Clinical Trials: Depression

FEATURED STUDIES

Treatment Studies

• Clinical Trial of Memantine for Major Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 8-week study, with a possible 16-week continuation phase, will determine the safety and efficacy of the experimental medication memantine, compared to placebo, for treating major depression without psychotic features. Ages 18-80. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Combination Therapy vs. Medication Alone for Chronic Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 24-week study, with a 12-month follow up period, will compare the effectiveness of antidepressant medication alone to the combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication in patients with chronic depression. Ages 18-65. Locations across the U.S.
• Medications vs. Psychotherapy for Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. 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. Ages 18-70. Philadelphia, PA.
• Treatment of Depression After Coronary Bypass Surgery.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 12-week study will test the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy and stress management therapy as treatments for depression in people who have recently undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Ages 21 and older. St. Louis, MO.
• Treatment for Minor Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 6-month study will compare the effectiveness of citalopram (Celexa®), hypericum (St. John's Wort), and placebo for the treatment of minor depression. Ages 18-85. Locations across the U.S.
• Therapy for Depression with Co-occurring Panic or Anxiety Symptoms.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 6-month study, with a 3-month follow up period, will compare the effectiveness of new and traditional psychotherapies for depression with panic or anxiety symptoms. Ages 18-60. Pittsburgh, PA.
• ECT Plus Medication for Treatment of a Depressive Episode.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) administered with medication for the treatment of a major depressive episode (unipolar or bipolar) and will compare two types of ECT. Ages 18 and older. Locations across the U.S.
• Treatment of Depression in Women Who Have Been Sexually Abused.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 3-month study, with a 6-month follow up period, will compare antidepressant medication, alone and in combination with schema-focused psychotherapy, for the treatment of major depression in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Ages 18-65. Providence, RI.
• Ethnic Variations in Antidepressant Response.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 11-week study aims to determine how genetic factors affect the way African Americans and Caucasians with major depression respond to antidepressant medication [citalopram (Celexa®)]. Ages 18-55. California.
• Vascular Depression and Magnetic Stimulation Therapy.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 12-week study will evaluate the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the brain, followed by citalopram (Celexa®), for treatment of depression associated with small vascular lesions in the brain (vascular depression). Ages 51-89. Iowa City, IA.
• Sertraline for Vascular Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 12-week study will evaluate the effectiveness of sertraline (Zoloft®) for treatment of depression associated with small vascular lesions in the brain (vascular depression). Ages 60 and older. St. Louis, MO and Durham, NC.
• Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA).
  Treatment study; outpatient. The purpose of the study is to determine how best to treat adolescents with depression that is "resistant" to the first SSRI antidepressant they have tried. Participants receive one of three other antidepressant medications, either alone or in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy. Ages 12-18, currently in treatment for depression. Locations across the U.S.
• Clinical Trial and Brain Imaging in Children and Adolescents with Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This study evaluates whether the medication fluoxetine (Prozac®) is effective for treating major depression in children and adolescents and uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how the brain changes during treatment. Ages 9-17. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Comparison of Medications for Major Depression.
  Treatment study; outpatient. This 12-week study will compare the safety and effectiveness of sertraline (Zoloft®), a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), and nortriptyline (Pamelor®), a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA), in patients with major depression. Ages 60 and older. New York, NY.

Evaluation Studies

• Serotonin Function During Depression.
  Evaluation study, outpatient. This 4-visit study uses a procedure called tryptophan depletion to examine the function of the neurotransmitter serotonin in people with major depression in remission and healthy volunteers. Ages 18-60. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Depression and Brain Function.
  Evaluation study; outpatient. This 3-day study examines and compares brain changes during decision-making in healthy adolescents and adolescents with anxiety or depression. Ages 9-15. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Major Depression and Brain Imaging.
  Evaluation study; inpatient and outpatient. This study assesses the function of brain chemicals and hormones in mood disorders (major depression and bipolar depression) using different scanning techniques. Ages 18-60. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Depression and Cardiovascular Disease.
  Evaluation study; inpatient. Examines hormonal changes in people with depression and the relationship with increased risk for coronary artery disease. Ages 18-65, with a history of depression or current depression. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
• Bone Density and Depression.
  Evaluation study; inpatient and outpatient. Depression may contribute to low bone mass. This study examines whether a medication for osteoporosis is effective in maintaining or increasing bone mass in premenopausal women with major depression. Participants must be able to come for brief inpatient and outpatient visits for one year. Women, ages 21-45, already in treatment for depression. NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.

Additional NIH Studies

Search ClinicalTrials.gov for more NIH/NIMH studies on Depression

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