AzTrials
AzTrials

Treatment Resistant DepressionNCT03952962

Tractography Guided Subcallosal Cingulate Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression

A study testing Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system in people with Treatment Resistant Depression and Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Surgery, run by Nader Pouratian at 1 site in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Treatment resistant depression remains a major problem for individuals and society. Surgical procedures may provide relief for some of these patients. The most frequently considered surgical approach is deep brain stimulation (DBS) of a part of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate region. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 70 years
What is being tested?
Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
12 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
28 Oct 2022to Jul 2027
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 70 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Men and women (non-pregnant) between ages 21 and 70;
  • DSM-5 diagnosis a current major depressive episode (MDE) for 10 years of less, recurrent or single episode with first episode after adulthood and did not start during childhood or adolescence, secondary to nonpsychotic unipolar major depressive disorder;
  • Current index MDE ≥24 months duration and/or recurrent illness with at least a total of 2 lifetime episodes (including current episode >12 months);
  • Treatment resistance (defined by criteria on the Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF)28): Failure to respond to a minimum of four adequate depression treatments from different categories;
  • Symptom severity for Screening: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item (HDRS17) ≥20;
  • Symptom severity for Outcome: Montgomery Asberg Rating Scale (MADRS) ≥27 to be met at assessment one week pre-op;
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Normal brain MRI within 3 months of surgery;
  • Antidepressant medication regimen has been held stable for ≥ 30 days prior to the study screening MADRS;
  • Remain on stable antidepressant medication throughout the study, unless there are safety concerns;
  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) >25;
  • Able and willing to give informed consent and agree to attend regular clinic visits for at least 12 months.

Who cannot join

  • DSM-5 Axis I Disorders: any lifetime history of psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder;
  • Alcohol or substance use disorder within 6 months, excluding nicotine;
  • History of childhood abuse (physical or sexual) 18
  • Personality disorders;
  • Seeking disability during the trial;
  • Current substantial suicidal risk as defined by a plan or clear immediate intent for self-harm, or made any suicide attempt within the last year; (MADRS ≥ 5 including the day of surgery);
Show all 17Show fewer
  • No stable work history;
  • Neurological/Medical condition that makes the patient, in the opinion of the surgeon, a poor candidate;
  • Pregnant or has plans to become pregnant in the next 36 months;
  • Unable/unable to practice birth control through the period of randomization and withdrawal of therapy;
  • Subjects who have a history of a seizure disorder;
  • Subjects who will be exposed to diathermy;
  • Subjects who have any medical contraindications to undergoing DBS surgery (e.g. infection, coagulopathy, or significant cardiac or other medical risk factors for surgery);
  • Subjects with another implanted device such as a cardiac pacemaker, defibrillator or neurostimulator;
  • Subjects who have a history of hemorrhagic stroke;
  • Subjects who are unable to undergo MRI;
  • Subjects who are at increased risk of hemorrhage due to underlying medical conditions or medication.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

United States1 site, 1 recruiting
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center

    Dallas, Texas, 75390

    Nader Pouratian, MD, PhD, 310/274-2095, Nader.Pouratian@UTSouthwestern.edu

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

Treatment resistant depression remains a major problem for individuals and society. Surgical procedures may provide relief for some of these patients. The most frequently considered surgical approach is deep brain stimulation (DBS) of a part of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate region. However, the effectiveness and safety is not well established. The investigators will use a novel approach using advanced imaging technique (magnetic resonance tractography) to evaluate the feasibility and safety of this surgical approach. An innovative method for the definition of DBS target will be applied that redefines the concept of targeting as one of targeting a symptomatic network rather than a structural brain region using subject-based brain anatomy to define the target location. The correlation between imaging findings at baseline with the mood score changes at different time points of the study will be investigated.

Being tested
Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system
Medical subject headings
Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant

What participants receive

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

  • Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation systemDevice

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) refers to the process of delivering an electrical current to a precise location in the brain.

Study groups in NCT03952962
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Randomized Discontinuation Period: OFF then ON DBSExperimentalSubjects randomized to this arm are initially "OFF" DBS after the open label period then gradually decreased in their optimized setting's amplitude for 8 weeks and then "ON" DBS for 8 weeks.
Receives: Device: Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system
Randomized Discontinuation Period: ON then OFF DBSExperimentalSubjects randomized to this arm are initially "ON" DBS with optimized stimulation settings for 8 weeks after the open label period and then "OFF" DBS with gradually decreasing amplitude for 8 weeks.
Receives: Device: Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score.

