ClinicalTrials.gov
 Home    Search    Study Topics    Glossary  
 

  Full Text View  
  Tabular View  
  Contacts and Locations  
  Related Studies  
Determining Changes in Brain Structure Associated With Symptoms of Late-Life Depression

This study is currently recruiting participants.
Information provided by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

This Tabular View shows the required WHO registration data elements as marked by

Descriptive Information Fields
Brief Title  Determining Changes in Brain Structure Associated With Symptoms of Late-Life Depression
Official Title  Pathways Linking Late-Life Depression to MCI & Dementia
Brief Summary

This study will determine the changes in brain structure and function that are responsible for mood and cognition changes that are sometimes associated with late-life depression.

Detailed Description

The goal of this research study is to investigate the relationships among late-life depression (LLD), cognitive impairment and progressive neurodegeneration. The guiding hypothesis is that LLD patients have evolving cognitive impairments as a consequence of distinct underlying neuropathological changes, which frequently are expressed as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). These neuropathological and cognitive changes are risk modifiers, lowering brain reserve capacity, and in turn, increasing risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In order to pursue this goal we will enroll LLD, MCI, and normal control subjects to enrich our existing cohort to include a total of 150 elderly, non-demented, non-depressed subjects, 60 non-depressed MCI subjects and 270 LLD subjects. Using the joint infrastructure of the University of Pittsburgh's Advanced Center for Intervention and Services Research for Late-Life Mood Disorders and the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, we will complete a detailed neurobehavioral evaluation, including clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and biological markers, using these data to evaluate the factors associated with the development of MCI or dementia. Subjects will be studied annually for at least three years, allowing us to use longitudinal data to evaluate a series of linked hypotheses that postulate the pathways by which elderly, depressed patients develop cognitive impairment, and which may lead some to develop dementia.

Study Phase
Study Type  Observational
Study Design 
Primary Outcome Measure 
Secondary Outcome Measure 
Condition  Late-Life Depression
Intervention 
MEDLINE PMIDs 15184238,   14677138,   11097959,   12153839,   12842163,   15354182,   14568808,   14568809,   12574429,   14702257
Links Related Info This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site
Recruitment Information Fields
Recruitment Status  Recruiting
Enrollment  344
Start Date  August 2005
Completion Date August 2010
Eligibility Criteria 

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of a mood disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Major acute medical illnesses or injuries known to have significant direct effects on cognitive functioning (e.g., metastatic cancer, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury).
  • Uncorrectable sensory handicap (e.g., blindness), because they are unable to complete the cognitive test battery.
  • Exclusion criteria for MR scans include: cardiac pacemaker, aneurysm clip, cochlear implant, pregnancy, IUD, shrapnel, history of metal fragments in the eye, neurostimulators, weight of 250 lbs. or more, or claustrophobia.
Gender Both
Ages 55 Years and older
Accepts Healthy Volunteers Yes
Contacts ††
Contact: Meryl A. Butters, Ph.D.     412-246-5280     buttersma@upmc.edu    
Contact: Michelle D. Zmuda, B.S.     412-246-6487     zmudamd@upmc.edu    
Location Countries  United States
Administrative Information Fields
NCT ID  NCT00178087
Organization ID R01 MH72947
Secondary IDs †† 9512127, DATR A4-GPT
Study Sponsor  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Collaborators ††
Investigators 
Principal Investigator:     Meryl A. Butters, Ph.D.     University of Pittsburgh    
Information Provided By National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Verification Date April 2008
First Received Date  September 13, 2005
Last Updated Date April 24, 2008

 †    Required WHO trial registration data element.
††   WHO trial registration data element that is required only if it exists.




Links to all studies - primarily for crawlers