Clinical Trials
Goals of MIST clinical trials
Research highlight
Efficacy of Adjunctive D-Cycloserine to Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial
MIST’s Dr. Alex McGirr recently published a study demonstrating that transcranial magnetic stimulation (a form of neurostimulation that is moderately effective for depression) when combined with D-cycloserine (a medication that enhances neuroplasticity) is dramatically more effective in reducing depressive symptoms (importantly, including a reduction in suicidality).
This approach of coupling already-approved treatments kickstarted this clinical trial and will accelerate translation of this knowledge into treatments — and better outcomes — for patients with major depression.
Dr. Alex McGirr and his graduate student Jaeden Cole demonstrate how transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), one of the main approaches his lab uses to understand how the brain is changed in depression, works.
MIST clinical trials will focus on three key areas:
Major depression is the most common mental health condition — and is highly correlated with suicidality. Sadly, none of the (many) medications produce robust remission in the majority of patients (and very few influence suicidality). MIST will examine the effectiveness of novel approaches that combine existing treatments to enhance their ability to reduce symptoms of depression, including suicidality. MIST will also focus on suicidal individuals to find treatments that can rapidly help them.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety and trauma-related disorder that develops in the aftermath of an individual being exposed to a traumatic event (eg. an episode of violence, car accident, natural disaster, etc.). PTSD can be highly debilitating and involves an increased risk of developing other mental health and substance use disorders. Currently treatment options for PTSD are limited and do not work that well — so MIST will investigate novel approaches to treat PTSD.
MIST will characterize the types of mental health conditions that emerge in the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) to understand which ones are associated with TBI — something that is not currently known. MIST will then test the effectiveness of both established and novel treatments for these mental health conditions, such as depression, in people with TBI to determine if they do in fact work in this population (and if they do, giving doctors new options to help their patients).
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There are ongoing opportunities for you to engage and be a part of MIST research. Learn how you can contribute to advancing our research goals — and be a vital part of saving future lives — by joining a MIST clinical trial.
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