan, and PET scan. Subjects will also participate in cognitive testing. Depending on camera time, staff availability and subject schedule, total study participation may last 1-2 months. Read Less

The aim of this study is to obtain data on the feasibility of the Senseye Diagnostic Tool (DT) to assess the presence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The study will also collect data on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to aid in assessing the presence and severity of these disorders both for the purpose of discerning them from PTSD and determining the feasibility of diagnosing them independently. Read Less

This study will examine the biological factors that may modulate the relationship between depression and the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since the direction of causation between depression and the biological factors associated with AD is unknown, the only way to understand cause and associated risk is to treat the depressive symptoms and examine the effects on AD biomarkers. The study involves an FDA-approved treatment for major depressive disorder. It will compare the SSRI antidepressant escitalopram with placebo. The hypothesis is that a reduction in depressive symptoms will be associated with a normalization of CSF AD biomarkers as well as peripheral inflammatory markers. This research would contribute to fundamental knowledge about potentially modifiable risks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Read Less

This study is dedicated to help identify biomarkers for depression and suicide. The purpose of the study is to better understand these links to improve medical and psychiatric care in the future. This research is also to test the effects of standard treatment of depression on improvement in depressive and suicidal behavior and on biomarkers (e.g. miRNA) for these disorders. Read Less

Previous research has shown that modulation of a brain region in rodents, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), improves depressive symptoms. Human research has also shown that VTA self-modulation using 'biofeedback' is feasible and successful in healthy volunteers. This biofeedback procedure is a type of cognitive training that includes real-time feedback about brain signal levels from the VTA. Our question is whether VTA self-modulation with biofeedback can influence depression symptoms. Read Less

TRIAGE-Psych is a survey study designed to assess potential participants' eligibility to screen for industry-sponsored psychiatry clinical trials. Read Less

The investigators will test the hypothesis that inhaled xenon will produce a rapid improvement in depressive symptoms in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Specifically, the investigators will conduct a parallel randomized, double-blind crossover study that will compare the effects of xenon-oxygen (35:65 ratio by volume) added to treatment as usual (X-TAU group) to the effects of nitrogen-oxygen (35:65 ratio by volume) added to treatment as usual (N-TAU group). A total of 20 severely depressed patients, 10 with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 10 with Bipolar Depression (BP), will be exposed in random order to N-TAU and X-TAU in a double-blind protocol. Read Less

Of the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, approximately 10% are considered treatment resistant. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to a region of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) is an emerging strategy for treatment resistant depression (TRD), which involves placement of electrodes in a specific region of the brain and stimulating that area with electricity. This is believed to reset the brain network responsible for symptoms and results in a significant antidepressant response. A series of open-label studies have demonstrated sustained, long-term antidepressant effects in 40-60% of patients who received this treatment. A challenge to the effective dissemination of this fledgling treatment is the absence of biomarkers (objective, measureable indications of the state of the body and brain) to guide device placement and select stimulation parameters during follow-up care. By using a DBS device called the Percept PC (Medtronic, Inc) which has the ability to both deliver stimulation to and record electrical signals directly from the brain, this study aims to identify changes in local field potentials (LFPs), specific electrical signals that are thought to represent how the brain communicates information from one region to another, to see how this relates to DBS parameter settings and patient depressive symptomatology. The goal of this study is to study LFPs before and during active DBS stimulation to identify changes that correlate with the antidepressant effects of SCC DBS. The study team will recruit 10 patients with TRD and implant them with the Percept PC system. Participants will be asked to complete short questionnaires and collect LFP data twice daily for the first year of the study, as well as have weekly in person research procedures and assessments with the study team for up to one year. These include meetings with the study psychiatrist, psychologist, symptom ratings, and movement, voice, and video recordings. A brief discontinuation experiment will be conducted after 6 months of stimulation, in which the stimulation will be turned off and patterns of LFP changes will be recorded. The entire study is expected to last about 5 years, parcellated into several study phases. All participants are required to live in the New York metropolitan area for the first several months of the study. Read Less

Suicide rates among Veterans with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) are intractably high, representing a serious public health concern and a critical target for interventions. Yet, at present available treatments offer modest benefits. Thus, there remains an urgent need to identify novel approaches to address suicide risk in this population. Previous reports have linked suicide risk with poor social functioning. Emerging evidence from basic affective neuroscience research has indicated that effective social functioning is contingent on intact emotion awareness. Consistent with these findings, individuals with SMI at risk of suicide display social functioning difficulties along with poor emotion awareness (i.e., alexithymia). Employing a proof-of-concept design, the aim of the present study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, blended psychoeducation and digital mHealth (mobile health) intervention with smartphones designed to target alexithymia and poor social functioning to reduce suicide risk in Veterans with SMI. Read Less

The main goal of this research is to use behavioral, brain, and clinical data to determine which type of antidepressant might be optimal before people with depression start treatment. Read Less