Skip to content

A Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Familial Dysautonomia

An Open-Label Pilot Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Familial Dysautonomia

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03013777
Enrollment
15
Registered
2017-01-06
Start date
2016-12-06
Completion date
2018-07-20
Last updated
2019-01-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders, Autosomal Recessive Disease, Dysthymia, Familial Dysautonomia, Paroxysmal Hypertension

Keywords

Familial dysautonomia

Brief summary

To determine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the severity of anxiety and depression in adult patients with familial dysautonomia. Patients will be enrolled in an 8-week CBT program. All CBT sessions will be done either in person at the NYU Dysautonomia Center or over the phone to help accommodate disability and potential physical limitations of our patient population.

Detailed description

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), defined as a program of interventions that utilize education to teach relaxation, healthy coping skills, stress management, assertiveness training in order to help the individual identify and correct maladaptive beliefs in combination with education to help practice symptom reduction and improve quality of life and function. Patients will participate in eight forty-five minute sessions of CBT with a mental health therapist in order to help treat generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety disorder due to another medical condition (familial dysautonomia), major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), substance/medication- induced depressive disorder, depressive disorder due to another medical condition.

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL8-week CBT Program

Sponsors

NYU Langone Health
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of FD (genetically confirmed) * DSM-V criteria of major depressive disorder OR anxiety disorder * STAI score ≥ 25 OR a PHQ-9 depression scale score ≥ 5 or greater * Willing and able to complete 8 CBT sessions * Maintain constant psychoactive medication through out study and no concurrent talk therapy from another therapist.

Exclusion criteria

* Currently suicidal or having current suicidal ideations * Currently under psychiatric treatment for depression or anxiety * Have started any psychoactive medication within 3 months prior to screening

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale8 WeeksShort, but comprehensive scale that consists specifically to the criteria for diagnosis in the DSM-V. The PHQ-9 is effective and sensitive as an instrument in establishing tentative depressive disorder diagnoses while also assessing severity of depressive symptoms. The brevity and criterion validity of the scale make it an appropriate, dual purpose instrument for assessing the severity of depressive disorder within a clinical trial.
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale8 Weeks10-item questionnaire that objectively measures global self-worth. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale is a 10-item questionnaire that objectively measures global self-worth. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale is a 10-item scale scored using a four-point response. The scale has extensive and acceptable reliability and validity, both convergent and discriminant
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)8 WeeksThe STAI has 40 items, 20 items for each of the S-Anxiety and T-Anxiety sub scales. The STAI was chosen for brevity while also providing a broad coverage of DSM V diagnostic criteria for anxiety. The STAI has proven efficacy in measuring valid self-reports of anxiety symptoms and propensity for anxiety.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026