Depression clinical trials in Boston

In the United States, adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of major depression, and gold-standard treatments are only effective for approximately half of patients. Rumination may be a promising treatment target, as it is well-characterized at the neural level and contributes to depression onset, maintenance, and recurrence as well as predicts treatment non-response. Accordingly, the proposed research will investigate whether an innovative mindfulness-based real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback intervention successfully elicits change in the brain circuit underlying rumination to improve clinical outcomes among depressed adolescents.

This study will evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of NBI-1065845 as an adjunctive treatment in participants with MDD.

The goal of the REVEAL PTSD study is to test how well the Senseye DT works as a diagnostic test for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adults 18 and older who are experiencing one or more symptoms that might be related to PTSD. The Senseye DT is software as a medical device (SaMD) and is an iPhone app that administers a series of simple tasks on the phone while recording video during the tasks through the front-facing camera. The videos are analyzed by a an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm to identify physiologic signals that might be indicative of PTSD. Data collected in this study will be used to train and tune the AI algorithm, then test it for accuracy. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. How accurate is the Senseye DT in detecting PTSD compared to structured clinical interviews, the current clinical standard for diagnostic testing? 2. How accurately does the Senseye DT predict PTSD severity? 3. How fast is the Senseye DT to use compared to structured clinical interviews? Participants will attend a virtual screening visit via video call to determine eligibility and consent to participate. Once enrolled, participants will attend 2 or 3 additional study visits: * Visit 1: A virtual visit where standard mental health assessments will be given by clinical raters trained in mental health and administering these structured clinical interviews. These assessments include the Structured Interview Guide for the Montgomery-Asburg Depression Rating Scale (SIGMA), the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (SIGH-A), and the MINI International Neurodiagnostic Interview. The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 Revised Version (CAPS-5-R) may also be conducted, if randomly selected. * Visit 2: A visit to use the Senseye DT. For participants near one of the study's physical site locations, this visit will be done in person at the site. For all others, this visit will be conducted virtually. * Visit 3: For participants not randomly selected to have the CAPS-5-R administered at Visit 1, a third and final visit will be scheduled for this assessment. This visit will be conducted virtually. The total expected participation time for enrolled participants is 6-7 hours over the course of 2-3 weeks.

This is a Phase 2B clinical study evaluating the effectiveness and safety of SP-624 as compared to placebo in the treatment of adults with Major Depressive Disorder.

A phase II, randomized, open-label, two-arm clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of pramipexole extended release (ER) versus escitalopram for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and comorbid MDD with mild neurocognitive disorder (MND) in persons with HIV (PWH). Participants will be assessed comprehensively and briefly at intercurrent visits to monitor for toxicity, response to therapy, and to assess for dose changes. An optional sub-study to evaluate treatment impact on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile will be conducted in a subset of 36 participants.

This study will determine the effects of pregnenolone on brain function, inflammation and depressive symptoms in people with HIV who have depression. Participants in this study will receive a pill of either pregnenolone or placebo, and can stay on their current antidepression medications. Brain imaging and behavioral assessments will be performed during the study.

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a digital intervention for co-occurring cannabis use and depression. Participants will be randomized to complete Amplification of Positivity - Cannabis Use (AMP-C) or symptom tracking. The main outcomes will include changes in depressive symptoms and cannabis use, as well as usability ratings.

The Biomarkers/Biotypes, Course of Early Psychosis and Specialty Services (BICEPS) study aims to understand the early stages of psychotic disorders like Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Bipolar I Disorder. It involves gathering mental health information, brain scans (MRI), eye movement patterns (Eye-Tracking), and brain electrical waves (EEG) data from individuals who have experienced these disorders in recent years. Participants will be involved for about a year, with four visits over this period. Screening procedures, lasting approximately 3 hours, include tests for drug use, a pregnancy test for eligible women, clinical interviews about feelings and experiences, psychiatric and family history interviews, and a medical history review. Research procedures for eligible participants include DNA collection, a neuropsychological test battery, EEG, eye-tracking, and MRI. These procedures will help researchers understand brain function, genetics, and cognitive abilities related to psychotic disorders. Follow-up visits at 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month intervals involve modified clinical interviews and repeating neuropsychological tests to track changes over time. Participants may opt to provide DNA samples for genetic analysis, undergo various cognitive tests, EEG to record brain waves, eye-tracking to monitor eye movements, and MRI scans to visualize brain structure. Follow-up visits at regular intervals will help researchers track changes in symptoms and cognitive function. This study provides comprehensive insight into the onset and progression of psychotic disorders and offers valuable information for patients, families, and healthcare providers involved in managing these conditions. Our goal is to better understand whether a combination of biological markers and different types of people (BT1, BT2, BT3) can help us predict how well individuals with early psychosis respond to specialized care. We expect that those in BT3 will have the best outcomes, BT2 will have intermediate outcomes, and BT1 will have the poorest outcomes. Even though BT1 and BT2 might start with similar cognitive issues, their biology might lead to different responses to treatment. This research can help us understand which treatments work best for different people with early psychosis.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate sleep in participants with Major Depressive Disorder with moderate to severe insomnia symptoms (MDDIS) or MDD with no or mild insomnia symptoms (non-MDDIS), using an at-home sleep Electroencephalogram (EEG; a device that records brain activity during sleep). The study also aims to examine the association between objective sleep EEG features (measured using devices) and subjective sleep measures (self-reported experiences, such as how a person feels about their sleep) in participants with MDDIS or non-MDDIS.

We are studying a treatment for depression called accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) among pregnant and postpartum individuals. TMS is a focal, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for depression. Typically, traditional TMS involves daily treatments for 6-8 weeks. In this study, we will offer an accelerated form of TMS that involves multiple daily treatments for 5 days.

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.

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of CYB003 compared to matching placebo as adjunctive treatment in participants with MDD.

The study will evaluate the efficacy of NBI-1065845 compared with placebo as an adjunctive treatment in participants with MDD on improving symptoms of depression.

In the current study, the investigators aim to understand the role of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in improving executive function across neuropsychiatric populations known to have deficits in this cognitive domain.

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.

The purpose of this research study is to determine if application of near infrared energy to the forehead can change blood flow in the brains of people with depression. Near infrared energy is like light but is not visible to the human eye.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if ABX-002 added to an existing antidepressant treatment will benefit depression symptoms in adults with moderate to severe major depressive disorder who have had an inadequate response to their antidepressant. This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-arm, parallel-group, Phase 2 study, randomized 1:1 (ABX-002: placebo). The study will include the following stages: 1. Screening, approximately 35 days 2. 42-day Treatment Period 3. 2-week post dose Safety Follow-up Period 4. 6-month postdose targeted safety follow-up period

X-NOVA3 is a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of azetukalner as a monotherapy in adult participants diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

X-NOVA2 is a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of azetukalner as a monotherapy in adult participants diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of bilateral stimulation of the subcallosal cingulate white matter (SCCwm) using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) as an adjunctive treatment of non-psychotic unipolar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults.