Focal Electrically Administered Seizure Therapy for the Treatment of Depression

NCT ID: NCT02462551

Last Updated: 2016-04-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2013-09-30

Study Completion Date

2016-12-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and any possible side effects of focal electrically administered seizure therapy (FEAST) as a treatment intervention for patients with recurrent and treatment resistant depression.

Detailed Description

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Recurrent and treatment resistant depression (TRD) has high morbidity and escalating costs for the healthcare system and society at large. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the most effective acute antidepressant treatment for TRD, but with significant risks of cognitive impairment. The efficacy and side effects of conventional ECT are contingent on the anatomic positioning of electrodes and stimulus dosage. A technique that could spatially target the prefrontal cortex may preserve the efficacy of ECT while simultaneously reducing cognitive side effects.

The investigators have recently demonstrated that focal electrically-administered seizure therapy \[FEAST\], which markedly improves the spatial targeting of the electrical current, is feasible in adult TRD individuals. FEAST can initiate seizures focally and specifically in the prefrontal cortex prior to secondary seizure generalization. Preliminary results in depressed humans at Columbia University and later at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) generated by the PI (Nahas) show that these focal seizures produce clinically meaningful antidepressant responses. Additional work is needed to refine the technique and compare it to conventional approaches.

In this study, the investigators will further develop FEAST to achieve clinically meaningful remission rates (at least 50% of subjects). 30 TRD patients (or 20 with a complete record) will undergo an open-label course of FEAST for an adaptive number of total sessions designed to maximize efficacy of the technique. The investigators will use a dosing paradigm using a current level of 800 mA, finalize the electrode sizes, and test, at one treatment session, the effects of reversing the directionality of current flow on site of seizure induction. Patients will also undergo electroencephalography (EEG) assessments to characterize the induced seizures' spatial and temporal distributions. The investigators will obtain time to orientation recovery as a marker of potential longer-term cognitive side effects.

This technique could fundamentally change and improve the most effective antidepressant treatment, while simultaneously minimizing or eliminating the major side-effects that prohibit larger adoption of ECT.

Conditions

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Treatment-Resistant Depression

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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FEAST

Patients with treatment-resistant depression will undergo 3 sessions of focal electrically administered seizure therapy for two to six weeks. The complete parameter range of the stimulus delivered (Freq: 20-120 Hz; PW: 0.2-2 ms; Duration: 0.1 to 8 s; Current: 0.5-0.8A; charge: 1-576 mC) is determined by an initial titration session and the PI (as an expert in neuromodulation treatments).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Focal Electrically Administered Seizure Therapy

Intervention Type DEVICE

A focal administration of the right unilateral configuration of electro-convulsive therapy for the treatment of recurrent and treatment-resistant depression.

Interventions

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Focal Electrically Administered Seizure Therapy

A focal administration of the right unilateral configuration of electro-convulsive therapy for the treatment of recurrent and treatment-resistant depression.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

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FEAST

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age between 18 and 90 years (inclusive)
* Diagnosis of major depressive disorder (unipolar or bipolar) \[SCID to derive RDC; DSM-IV\]
* Pretreatment HRSD score ≥ 18 \[Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (24-item)\]
* ECT indicated \[Physician evaluation\]
* Willing and capable of providing informed consent \[Physician evaluation\]

Exclusion Criteria

* History of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, other functional psychosis, or rapid cycling bipolar disorder \[SADS to derive RDC; rapid cycling defined as ≥ four episodes in past year\]
* History of neurological illness or insult other than conditions associated with psychotropic exposure (e.g., tardive dyskinesia) \[Physician evaluation; medical history\]
* Alcohol or substance abuse or dependence in the past year (RDC) \[Physician evaluation\]
* Secondary diagnosis of a delirium, dementia, or amnestic disorder (DSM-IV), pregnancy, or epilepsy \[Physician evaluation\]
* Requires especially rapid antidepressant response due to suicidality, psychosis, inanition, psychosocial obligations, etc. \[Physician evaluation\]
* Unable to tolerate psychotropic washout and no psychotropic medication during the ECT trial, other than lorazepam (up to 3 mg/d PRN) \[Treatment history and physician evaluation\]
* ECT in the past six months \[Physician evaluation; medical history\]
* Has a cardiovascular and/or pulmonary condition \[Physician evaluation\]
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

90 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Columbia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

MECTA corporation

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Medical University of South Carolina

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Ziad Nahas

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ziad Nahas

Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Ziad Nahas, MD, MSCR

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

American University of Beirut Medical Center

Locations

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American University of Beirut Medical Center

Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Lebanon

Central Contacts

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Ziad Nahas, MD, MSCR

Role: CONTACT

00961-1-350000 ext. 5664

Mark Doumit, BA,MA

Role: CONTACT

00961-1-350000 ext. 5666

Facility Contacts

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Ziad Nahas, MD, MSCR

Role: primary

00961-1-350000 ext. 5664

Mark Doumit, BA, MA

Role: backup

00961-1-350000 ext. 5666

References

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Spellman T, Peterchev AV, Lisanby SH. Focal electrically administered seizure therapy: a novel form of ECT illustrates the roles of current directionality, polarity, and electrode configuration in seizure induction. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Jul;34(8):2002-10. doi: 10.1038/npp.2009.12. Epub 2009 Feb 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19225453 (View on PubMed)

Lisanby SH, Maddox JH, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Sackeim HA. The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;57(6):581-90. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.57.6.581.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10839336 (View on PubMed)

Sackeim HA, Luber B, Moeller JR, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Nobler MS. Electrophysiological correlates of the adverse cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy. J ECT. 2000 Jun;16(2):110-20. doi: 10.1097/00124509-200006000-00003.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10868321 (View on PubMed)

George MS, Nahas Z, Li X, Kozel FA, Anderson B, Yamanaka K, Chae JH, Foust MJ. Novel treatments of mood disorders based on brain circuitry (ECT, MST, TMS, VNS, DBS). Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2002 Oct;7(4):293-304. doi: 10.1053/scnp.2002.35229.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12382211 (View on PubMed)

Nahas Z, Short B, Burns C, Archer M, Schmidt M, Prudic J, Nobler MS, Devanand DP, Fitzsimons L, Lisanby SH, Payne N, Perera T, George MS, Sackeim HA. A feasibility study of a new method for electrically producing seizures in man: focal electrically administered seizure therapy [FEAST]. Brain Stimul. 2013 May;6(3):403-8. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2013.03.004. Epub 2013 Mar 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23518262 (View on PubMed)

Chahine G, Short B, Spicer K, Schmidt M, Burns C, Atoui M, George MS, Sackeim HA, Nahas Z. Regional cerebral blood flow changes associated with focal electrically administered seizure therapy (FEAST). Brain Stimul. 2014 May-Jun;7(3):483-5. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2014.02.011. Epub 2014 Feb 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24795198 (View on PubMed)

Nobler MS, Luber B, Moeller JR, Katzman GP, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Dichter GS, Sackeim HA. Quantitative EEG during seizures induced by electroconvulsive therapy: relations to treatment modality and clinical features. I. Global analyses. J ECT. 2000 Sep;16(3):211-28. doi: 10.1097/00124509-200009000-00002.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11005043 (View on PubMed)

Luber B, Nobler MS, Moeller JR, Katzman GP, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Dichter GS, Sackeim HA. Quantitative EEG during seizures induced by electroconvulsive therapy: relations to treatment modality and clinical features. II. Topographic analyses. J ECT. 2000 Sep;16(3):229-43. doi: 10.1097/00124509-200009000-00003.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11005044 (View on PubMed)

Kayser S, Bewernick BH, Grubert C, Hadrysiewicz BL, Axmacher N, Schlaepfer TE. Antidepressant effects, of magnetic seizure therapy and electroconvulsive therapy, in treatment-resistant depression. J Psychiatr Res. 2011 May;45(5):569-76. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.09.008. Epub 2010 Oct 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20951997 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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21024/ PSY.ZN.03

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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