Enhancing Synaptic Plasticity and Cognition in Schizophrenia

University Medical Center Goettingen66 enrolled

Overview

To explore: (a) if physical exercise (sports) combined with cognitive training leads to (superior) improvement of cognition in schizophrenia compared to sports or cognitive training alone (b) if a sports program alone or in combination with cognitive training has influence on hippocampal pathology and synaptic plasticity in schizophrenia compared to a placebo condition.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Interventions

ExerciseOTHER

Standard treatment and participation in the sports program (cycling) including cognitive training, 3 sessions cycling (30 min. each) per week for 3 months and 2 sessions Cogpack per week for the last 6 weeks.

TableSoccerOTHER

Standard treatment and participation in an activity without physical improvement as placebo condition (table football in groups of 4), but including cognitive training, 3 sessions (30 min. each) per week for 3 months and 2 sessions Cogpack per week for the last 6 weeks.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 55 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Male and female patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia (based on ICD-10 criteria) * Age between 18 and 55 * Verbal IQ ≥ 85 * Stable psychopathology on constant medication for 2 weeks * Informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: Patients, who are * not willing or able to participate in the sports program and cognitive training * reveal a significant worsening of psychopathology (based on an increase over 20% of the PANSS positive score) * have an organic mental disorder (such as intoxication or neurological disorders of the CNS) * suffer from instable somatic diseases * have an active substance abuse

Locations (1)

Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen, Georg-August-University

Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Hippocampal volume

Measurement of hippocampal volume before and after the exercise intervention, 3T-MRI MPRAGE-Sequence, manual and automated delineation of hippocampal borders

Time frame: after three months of exercise

Secondary Outcomes

Verbal Learning Memory

Neuropsychological assessment of a working memory domain via the Verbal Learning Memory Test (German: Helmstaedter, C., Lendt, M., Lux, S., 2001. Verbaler Lern- und Merkfähigkeitstest (VLMT). Göttingen, Beltz)

Time frame: after three months of exercise

Positive and negative symptoms

Measurement of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia using the "Positive and Negative Symptom Scale for Schizophrenia" (Kay SR, Fiszbein A, Opler LA. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-76)

Time frame: after three months of exercise

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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