Major Depressive DisorderCAN-DNCT00285935
Cellular Aging and Neurobiology of Depression Study
A study testing Standard Clinical Care with an SSRI in people with Major Depressive Disorder, run by University of California, San Francisco at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
We are conducting an eight week longitudinal study to learn if blood levels of certain naturally occurring compounds and genetic markers differ between patients with depression and healthy adults who are not depressed, and if any such differences relate to memory performance, mood, and neurobiology. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 to 60 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Major Depressive Disorder
- What is being tested?
- Standard Clinical Care with an SSRI
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 228 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 16 Dec 2010to 22 Aug 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 to 60 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
All participants must meet the following criteria:
- Age 21-60 and able to give informed consent.
- Not "needle phobic," by self-report.
- English-speaking (to allow accurate use of behavioral rating scales and verbal cognitive tests).
- Females of child-bearing capacity must be non-pregnant (confirmed by urine pregnancy test) and using effective non-hormonal birth control (e.g. abstinence, condoms, IUD).
- Good general medical health; no significant uncontrolled illnesses that will invalidate the designated outcome measures.
- Clinical labs (electrolytes, liver function test, CBC) with no clinically significant abnormalities that result in medical treatment that will invalidate the designated outcome measures.
- Negative urine toxicology (drugs of abuse) screen.
- Taking no medication or drugs likely to interfere with the study objectives (including statins or medications that affect hormones [e.g. birth control pills or steroids]).
- Free of all psychotropic medications (including antidepressants) for at least 6 weeks (with the exception of prn short-acting benzodiazepines or sedative-hypnotics, < 3 doses per week, and none for 5 drug half-lives before the study).
- No vaccines for at least 4 weeks prior to baseline blood draw (including the flu shot).
- Not currently anemic (Hct of 36-48 for females and 38-54 for males, or Hgb of 12.5-20) and has not donated blood for at least 8 weeks prior to baseline blood draw.
- No neurological disorders and no history of concussion with a black-out that lasted > 10 minutes.
- Willing to provide stool sample
Additional criteria for Depressed Participants:
- Current DSM-5 diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, unipolar, with non-psychotic features.
- Baseline 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) rating of >= 17, or Baseline 25-item HDRS rating of >= 20.
- Current depressive episode duration of > 6 weeks.
- No current, active suicidal intent; HDRS "suicidality" item rating <= 2 OR by clinician determination.
- No recent (< 6 month) history of substance or alcohol use disorder(s), with the exception of tobacco use (DSM-5 criteria).
- No current (in the last month) diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (DSM-5 criteria).
- No anticipated changes in psychotherapeutic interventions during the course of the study.
Additional criteria for Normal Controls:
- No history of DSM-5 Axis I diagnoses
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94143-0984
About this study
Official title: Neurosteroid Metabolism and the Antidepressant Effects of Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's)
We are conducting an eight week longitudinal study to learn if blood levels of certain naturally occurring compounds and genetic markers differ between patients with depression and healthy adults who are not depressed, and if any such differences relate to memory performance, mood, and neurobiology. We are also interested in how the gut microbiome is affected by antidepressant treatment.
We will do this by comparing the unmedicated depressed patients with matched healthy controls at baseline and then following the depressed patients over the course of eight weeks of standardized antidepressant treatment to gauge which baseline abnormalities normalize over the course of treatment.
Read the detailed description
Following an initial telephone screen to assess inclusion and exclusion criteria, the evaluation will continue with an in-person screening evaluation to assess the presence or absence of active medical history and history of major psychiatric illness, as well as review of the consent document. If found to be eligible, participants would then be admitted to the study.
The next step for eligible, consenting depressed subjects and is a baseline visit. The baseline visit will last up to 3.5 hours. We will begin the baseline visit by collecting a urine sample for a drug (and, for women, pregnancy) test. As long as that is negative, we will then collect a blood sample of about 180 cc. After the blood draw, participants will complete cognitive tests and meet again with the study psychiatrist. Eligible consenting healthy controls will come in for a one time study visit and complete the same tests performed during the depressed subject baseline visit. Both depressed participants and healthy controls will return a stool sample collected at home with a kit given during the screening visit.
After the baseline visit, depressed subjects (but not healthy controls) will begin taking an FDA approved antidepressant, as prescribed by the study psychiatrist, for the next 8 weeks while they are enrolled in the study. The specific drug will be decided upon between the participant and the study psychiatrist at the in-person screening visit.
After 4 weeks, depressed participants will return to UCSF to meet again with the psychiatrist to discuss symptoms and how to continue treatment. They will be given an at home collection kit to return a stool sample at the last study visit.
