Effects of a Cognitive Rehabilitation Program: a Neurocognitive Study

July 25, 2014 updated by: Salvador Sarró, MD
Schizophrenia is known to be associated with cognitive dysfunction which increasing evidence suggests has consequences for functional adaptation and which cause difficulties in social re-integration after hospitalization. The investigators propose a large scale, multicentric study (7 centres from the Hermanas Hospitalarias del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús network) aimed at answering outstanding questions concerning the effectiveness of cognitive estimulation therapy for schizophrenic cognitive impairment. Specifically, the study will examine a) issues related to the size of the effect compared to treatment as usual and compared to a control intervention; b) generalizability of improvement to cognitive function and social cognition in daily life; and c) the durability of therapeutic gains after the end of treatment. 192 patients with chronic schizophrenia will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: a computer- assisted cognitive estimulation program (n=64), non-structured time on computer (n=64) and treatment as usual (n=64). A battery of neurocognitive tests of memory and executive function, including 'ecologically valid' measures, will be administered by blind evaluators at baseline, after 6 months of cognitive estimulation, and after 6 months follow-up. Symptoms, social functioning and self-esteem will be also be assessed at baseline, after the treatment and at follow-up.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

130

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

  • Spain
      • Barcelona, Spain, 08035
        • FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation

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

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder fulfilling the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria diagnosis
  • estimated premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) in the normal range
  • chronic illness (i.e. duration ≥two years)
  • relative clinical stability (i.e. the patients had not experienced any recent exacerbation of symptoms).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of brain trauma
  • alcohol or substance abuse/dependence within the previous six 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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Computer-assisted cognitive training
Patients in this arm of the trial carried out computerized online training drawn from the Feskits program (www.feskits.com), chosen to have attention, memory and executive function components. Specifically the sessions included the following exercises: sustained attention (4 minutes), attention/perception (5 minutes), working memory (8 minutes), auditory and visual memory (8 minutes), executive function (10 minutes), language (6 minutes), and games (4 minutes).
Behavioral: Computer-assisted cognitive training
Treatment lasted six months. The CRT and CC conditions consisted of biweekly sessions of 45 minutes. Patients in both conditions trained in groups of up to 8, supervised by a single person. The CRT and CC groups were scheduled at different times. The same personnel supervised both treatment conditions. All supervisors were trained by the coordinator of the study in the technical management of the two conditions.
Other Names:
  • Computer-assisted cognitive training (CRT)
Active Comparator: Computerized active condition
Patients allocated to this condition completed the same number of sessions as the cognitive training group but followed a computerized typing program (www.rapidtyping.com). This had similar design characteristics to the CRT condition, in that it was hierarchically organized with exercise level of difficulty being adjusted to the individual's level of performance and feedback being given at the end of each exercise. Additionally, patients in this condition played computerized games requiring typing (crosswords, word puzzles, etc) and were taught basic internet navigation by a supervisor. Exposure to the computer was of equivalent duration to the CRT condition.
Other: Computerized active condition
Treatment lasted six months. The CRT and CC conditions consisted of biweekly sessions of 45 minutes. Patients in both conditions trained in groups of up to 8, supervised by a single person. The CRT and CC groups were scheduled at different times. The same personnel supervised both treatment conditions. All supervisors were trained by the coordinator of the study in the technical management of the two conditions.
Other Names:
  • Computerized active condition (CC)
Placebo Comparator: Treatment as usual
Patients in this condition participated in their (individually variable) daily rehabilitative activities. Patients allocated to the other two conditions also participated in these activities
Other: Treatment as usual (TAU)
TAU: Patients in this condition participated in their (individually variable) daily rehabilitative activities. Patients allocated to the other two conditions also participated in these activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Memory test battery
Time Frame: Six months
memory test battery Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT)(Wilson, 1985) a memory test battery and the executive test battery, the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS)(Wilson, 1996)
Six months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Salvador Sarró, MD

Collaborators

Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental
Hermanas Hospitalarias del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Spain

Investigators

  • Study Director: Peter J McKenna, MD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation
  • Principal Investigator: Jesus J Gomar, PhD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation
  • Study Chair: Edith Pomarol-Clotet, MD, PhD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation

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

January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 24, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

July 28, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 28, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2014

Last Verified

July 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PR-2009-15
  • PI09/90483 (Other Identifier: Instituto de Salud Carlos III)

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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