Coping With Depression in Parkinson's Disease

November 4, 2014 updated by: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Treating Depression in Parkinson's Disease: A New Method

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral treatment, that includes a caregiver-focused social support intervention, for depression in persons with Parkinson's disease.

Individuals who are unable to travel to the study site, but are interested in participating and meet all other eligibility requirements, will be allowed to participate over the phone.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Depression is the most common emotional problem found in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). It causes immense personal suffering and is associated with increased disability and burden to caregivers. Despite the adverse consequences of depression in PD, there are virtually no studies to guide clinical treatment. Several studies are currently examining the effectiveness of antidepressant medication for depression in PD. However, there have been no studies to examine the effectiveness of non-medication approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, despite the success of these techniques in other populations. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches people with PD to become more aware of their thoughts and feelings and to change thinking patterns and behaviors that may be related to symptoms of depression.

The purpose of this study is to determine if cognitive-behavioral therapy--with a caregiver-focused social support intervention--is effective in treating depression in persons with PD. This study will enroll 80 people with PD and their caregivers. Forty participants with PD will be randomly chosen to receive the study treatment in addition to standard medical care. The other 40 will only receive standard medical care and will have the option to receive the study treatment after completing all study assessments (4 months after the initial evaluation).

The study treatment will consist of 10 weekly individual cognitive-behavioral treatment sessions, lasting 1 hour each and modified to meet the unique needs of each individual with PD. Caregivers will attend 4 separate educational sessions-lasting 30 minutes each--designed to provide them with the tools needed to reinforce and supplement the material presented in the cognitive-behavioral sessions. Duration of the study for participants is 15 weeks.

This is the first study to evaluate the impact of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for PD depression in a randomized controlled trial. Information gained from this study may be beneficial in treating depression in persons with PD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

80

Phase

  • 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
    • New Jersey
      • Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08854
        • Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Room D-317

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

Ages Eligible for Study

35 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Persons with PD Inclusion Criteria:

  • Confirmed diagnosis of PD with no significant motor fluctuations or dementia.
  • Major Depression, Dysthymia, or Depression NOS (Clinically significant depression not otherwise specified).
  • 35-85 years old.
  • Willingness to ask a family member or friend, with whom the patient has regular contact, to be involved in treatment.
  • Patients will be allowed to remain on antidepressant medications that have been stabilized (e.g., no dose changes) for at least 6 weeks prior to screening provided that they do not have plans to change these medications while in the study.
  • Patients will be allowed to remain on sedative-hypnotics or anxiolytics that have been stabilized for at least 4 weeks prior to screening. Patients who are taking these medications at screening and qualify for participation will be asked to remain on a stable course of these medications throughout the trial.
  • Taking a stable dose of dopaminergic replacement therapy for at least one month

Persons with PD Exclusion Criteria:

  • DSM-IV criteria for a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, organic brain syndrome, or psychoactive substance dependence or abuse (Nicotine or caffeine dependence is allowed). Other psychiatric co-morbidity is not exclusionary as long as the depressive disorder is primary.
  • Active suicidal ideation.
  • An unstable major medical condition that would interfere with the study.
  • Plans to engage in additional psychotherapy during the study (PD support group is ok).
  • A diagnosis of dementia, defined as above.
  • Significant motor fluctuations, defined as above; mild end of dose wearing off is allowed.
  • Patients unwilling or unable to maintain a stable dose of dopaminergic replacement therapy during the trial.
  • Use of mood-stabilizers or antipsychotic medication.

Caregiver Inclusion Criteria:

  • Ages 25 to 85
  • Daily contact with a friend, family member, or spouse with depression and PD *MMSE > 26 [Mini Mental Status Exam score of greater than 26 (i.e., no signs of significant memory impairment)].

Caregiver Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active suicidal ideation
  • An unstable major medical or psychiatric condition
  • Evidence upon clinical interview of substance abuse/dependence

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
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: 2
standard medical care
Active Comparator: 1
cognitive-behavioral therapy
Behavioral: cognitive-behavioral therapy
The therapy will consist of 10 weekly individual cognitive-behavioral treatment sessions, lasting 1 hour each and modified to meet the unique needs of each individual with PD.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Baseline
Time Frame: 0 weeks

This measure uses the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) to express the average severity of depressive symptoms for a) all participants in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy condition and b) all participants in the Standard Medical Care condition, at the outset of the trial.

The total score on the HDRS (range = 0 to 84) was used as the outcome measures value, with higher values indicating more severe depressive symptomatology and lower scores representing less severe depressive symptomatology.
0 weeks
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Midpoint
Time Frame: 5 weeks

This measure uses the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) to express the average severity of depressive symptoms for a) all participants in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy condition and b) all participants in the Standard Medical Care condition, after 5 weeks of the trial.

The total score on the HDRS (range = 0 to 84) was used as the outcome measures value, with higher values indicating more severe depressive symptomatology and lower scores representing less severe depressive symptomatology.
5 weeks
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Endpoint
Time Frame: 10 weeks

This measure uses the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) to express the average severity of depressive symptoms for a) all participants in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy condition and b) all participants in the Standard Medical Care condition, at the end of the 10 week trial.

The total score on the HDRS (range = 0 to 84) was used as the outcome measures value, with higher values indicating more severe depressive symptomatology and lower scores representing less severe depressive symptomatology.
10 weeks
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: Follow-Up Evaluation
Time Frame: 14 weeks

This measure uses the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) to express the average severity of depressive symptoms for a) all participants in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy condition and b) all participants in the Standard Medical Care condition, 4 weeks after the trial ended.

The total score on the HDRS (range = 0 to 84) was used as the outcome measures value, with higher values indicating more severe depressive symptomatology and lower scores representing less severe depressive symptomatology.
14 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Collaborators

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Roseanne D Dobkin, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  • Study Chair: Matthew Menza, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Primary Mentor)

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

April 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 20, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

April 23, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 5, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 4, 2014

Last Verified

November 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0220060139

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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