4 weeks later (after 8 weeks in total), depressed participants will come back for an additional visit that will include the same blood draw and testing as the baseline visit. They also will return their stool sample. A physician-investigator will meet with the depressed subjects to review their clinical responses to treatment and to make further treatment suggestions, which the subjects may use in discussions of their future treatment options with their personal physicians. If a decision is made to discontinue antidepressant treatment, the subjects will be given instructions on how to withdraw from the medication, and will be given up to a 4 week supply of the drug to facilitate this withdrawal.
- Conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Being tested
- Standard Clinical Care with an SSRI
- Keywords
- Major Depressive Disorder, MDD, Neurobiology, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, SSRI, Depression
- Medical subject headings
- Depressive Disorder, Major, Depression
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Standard Clinical Care with an SSRIOther
Participants who enroll in this phase are treated with an FDA-approved SSRI in an open-label "treatment-as-usual" manner, in accordance with clinical practices and at a titration rate no more rapid than the manufacturer's recommendations. The duration of the treatment phase is 8 weeks.
Other Name: fluoxetine (Prozac®), Sertraline (Zoloft®), citalopram (Celexa®), escitalopram (Lexapro®)
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment with SSRI | Experimental | Depressed participants will receive 8 weeks of treatment with one of the following serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors:
fluoxetine (Prozac®), sertraline (Zoloft®), citalopram (Celexa®), escitalopram (Lexapro®)
The specific drug used for treatment will be selected by the study clinician based on clinical interviews and the participants preferences. Participants will be monitored for response and side effects by study clinician and will return after 8 weeks for a follow up study visit. Receives: Other: Standard Clinical Care with an SSRI |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Depression ratings at baseline and Week 8
Measured: baseline and Week 8
Serum levels of steroids and neurosteroids at baseline and Week 8
Measured: baseline and Week 8
Secondary outcomes (2)
Serum levels of oxidative stress markers at baseline and Week 8
Measured: baseline and Week 8
Serum levels of cytokines and immune markers at baseline and Week 8
Measured: baseline and Week 8
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Feb 2006 (estimated)
- Study start16 Dec 2010
- Primary completion20 Aug 2025
- Study completion22 Aug 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Major Depressive DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, San FranciscoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 228 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San Francisco
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Owen Wolkowitz, MD, Principal investigator, University of California, San FranciscoRyan Rampersaud, MD, PhD, Principal investigator, University of California, San Francisco
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00285935
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 10-00825
- Other IDs
- R01MH083784, K08MH126192
- Acronym
- CAN-D
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 31 Jan 2006
- Last updated
- 23 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Rampersaud R, Wu GWY, Reus VI, Lin J, Blackburn EH, Epel ES, Hough CM, Mellon SH, Wolkowitz OM. Shorter telomere length predicts poor antidepressant response and poorer cardiometabolic indices in major depression. Sci Rep. 2023 Jun 23;13(1):10238. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35912-z.
PubMed 37353495Rampersaud R, Protsenko E, Yang R, Reus V, Hammamieh R, Wu GWY, Epel E, Jett M, Gautam A, Mellon SH, Wolkowitz OM. Dimensions of childhood adversity differentially affect biological aging in major depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 4;12(1):431. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-02198-0.
PubMed 36195591Wolkowitz OM, Mellon SH, Epel ES, Lin J, Reus VI, Rosser R, Burke H, Compagnone M, Nelson JC, Dhabhar FS, Blackburn EH. Resting leukocyte telomerase activity is elevated in major depression and predicts treatment response. Mol Psychiatry. 2012 Feb;17(2):164-72. doi: 10.1038/mp.2010.133. Epub 2011 Jan 18.
PubMed 21242992
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 23 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Neurosteroid Metabolism and the Antidepressant Effects of Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's)
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00285935
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- CAN-D / 10-00825
- Conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Keywords
- Major Depressive Disorder, MDD, Neurobiology, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, SSRI, Depression
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 228 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San FranciscoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Study start
- 16 Dec 2010 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 20 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 22 Aug 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 2 Feb 2006 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
We are conducting an eight week longitudinal study to learn if blood levels of certain naturally occurring compounds and genetic markers differ between patients with depression and healthy adults who are not depressed, and if any such differences relate to memory performance, mood, and neurobiology. We are also interested in how the gut microbiome is affected by antidepressant treatment.
We will do this by comparing the unmedicated depressed patients with matched healthy controls at baseline and then following the depressed patients over the course of eight weeks of standardized antidepressant treatment to gauge which baseline abnormalities normalize over the course of treatment.
