RecruitingPhase 2

ACE-D Aim 3 Clinical Cognitive Trial to Enhance Translation in Depression

Accelerating Cognition-guided Signatures to Enhance Translation in Depression Aim 3: Clinical Cognitive Trial

Who can join

As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.

Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Not accepted
Compensation
Not stated

Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

What to expect

No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.

What participation involves

  • Procedures mentioned: Questionnaires, Blood draws, Urine samples, MRI scans

Only what the study's summary and detailed description on ClinicalTrials.gov say. Time periods may describe the whole study or a part of it — ask the study team what applies to you.

Show the study's own words
  • "If you are eligible and choose to participate based off of your answers on the screening survey, the investigators will call you on the number you have provided to verify participants' responses and answer any additional questions you may have about the study."
  • "This in-person medical screen visit will consist of getting your vitals taken (heart rate/blood pressure), undergoing a blood draw, and providing a urine sample."
  • "Starting week 1 and for every week during the 8-week treatment phase, participants will complete nightly medication log surveys, passive sampling with the BiAffect application, and conduct cognitive testing."
  • "At the end of week 8, the investigators will conduct an MRI visit that resembles the initial MRI visit."
Compensation
Not stated
  • Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
  • Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
  • Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
  • Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.

About this study

In plain language

This study looks at how a medicine called guanfacine affects how parts of the brain work together. It is for adults ages 18–60 with depression, with or without problems with thinking skills.

The purpose of this study is to understand how a psychotropic medication called guanfacine affects brain network functioning in humans, and how this function interacts with cognitive impairments in people experiencing depressive symptoms.

Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.

Eligibility

Who can join

  • Be 18–60 years old.
  • Sign and date a form agreeing to take part.
  • Be willing to follow study procedures and lifestyle rules, and be available for the whole study.
  • Speak and read English fluently.
  • Have a current major depressive episode and major depression without psychosis, as confirmed by a study interview.
  • Score at least 10 on the PHQ-8 depression survey. Report little interest or pleasure, or feeling down, depressed, or hopeless, on more than half the days or nearly every day.
  • Complete computer tests and a functional MRI (fMRI), a scan of brain activity, to be placed in a group with or without thinking problems.

Who can't join

  • Have ever had bipolar disorder, psychosis (such as seeing or hearing things that are not there), OCD (unwanted thoughts and repeated actions), or ADHD (attention and activity problems). Also excluded: current PTSD (lasting stress after trauma), an eating disorder, or moderate to severe alcohol or drug use disorder.
  • Have thoughts of suicide with an active plan.
  • Have severe trouble seeing, hearing, or moving your hands, or a past or current illness or brain injury that could affect study tests.
  • Be pregnant or breastfeeding, or, if able to become pregnant, be unwilling or unable to use adequate birth control throughout the study.
  • Be unable to safely have an MRI, for example because of metal in your body or fear of tight spaces; refuse the brain scan to confirm your study group; or be unwilling or unable to use or access a computer for tests.
  • Be taking part in another study that tests a treatment.
  • Use mental health medicines that cannot be safely combined with guanfacine or sertraline, or other substances unsafe with guanfacine. Certain medicines that strongly change guanfacine levels also exclude you if they cannot be safely stopped.
  • Have a health problem that study doctors consider unsafe for the study medicine. This may include a resting pulse below 55, blood pressure below 90 on the top number or 60 on the bottom number, or certain heart, kidney, liver, or thyroid symptoms or abnormal tests.

Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.

Official eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations (see Section 5.3) and availability for the duration of the study 3. Male or female 4. Age 18-60 years 5. Fluent and literate in English 6. Meets DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for MDE (major depressive episode), and criteria for current or recurrent nonpsychotic MDD using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI Plus)79 7. A total score of 10 or higher on the PHQ-8 at initial screening, including: a. Endorsement of anhedonia, as indexed by a response of "more than half the days" or "nearly every day" to Item 1 ("Little interest or pleasure in doing things") or endorsement of persistent negative mood, as indexed by a response of "more than half the days" or "nearly every day" to Item 2 ("Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless") 8. Meets criteria for cognitive dysfunction (C+ subgroup) or absence of cognitive dysfunction (C- subgroup) based on results from computerized behavioral testing of cognitive control performance (WebNeuro) and from fMRI scanning using the Go/No-Go task. Exclusion Criteria: An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: 1. Presence of one or more of the following conditions established via the participant's medical record and confirmed using the MINI Plus: * bipolar disorder (I, II, not otherwise specified, current or lifetime) * psychosis (current or lifetime) * moderate to severe alcohol or substance use disorders (current) * post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; current) * obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD; current or lifetime) * attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; current or lifetime) * eating disorders (ED; current) 2. Suicidality with active plan 3. Severe impediment to vision, hearing, and/or hand movement 4. Current or lifetime history of medical illness or brain injury that may interfere with assessments 5. Pregnant, breastfeeding, or unwilling or unable to use adequate birth control throughout the study (females of child-bearing potential only) 6. 3.0T MRI scanner contraindications (e.g., metal in the body, claustrophobia) 7. Concurrent participation in other intervention studies 8. Current use of psychotropic medications contraindicated by guanfacine or sertraline 9. General medical condition or disorder that is deemed by study physicians to be unsafe for GIR as reported by patient or found on medical screening. This may include: * Cardiac-related exclusions: * Resting heart rate (HR) \< 55 beats per minute (bradycardia) * Systolic blood pressure (SBP) \< 90 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) \< 60 mmHg (hypotension) * Current symptoms suggestive of cardiac dysfunction based on clinician assessment (e.g., persistent chest pain, palpitations, dizziness, fainting) * Renal-related exclusions: * eGFR \< 60 mL/min/1.73 m² * Current symptoms suggestive of kidney dysfunction based on clinician assessment * Hepatic-related exclusions: * ALT \> 2× ULN * AST \> 2× ULN * Current symptoms suggestive of liver dysfunction based on clinician assessment * Thyroid-related exclusions: * TSH outside normal laboratory reference range * Current symptoms suggestive of thyroid dysfunction based on clinician assessment 10. Use of substance deemed by the study physician to be unsafe for use with guanfacine 11. Current use of a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor (e.g., ketoconazole) or inducer (e.g., carbamazepine) that, in the judgment of the study clinician, may alter guanfacine plasma concentrations and cannot be safely discontinued for the duration of the study. 12. Unwillingness to verify biotype classification via fMRI 13. Unwillingness or inability to use a computer or access a computer for assessments.

Study sites (2)

CA

IL

  • University of Illinois at Chicago · Chicago, IL 60607Jun Ma, PhD · Study contactJun Ma, PhD · Principal investigatorMore trials in Chicago