Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Conditions
Brief summary
This is a multi-site, randomized, open-label, effectiveness trial comparing three treatment arms for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients with TRD who are currently on ongoing, stable and adequate antidepressant therapy (ADT). Adequate ADT is defined as a therapeutically sufficient dose for a sufficient treatment period, which would be expected to be effective as listed in the MGH Antidepressant Treatment Response Questionnaire (ATRQ). Patients will be randomized in a 1:1:1 fashion to one of three open-label treatment arms: a) aripiprazole augmentation, b) rTMS augmentation, and c) switching to venlafaxine XR or Duloxetine.
Interventions
DRUGAripiprazole
Oral adjunctive therapy with aripiprazole, dose adjusted for effectiveness and tolerability.
DEVICERepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
Adjunctive therapy with transcranial magnetic stimulation, dose adjusted for effectiveness and tolerability.
DRUGVenlafaxine XR
Oral switch therapy with venlafaxine, dose adjusted for effectiveness and tolerability.
Sponsors
Massachusetts General Hospital
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. women and men ages 18-80, 2. with MDD, of at least 12 weeks duration, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI; Sheehan et al, 1998), 3. have a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS - Montgomery and Asberg, 1979) score of at least 20 at screen and baseline as assessed by site clinicians, 4. meet criteria for TRD during the current major depressive episode documented in the MGH Antidepressant Treatment History Questionnaire (ATRQ) (Chandler et al., 2010), which will be defined as being non-responders (less than 50% of symptom improvement) to two or more depression treatment trials of adequate dose and duration as defined by the MGH ATRQ, 5. are currently on an antidepressant of adequate dose (as defined by the MGH ATRQ) and duration (at least 8 weeks), with the antidepressant dose being stable over the past four weeks, and with documented (in the MGH ATRQ) non-response (less than 50% improvement) to the current antidepressant. 6. Patients who have passed the MGH CTNI remote assessment, with documentation provided to sites by MGH CTNI.
Exclusion criteria
1. pregnant or breastfeeding women, women of childbearing potential who are not using an accepted means of birth control, or women with a positive urine pregnancy test, 2. patients who have received treatment with rTMS, aripiprazole, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or venlafaxine during the current episode, 3. patients who express an objection to receiving treatment with at least one of the three treatment arms of our study, 4. patients with any history of bipolar disorder or psychosis (diagnosed by MINI), 5. patients with active alcohol or substance abuse disorders within the past 6 months (diagnosed by MINI), 6. patients with suicidal ideation of the degree that, in the opinion of the evaluating clinician, participation in the study would place them at significantly increased risk of suicide, 7. patients with unstable medical issues of such degree that, in the opinion of the evaluating clinician, participation in the study would place them at significant risk of a serious adverse event, or patients with a screening hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5%, or patients with epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's disease, or Huntington's Disease, 8. patients who have received treatment with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), 9. patients who have not responded to more than five FDA-approved antidepressant treatment trials of adequate dose and duration during the current episode, or who did not respond to ECT in previous episodes 10. patients on excluded medications, 11. patients with a positive urine screen drug test for a substance for which they do not have a valid prescription for a valid medical reason, 12. patients with currently abnormal thyroid function tests, 13. patients who have received at least one dose of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) four weeks or less prior, and 14. for patients on concomitant psychotropic agents (anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, hypnotics, opiates, triiodothyronine (T3), modafinil, psychostimulants, buspirone, melatonin, omega-3 fatty acids, folate, l-methylfolate, s-adenosyl methionine, lithium) not on the same dose for at least four weeks prior to study entry or who do not agree to continue at the same dose during the acute phase of the study. 15. Patients who do not meet safety criteria for TMS: history of seizures, cardiac pacemaker, DBS or VNS, brain aneurism clips or other metallic implants in the intracranial space. 16. Also excluded is an individual who has received any administration of ketamine in the current episode for the treatment of depression.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) | 8 weeks | The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is a clinician-rated scale that assesses the severity of depressive symptoms. The scale consists of 10 items evaluating apparent sadness, reported sadness, inner tension, reduced sleep, reduced appetite, concentration difficulties, lassitude, inability to feel, pessimistic thoughts, and suicidal thoughts. Each item is scored from 0 to 6. Item scores are summed to calculate a total MADRS score ranging from 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms and a worse outcome. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quality of Life, Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire - Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) | 8 weeks | The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire - Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) is a self-reported assessment tool used to evaluate an individual's degree of enjoyment and satisfaction across various areas of daily functioning. The questionnaire assesses domains such as physical health, mood, work, household activities, social relationships, leisure activities, and overall well-being. The short form consists of 16 items, with respondents rating their level of satisfaction and functioning over the past week. The first 14 items are summed to generate a total raw score ranging from 14 to 70, with higher scores indicating greater life satisfaction and better quality of life. Raw scores may also be converted to a percentage of the maximum possible score, ranging from 0% to 100%, to facilitate interpretation and comparison across studies. The final two items assess overall medication satisfaction and overall life satisfaction and are typically analyzed separately rather than included |
Countries
Canada, United States
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Participants were enrolled across 17 sites in the United States and Canada between July 13, 2017 and December 22, 2021.
Pre-assignment details
Eligible participants with treatment-resistant depression receiving stable antidepressant therapy were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to aripiprazole augmentation, rTMS augmentation, or switch to venlafaxine XR/duloxetine.
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | — |
|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 43.8 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 14.5 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 9 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 78 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants |
| Number of failed trials | 2.85 number of failed trials STANDARD_DEVIATION 1 |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 41 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 11 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 203 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 58 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 23 Participants |
| Symptoms of Depression Questionnaire (SDQ) total score is a self-report questionnaire | 156.9 points STANDARD_DEVIATION 27.1 |
| The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is a clinician-rated scale | 33.1 points STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.3 |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 92 | 0 / 84 | 0 / 102 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 92 | 0 / 84 | 0 / 102 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 92 | 0 / 84 | 0 / 102 |
Outcome results
None listed