Detailed description
Following an initial telephone screen to assess inclusion and exclusion criteria, the evaluation will continue with an in-person screening evaluation to assess the presence or absence of active medical history and history of major psychiatric illness, as well as review of the consent document. If found to be eligible, participants would then be admitted to the study.
The next step for eligible, consenting depressed subjects and is a baseline visit. The baseline visit will last up to 3.5 hours. We will begin the baseline visit by collecting a urine sample for a drug (and, for women, pregnancy) test. As long as that is negative, we will then collect a blood sample of about 180 cc. After the blood draw, participants will complete cognitive tests and meet again with the study psychiatrist. Eligible consenting healthy controls will come in for a one time study visit and complete the same tests performed during the depressed subject baseline visit. Both depressed participants and healthy controls will return a stool sample collected at home with a kit given during the screening visit.
After the baseline visit, depressed subjects (but not healthy controls) will begin taking an FDA approved antidepressant, as prescribed by the study psychiatrist, for the next 8 weeks while they are enrolled in the study. The specific drug will be decided upon between the participant and the study psychiatrist at the in-person screening visit.
After 4 weeks, depressed participants will return to UCSF to meet again with the psychiatrist to discuss symptoms and how to continue treatment. They will be given an at home collection kit to return a stool sample at the last study visit.
4 weeks later (after 8 weeks in total), depressed participants will come back for an additional visit that will include the same blood draw and testing as the baseline visit. They also will return their stool sample. A physician-investigator will meet with the depressed subjects to review their clinical responses to treatment and to make further treatment suggestions, which the subjects may use in discussions of their future treatment options with their personal physicians. If a decision is made to discontinue antidepressant treatment, the subjects will be given instructions on how to withdraw from the medication, and will be given up to a 4 week supply of the drug to facilitate this withdrawal.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment with SSRI | Experimental | Other: Standard Clinical Care with an SSRIDepressed participants will receive 8 weeks of treatment with one of the following serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors: fluoxetine (Prozac®), sertraline (Zoloft®), citalopram (Celexa®), escitalopram (Lexapro®) The specific drug used for treatment will be selected by the study clinician based on clinical interviews and the participants preferences. Participants will be monitored for response and side effects by study clinician and will return after 8 weeks for a follow up study visit. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 to 60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Clinical Care with an SSRIParticipants who enroll in this phase are treated with an FDA-approved SSRI in an open-label "treatment-as-usual" manner, in accordance with clinical practices and at a titration rate no more rapid than the manufacturer's recommendations. The duration of the treatment phase is 8 weeks. Other Name: fluoxetine (Prozac®), Sertraline (Zoloft®), citalopram (Celexa®), escitalopram (Lexapro®) | Other | Treatment with SSRI |
Primary outcome
Depression ratings at baseline and Week 8
Time frame: baseline and Week 8
Serum levels of steroids and neurosteroids at baseline and Week 8
Time frame: baseline and Week 8
2 secondary outcomes
Serum levels of oxidative stress markers at baseline and Week 8
Time frame: baseline and Week 8
Serum levels of cytokines and immune markers at baseline and Week 8
Time frame: baseline and Week 8
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 23 Sep 2025.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 37353495Rampersaud R, Wu GWY, Reus VI, Lin J, Blackburn EH, Epel ES, Hough CM, Mellon SH, Wolkowitz OM. Shorter telomere length predicts poor antidepressant response and poorer cardiometabolic indices in major depression. Sci Rep. 2023 Jun 23;13(1):10238. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35912-z.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 36195591Rampersaud R, Protsenko E, Yang R, Reus V, Hammamieh R, Wu GWY, Epel E, Jett M, Gautam A, Mellon SH, Wolkowitz OM. Dimensions of childhood adversity differentially affect biological aging in major depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 4;12(1):431. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-02198-0.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 21242992Wolkowitz OM, Mellon SH, Epel ES, Lin J, Reus VI, Rosser R, Burke H, Compagnone M, Nelson JC, Dhabhar FS, Blackburn EH. Resting leukocyte telomerase activity is elevated in major depression and predicts treatment response. Mol Psychiatry. 2012 Feb;17(2):164-72. doi: 10.1038/mp.2010.133. Epub 2011 Jan 18.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Owen Wolkowitz, MD principal investigator
University of California, San Francisco
Ryan Rampersaud, MD, PhD principal investigator
University of California, San Francisco
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Standard Clinical Care with an SSRI in people with Major Depressive Disorder, run by University of California, San Francisco at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Depression ratings at baseline and Week 8 (time frame: baseline and Week 8). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00285935, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Sep 2025.