Psychosocial Treatment of Depression in Parkinson's Disease

Amy Farabaugh, PhD

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Major Depressive Disorder

Parkinson's Disease

Treatments

Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT00853346

MH076037-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of a form of talk therapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the treatment of major depression in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Full description

CBT is a specific type of treatment that has been shown to be as helpful in treating depression as medications for depression. CBT focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It focuses on the here and now, rather than the past. CBT offers concrete strategies and skills for coping with depression, PD, and other life problems. Previous research leads us to believe that this type of therapy may help people with PD cope with their depression.

Enrollment

80 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

40 to 80 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

In addition to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, the following conditions must be met for patient eligibility:

Written informed consent.
Subjects with a primary diagnosis of PD who also currently meet DSM-IV criteria for MDD
Subjects must be stable on their anti-Parkinson treatment, as defined by no medication changes over the past 6 weeks
Subjects may be taking an antidepressant as long as they have had a stable dose for up to 6 weeks and do not alter the dosage during the course of the study
Men or women 40-80 years of age
HAMD-17 scores > 14 at screen visit
Score of 25 or greater on the Mini-Mental Status Examination
Willing to come to MGH for screening and study participation

Exclusion criteria

Patients meeting any of the following criteria are to be excluded from the study:

Subjects who, in the investigator's judgment, pose a current, serious suicidal or homicidal risk
Patients who would not be appropriate for a delayed CBT control due to the severity of their depression based on clinical judgment as well as HAMD-17 scores > 28
The following DSM-IV diagnoses: 1) substance use disorders, including alcohol dependence, active within the last 3 months; 2) schizophrenia; 3) delusional disorder; 4) psychotic disorders not elsewhere classified; 5) bipolar disorder; 6) MDD with psychotic features
Subjects who meet DSM-IV criteria for dementia
Severe, unstable concurrent medical conditions (determined by his/her physician) that are likely to require hospitalization within six months from study entry (e.g., a patient with severe congestive heart failure who has a history of recent hospital admissions)
Subjects may not be receiving a psychosocial intervention that is specific for depression; psychosocial interventions not specific for depression (e.g., couples counseling) and established for three or more months before screen visit are allowed