Aging and Disease Course: Contributions to Lifespan Neurobiology of Schizophrenia

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · Jun 24, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial, titled "Aging and Disease Course: Contributions to Lifespan Neurobiology of Schizophrenia," aims to understand how aging and the progression of schizophrenia affect the brain and overall health. Researchers will study both individuals with schizophrenia and healthy participants, looking for specific biological markers that could help improve treatments tailored to different stages of the illness. By using advanced brain imaging techniques and cognitive assessments, the study hopes to identify patterns in brain function and structure related to aging and the course of schizophrenia.

To participate, individuals must be between 18 and 65 years old for those with schizophrenia, and 18 to 75 for healthy controls. Participants should be able to read and understand English and provide written consent. The study will involve several visits over two years, where participants will undergo brain scans and assessments to gather important data. This research is significant as it could lead to better understanding and treatment options for schizophrenia, particularly as individuals age.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 18-65 years of age (SZ); 18-75 years of age (CON)
• • Women and men
• • All races and ethnicities
• * Psychiatric diagnoses:
• • Patient participants (SZ): Meet DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder Healthy control participants (CON): No personal history of lifetime psychiatric disorders, or a family history of psychotic disorders in 1st-or 2nd- degree relatives
• • Able to read, speak, and understand English
• • Able and willing to provide written informed consent; and willing to commit to the study protocol, including 2-year longitudinal follow-up
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • • Compromised cognitive function: Both SZ and CON participants: Estimated premorbid intellectual ability \<75 age-corrected score on Wide Range Achievement Test-4/Word Reading Subtest (WRAT-4) CON participants: \<26 score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
• • Neurological or medical disorder that may affect brain function (history of stroke, head injury with a loss of consciousness \>10 min, seizure disorder, AIDS, poorly controlled hypertension, poorly controlled diabetes, decompensated lung disease, etc.)
• • Co-morbid DSM-5 diagnosis of drug/alcohol use disorder in prior 3 months
• • Current treatment with benzodiazepine or non-benzodiazepine sedatives/hypnotics, and/or anticonvulsants
• • Presence of ferromagnetic objects in body
• • Weight or body size exceeding MRI scanner capacity \[\>300 lbs\]
• • Claustrophobia in MRI scanner
• • Pregnant women
• • Breastfeeding women (VASO scan will not be administered. All other imaging modalities are safe to administer.)
• • Impaired kidney function: Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) \< 30 ml/min/1.73m2 (VASO scan will not be administered due to an association between Gadolinium-based MR contrast use and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis in individuals with severely impaired renal function. All other imaging modalities are safe to administer.)
• • History of hypersensitivity to any MRI contrast agent (VASO scan will not be administered. All other imaging modalities are safe to administer.)