Schizophrenia Clinical Trials

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

This is a double blind adjunctive randomized controlled trial for schizophrenia using acetazolamide. Read Less

People with schizophrenia often have problems with attention, learning and memory and other cognitive abilities that interfere with their work and school performance. Unfortunately, even our best treatments often do not significantly reduce these cognitive problems. The current study investigates whether or not delivering a very small electrical current to people's foreheads (called, transcranial direct current stimulation; (tDCS)) might improve functioning in the front part of the brain and reduce these cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia. tDCS is non-invasive and has been shown to improve cognitive functioning in some preliminary studies. The current study will investigate whether giving tDCS during a task is more effective than giving it during rest (Aim 1), whether delivery of tDCS to the front of the head is more effective than delivery to the back of the head (Aim 2), and whether tDCS delivery will alter levels of a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain (GABA; Aim 3) that is important to cognitive functioning and may be disrupted in people with schizophrenia. Although this study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease, if results are positive it will encourage future large-scale studies to determine if tDCS can become an effective treatment for cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia. Read Less

This pilot open-label study examines the effects of a combination of dasatinib plus quercetin - two drugs that have known senolytics properties - on physiological aging in older individuals with depression or schizophrenia. Read Less

To evaluate the safety and tolerability of iloperidone in adolescent patients with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder for up to 52 weeks of treatment. Read Less

This study addresses the critical need for innovative therapeutic interventions in Veterans with serious mental illnesses (SMI) receiving care in VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs). The vast majority of individuals with SMI suffer from cognitive impairments, leading to chronic functional disability, and impaired outcomes, causing a significant strain on support networks and the VA healthcare system. This study aims to introduce an innovative mental health therapy, Targeted Cognitive Training (TCT), to Veterans struggling with serious mental illnesses (SMI). TCT works to improve basic sensory information processing and, ultimately, clinical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning. By using EEG biomarkers to identify Veterans with SMI receiving care within VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers who are most likely to benefit from this treatment, and by understanding how best to implement this therapy, the investigators hope to enhance care and improve life quality for Veterans with SMI. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare engagement in treatment in coordinated specialty care (CSC) to five extra care elements (CSC 2.0) in first-episode psychosis. The main question it aims to answer is: • Does the addition of certain elements of care increase the number of visits in treatment for first-episode psychosis? Participants will either: * Receive care as usual (CSC) or * Receive care as usual (CSC) plus five additional care elements (CSC 2.0): 1. Individual peer support 2. Digital outreach 3. Care coordination 4. Multi-family group therapy 5. Cognitive remediation Researchers will compare the standard of care (CSC) to CSC 2.0 to see if participants receiving CSC 2.0 have more visits to their clinic in their first year. Read Less

The proposed project is based on the observation that schizophrenia is characterized by a chronic pro-inflammatory state, which contributes to the severity of a number of the clinical manifestations of the illness, including cognitive impairments, the treatment of which represents a critically important unmet therapeutic need. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to evaluate Community Reinforcement and Family Training for Early Psychosis (CRAFT-EP) for families experiencing early psychosis and substance use delivered exclusively or primarily via telehealth (video conferencing). Read Less

In this study, the investigators will examine whether a deprescription of unnecessary anticholinergic drugs (benztropine or trihexyphenidyl) can augment quality of life, functioning, and neurocognition in individuals who with schizophrenia. Individuals identified by clinical services who have unneeded prescriptions benztropine or trihexyphenidyl will be eligible for deprescription and study entry. Following a baseline evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), participants will will be randomized to either staying on their anticholinergic drugs or undergoing deprescription per routine clinical care, and will undergo follow-up evaluations across 6 months. The investigators predict that reducing and deprescribing these drug, if clinically determined to be unnecessary will will enhance functioning, neurocognition Read Less

The current study examines the efficacy of a cognitive training intervention for improving emotion regulation in psychotic disorders. it is hypothesized that the cognitive training program will enhance prefrontal activation, leading to enhanced emotion regulation. Read Less

Participants will receive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at a random location in the left prefrontal cortex, excluding sites that are potentially unsafe. Extensive behavioral testing will be conducted to determine which behaviors are modulated by stimulating which circuits. Read Less