Adjunctive Psychotherapy for Perinatal Bipolar Disorder

January 14, 2019 updated by: Lauren M. Weinstock, PhD, Brown University
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious, disabling, and highly recurrent illness. The perinatal period dramatically increases risk for mood episodes in women with BD, but pregnancy complicates pharmacologic treatment decisions and efficacy. This study will be the first to systematically develop and pilot test an adjunctive psychosocial intervention to assist in treatment of BD during the high-risk perinatal period.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The perinatal period appears to be especially destabilizing for women with bipolar disorder (BD), with prospective studies revealing mood episode morbidity in up to 70% of pregnant women with the disorder, and risk of postpartum mania in as high as 50% of cases. There are clear negative sequelae of BD for mothers and their offspring, including gross maternal impairment, substantial risk for suicide, high risk of postpartum psychosis, and adverse childbirth outcomes. Yet data concerning the clinical management of BD during the perinatal period are strikingly limited. Pharmacotherapy is complicated due to known teratogenic risks of certain medications, the lack of safety data for others, and difficult treatment decisions, including the decision to discontinue pharmacotherapy, that women and clinicians face in light of limited data. Prophylactic mood stabilization has been widely recommended, yet data suggest that even among women with BD treated with medication, there remains significant risk of mood episode morbidity in the perinatal period. Given the pernicious course of BD in the perinatal period, adjunctive interventions aimed at improving clinical outcomes are critically needed. Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) is an adjunctive psychosocial intervention that may serve this need, as it: (a) incorporates key elements of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), which has a strong evidence base for treatment of perinatal depression in unipolar samples, (b) includes a behavioral intervention to stabilize the circadian rhythm disruption that may place perinatal women at high risk for mood and psychotic symptoms, (c) has established efficacy for the treatment of BD in non-perinatal samples, and (d) carries the promise of potential clinical benefit without additional fetal exposure. Yet there are no published studies evaluating the efficacy of IPSRT, or any psychosocial intervention, as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy for BD in the perinatal period. Given its many potential benefits, the primary aim of this R34 Exploratory Research Proposal (PAR-12-279) is to adapt and pilot IPSRT for perinatal women with BD. The development phase of this study will result in a treatment manual, training manual, and fidelity scales which will be tested in an open trial of 12 pregnant women with BD, treated through the early postpartum. The pilot phase will examine feasibility and acceptability of the proposed recruitment methods, research design, intervention, and interventionist training program by randomizing 40 pregnant women with BD to enhanced treatment as usual (E-TAU) or E-TAU + IPSRT, delivered through the early postpartum. Primary outcomes will be mood and psychotic symptoms up to 16 weeks postpartum. Additional outcomes include medication adherence, maternal functioning, and birth outcomes (secondary), and increased social support and circadian and social rhythm stability (tertiary). This pilot study will lay the groundwork for a larger, stage II clinical trial (R01) to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention for improving clinical and functional outcomes among this high risk, understudied population during the vulnerable transition from pregnancy to the postpartum period.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
4

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02906
        • Butler Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • DSM-5 diagnosis of bipolar I or bipolar II disorder
  • at least moderately symptomatic (depression or manic symptoms) at time of study entry
  • currently pregnant, up to 28 weeks gestation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • presence of psychiatric symptoms severe enough to warrant inpatient hospitalization
  • current psychotic symptoms
  • active alcohol or substance use disorder
  • cognitive deficits that preclude full understanding of study materials
  • inability to understand English sufficiently well to understand consent or assessment instruments when read aloud
  • plans to relocate within 8 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy
Participants may be randomized to receive up to 20 outpatient sessions of Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, provided as an adjunct to community treatment as usual. Intervention sessions begin during pregnancy and continue through 8 weeks postpartum.
Behavioral: Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy
Active Comparator: Enhanced Treatment as Usual
Those randomized to the Enhanced Treatment as Usual arm will follow their usual treatment plans in the community, with enhanced monitoring of symptoms and functioning through regular study assessments. With a release of information, we will provide community clinicians with a monthly standardized report that summarizes level of symptom severity and risk, designed to aid in continuity of care.
Behavioral: Enhanced Treatment as Usual

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation (LIFE)
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
The LIFE is administered to calculate percent time symptomatic (with depression or mania symptoms) over the study period.
up to 16 weeks postpartum
Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Clinician Administered (QIDS-C)
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
The QIDS-C is administered to assess change in severity of depressive symptoms over study period.
up to 16 weeks postpartum
Clinician-Administered Rating Scale for Mania (CARS-M)
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
The CARS-M is administered to assess change in severity of manic and psychotic symptoms over study period.
up to 16 weeks postpartum

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Brief Quality of Life Scale for Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD)
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
up to 16 weeks postpartum
Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
up to 16 weeks postpartum
Medication Recommendation Tracking Form (MRTF)
Time Frame: up to 16 weeks postpartum
up to 16 weeks postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Brown University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
The Miriam Hospital
Michigan State University
Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
Butler Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 20, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 25, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 30, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 16, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 14, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1R34MH102466-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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