HypErthermia as an Additional Treatment for the Biology and Experience of Depression (HEATBED)

May 11, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

HypErthermia as an Additional Treatment for the Biology and Experience of Depression: The HEATBED Study

This single-arm feasibility trial administered up to 8 weekly (early phase) or 4 bi-weekly (later phase) whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions and 8 weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions to adults aged 18 years or older with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Major Depressive Disorder afflicts more than 300 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of life years lost to disability. Current treatments have important limitations in efficacy and, in the case of medication, substantial side-effects. There is thus a compelling need for additional effective, well-tolerated treatments. One such potential treatment is whole-body hyperthermia (WBH). The investigators hypothesize that WBH may be particularly effective in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an established treatment for depression. This work holds important promise to improve treatment of depression and advance understanding of the role of integrated mind-body therapies for mood disorders.

This single-arm feasibility trial piloted and optimized procedures for integrating WBH (initially 8 weekly sessions). During the course of this feasibility trial, with oversight and permission from the Sponsor, the 8 weekly WBH sessions were reduced to 4 bi-weekly WBH sessions to improve feasibility.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

16

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
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94115
        • University of California San Francisco

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • Current major depressive episode of at least 4 weeks duration as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID) and a Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score greater than or equal to 21 at screening
  • Age of at least 18 years old
  • Must have smartphone onto which they can download an app from Apple App or Google Play stores
  • English speaking
  • Ability to lie supine (on back) for 2 hours (required for WBH sessions)
  • Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Exclusion criteria:

  • Greater than 30 percent reduction in BDI-II score between Screen 1 and Screen 2 (conducted about 1 week after Screen 1)
  • Suicide attempt within the prior 12 months and/or severe current suicidal ideation
  • Any of the following medical conditions: cardiovascular disease (other than controlled hypertension), seizure disorder, history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or other serious neurological condition (e.g. Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, or dementia), current neoplasia, any active enclosed infection (e.g. dental abscess, joint infection), hemophilia or other cause for excessive bleeding (e.g. platelet disorder, or other medical condition that in the opinion of investigators may increase the risk of WBH)
  • Comorbid psychiatric conditions or history of comorbid psychiatric conditions that might better explain depressive symptoms, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, Bipolar Disorder I, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Alcohol Dependence, or Drug Dependence
  • Inability to fit into the sauna device
  • Known hypersensitivity to hyperthermia and/or infrared exposure
  • Breast implants
  • Pregnancy, active lactation or intention to become pregnant during the study period

Use of any:

  • Medication that might impact thermoregulatory capacity, including: diuretics, barbiturates, beta-blockers, antipsychotic agents, anti-cholinergic agents or chronic use of antihistamines, aspirin (other than low-dose ASA for prophylactic purposes)
  • Medication prescribed for the treatment of depression (antidepressant medication; ADM) including but not limited to: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs], Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), Tricyclics (TCAs) and atypical antipsychotic and antidepressant medications. Participants must have been free of these medications for at least 4 weeks
  • Antibiotics (past 14 days), pain medication (opioids) due to procedure, e.g., dental procedure (past 14 days), emergency contraception pill (past 14 days)
  • Medication that in the judgment of the PI would increase risk of study participation or introduce excessive variance into physiological or behavioral responses to WBH
  • Recent use (multiple consecutive doses) of: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), systemic corticosteroids, cytokine antagonists
  • Greater than 30 percent reduction in Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score between Screen 1 and Screen 2
  • Has begun new psychotherapy treatment in the prior 6 weeks
  • Regular use of any nicotine products, including cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco, or other forms of nicotine (if use is not regular, must be willing to refrain for 24 hours before and 24 hours after each WBH session)
  • Unwilling to refrain from using marijuana products and alcohol for the 24 hours before and 24 hours after each WBH session
  • Unwilling to refrain from sauna use outside of study procedures during study participation, and must not have used a sauna for more than 20 minutes on any single occasion in the 60 days before the screen 2/baseline study visit, and must not have used a sauna in the 30 days before the screen 2/baseline study visit

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Whole-Body Hyperthermia (WBH)
Participants receive up to 8 weekly (early phase) or 4 bi-weekly (later phase) whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions and 8 weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions. Each WBH session (including preparation and cool down) is up to approximately 3.5-4 hours, and each CBT session is approximately 50 minutes.
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a behavioral (psychotherapeutic) intervention for major depressive disorder (MDD). A highly trained masters' or PhD-level clinician will administer 8 weekly CBT sessions (~50 minutes each), following the standard cognitive behavioral therapy for depression protocol.
Device: Whole-Body Hyperthermia (WBH)
Whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) will be administered by trained research assistants. Preparation for the WBH, the WBH session, and cool down will last 3.5-4 hours, with active WBH lasting up to approximately 140 minutes. WBH will take place in an infrared sauna dome, and the active heating phase will last until the participants has achieved a core (rectal) temperature of 101.3 F.
Other Names:
  • Sauna Sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average Number of Planned WBH Sessions Completed
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Investigators will average and report the number of completed WBH sessions (4 bi-weekly WBH sessions or 8 weekly WBH sessions offered to participants).
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average Number of Planned Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) Assessments Completed
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Investigators will average and report the number of completed BDI-II assessments (10 planned per participant)
12 weeks
Change in Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) From Baseline to 12-week Assessment
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in BDI-II from baseline assessment to final assessment. BDI-II scores range from 0 to 63 with higher scores indicating more severe depression symptoms.
Baseline and 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Collaborators

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ashley E Mason, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
  • Principal Investigator: Frederick M Hecht, MD, University of California, San Francisco

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

Helpful Links

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 (Actual)

October 11, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 2, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 2, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

September 13, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HEATBED
  • R34AT011221 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

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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