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DepressionPEARLNCT00459329

PEARL Intervention to Reduce Depression Among Adults With Epilepsy

A study testing Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL) in people with Depression and Epilepsy, run by University of Washington at 1 site in United States.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a home-based depression treatment intervention called "Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL)". We hypothesize that over a 12-month period, compared to usual care, those receiving the PEARL intervention will show more improvement with their… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Depression, Epilepsy
What is being tested?
Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL)
How many people
80 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Mar 2007to Mar 2009
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 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Home address within 30 miles of Seattle
  • Diagnosis of epilepsy (ICD-9 code 345.XX)
  • Appointment in the UW REC or Neurology clinic in the past 2 years and currently enrolled in this clinic.
  • Current age older than 18 years
  • Diagnosis of major depression, minor depression or dysthymia
  • Ability to speak/read English

Who cannot join

  • Alcohol and/or substance abuse/dependence based on a score greater than 1 on 4-item validated CAGE-AID
  • Cognitive impairment based on a score less than 3 on a 6-item validated cognitive screen
  • Diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder or other psychotic disorder
  • Women who are pregnant or nursing
  • Terminal medical illness
  • Those currently seeing or planning to see a psychiatrist
  • Those with suicidal ideation nearly every day

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Regional Epilepsy Center, Harborview Medical Center

    Seattle, Washington, 98104

Other trials in United States

About this study

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a home-based depression treatment intervention called "Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL)". We hypothesize that over a 12-month period, compared to usual care, those receiving the PEARL intervention will show more improvement with their depression, have higher quality of life and function, and use fewer medical services.

Read the detailed description

Compared to non-depressed individuals with epilepsy, those with depression have significantly higher rates of suicide, lower social and occupational functioning, decreased quality of life independent of seizure frequency, and higher non-psychiatric health care utilization. Adults with epilepsy are more likely to be homebound as a result of reduced function and restrictions in driving, opportunities to obtain enhanced quality of care for depression may be limited. This study tests the effectiveness of a home-based multi-modal depression treatment intervention called Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL). PEARL consists of problem solving treatment, social and physical activation, pleasant events scheduling, support and education regarding antidepressant medication use as well as psychiatric consultation and recommendations regarding initiation or adjustment of antidepressant medications.

In a sample of adults with epilepsy who have minor depression, major depression and/or dysthymia, we hypothesize that over a 12-month period, compared to usual care, those randomized to the PEARL intervention will: achieve higher levels of depression response and remission, achieve higher quality of life and function, and utilize less non-psychiatric health care.

By providing a multi-modal, home-based stepped collaborative care intervention for adults with depression and epilepsy, this program will offer practical alternatives to usual care and will provide a program for improving depression outcomes, quality of life and potentially, epilepsy outcomes.

Conditions
Depression, Epilepsy
Being tested
Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL)
Keywords
Depression, Epilepsy, Problem-Solving Therapy, Mental Health, Neurology, Home-based health care, Community-based program, Collaborative care
Medical subject headings
Depression, Epilepsy, Psychological Well-Being

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL)Behavioural

    Eight 50-minute in-home sessions over 19 weeks with a masters-level social work counselor using Problem Solving Therapy (PST).

    PST is a skills-enhancing behavioral depression treatment based on the assumption that an accumulation of problems in living cause and maintain depressive symptoms, and through systematically identifying and addressing these problems, patients achieve decreased depressive symptoms. Counselors also help participants to increase social and physical activities and to incorporate pleasant activities into patients' lives.

    Counselors provide education and monitoring for antidepressant use, and work with the participant's physician and PEARL psychiatrist to recommend initiating or adjusting antidepressant medications. The PHQ-9 is administered at each session to track depression change.

    After 19 weeks, counselors will maintain monthly telephone calls with participants, administering the PHQ-9 and assessing PST success.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Mean SCL-20 depression scores

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  2. Depression treatment response, defined as greater than 50% decrease in SCL-20 score from baseline

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  3. Complete depression remission defined as SCL-20 score less than 0.5.

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Quality of Life

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  2. Pharmaceutical and health care utilization and costs

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  3. Seizure frequency and severity

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  4. Satisfaction with epilepsy health care

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

  5. Epilepsy Self-Efficacy

    Measured: 6 & 12 months post-baseline

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted11 Apr 2007 (estimated)
  2. Study startMar 2007
  3. Primary completionMar 2009 (estimated)
  4. Study completionMar 2009 (estimated)

Resources

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
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
80 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00459329
Sponsor's protocol ID
06-4237-C 01
Other IDs
NCT00459329, SIP 07-2006
Acronym
PEARL
Status last verified
Jun 2008
First submitted
9 Apr 2007
Last updated
4 Jun 2008
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Chaytor N, Ciechanowski P, Miller JW, Fraser R, Russo J, Unutzer J, Gilliam F. Long-term outcomes from the PEARLS randomized trial for the treatment of depression in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2011 Mar;20(3):545-9. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2011.01.017. Epub 2011 Feb 18.

    PubMed 21333607
  • Ciechanowski P, Chaytor N, Miller J, Fraser R, Russo J, Unutzer J, Gilliam F. PEARLS depression treatment for individuals with epilepsy: a randomized controlled trial. Epilepsy Behav. 2010 Nov;19(3):225-31. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.06.003. Epub 2010 Jul 6.

    PubMed 20609631

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARL) in people with Depression and Epilepsy, run by University of Washington 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?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. 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: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Jun 2008. 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?

Results are not available in the source record.

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?

Mean SCL-20 depression scores (time frame: 6 & 12 months post-baseline). The study lists 3 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 NCT00459329, which also lists 2 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 4 Jun 2008.

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