    The primary endpoint will be defined as at least a 40% reduction in the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) that measures depression severity. The MADRS scores range from 0 to 60, where increased values indicate more severe depression. There are 10 questions that each yield a score of 0-6 that are then summed for a total score.

    Measured: 18 months

Secondary outcomes (19)
  1. Change in another related clinical assessment: PHQ-9

    Change in PHQ-9: Patient Health Questionnaire 9. The PHQ-9 the 9-item depression module from the full PHQ. Major depression is diagnosed if 5 or more of the 9 depressive symptom criteria have been present at least "more than half the days" in the past 2 weeks, and 1 of the symptoms is depressed mood or anhedonia. Other depression is diagnosed if 2, 3, or 4 depressive symptoms have been present at least "more than half the days" in the past 2 weeks, and 1 of the symptoms is depressed mood or anhedonia. One of the 9 symptom criteria ("thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way") counts if present at all, regardless of duration. The clinician is expected to rule out physical causes of depression, normal bereavement, and history of a manic episode. As a severity measure, the PHQ-9 score can range from 0 to 27, since each of the 9 items can be scored from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day).

    Measured: 18 months

  2. Change in another related clinical assessment: QIDS-SR

    Change in QIDS-SR: Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report. The QIDS-SR is a 16-question shortened self-test, derived from the 30-item Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS), which measures 9 different criterion domains of major depression. Each of the 4 possible answers to each quiz is given an ascending numerical value from 0-3, where increased values indicate the severity of depressive symptom.

    Measured: 18 months

  3. Change in another related clinical assessment: HAM-A

    Change in HAM-A: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. The HAM-A is a 14-item test designed to assess the severity of anxiety symptoms. All questions are rated on a 5-point (0-4) scale, with 7 questions on psychic anxiety and 7 questions on somatic anxiety. Total scores range from 0 to 56. Patients with anxiety and panic disorder tend to have a score greater than 20.

    Measured: 18 months

  4. Change in another related clinical assessment: CSSRS

    Change in CSSRS: Columbia Suicide-Severity Rating Scale. The C-SSRS is a semistructured clinical interview that utilizes a set of prompts and questions to help an interviewer get more complete information on events suggestive of suicidality. This prospective tool aims to standardize terminology and articulate suicidality assessment in a straightforward manner. The categories within the assessment involve binary responses (yes/no) that establish the intensity of suicide ideation on a scale of 1-5, where 5 is most severe.

    Measured: 18 months

  5. Change in another related clinical assessment: HAMD-17

    Change in HAMD-17:Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. The HAMD-17 is a 17-item scale that evaluates depressed mood, vegetative and cognitive symptoms of depression, and comorbid anxiety symptoms. The HAMD-17 was one of the first rating scales developed to quantify the severity of depressive symptomatology. First introduced by Max Hamilton in 1960, it has since become the most widely used and accepted outcome measure for evaluating depression severity. It provides ratings on current DSM-IV symptoms of depression, with the exceptions of hypersomnia, increased appetite, and concentration/indecision. The HAMD-17 was designed to be administered by a trained clinician using a semi-structured clinical interview. The 17- items are rated on either a 5-point (0-4) or a 3-point (0-2) scale.

    Measured: 18 months

  6. Change in another related clinical assessment: SCID-II

    Change in SCID-II: Structural Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders.This is a semi-structured interview for making DSM-IV Axis II (Personality Disorder) diagnoses and is designed to be administered by a clinician or trained mental health professional. A SCID II takes 1/2 to 1 hour to administer. There are 3 components to the SCID-II. The interview itself covers the 11 DSM-IV Personality Disorders. After the subject fills out the Personality Questionnaire (which usually takes 20 minutes), the clinician simply circles the numbers to the left of the SCID-II items that correspond to items answered "yes" on the questionnaire. The clinician needs only to inquire about the items screened positive on the questionnaire. The assumption is that a subject who responds with a "no" on the questionnaire item would also have answered "no" to the same question had it been read aloud by the interviewer. For this study, only the subsection for Cluster B will be administered.

    Measured: 18 months

  7. Change in another related clinical assessment: CGI

    Change in CGI: Clinical Global Impression of Severity and Improvement. The CGI is used to measure the global impression of a treatment response in a psychiatric patient's illness by a clinician. Two of three sub-scales are being used to measure severity of the illness and improvement of the illness. Items in the two-subscales being administered are rated on a seven-point scale ranging from "1=normal" to "7=extremely ill" for severity subscale and "1=very much improved" to "7=very much worse" for improvement sub-scale.

    Measured: 18 months

  8. Change in another related clinical assessment: PGI

    Change in PGI: Patient Global Impression Index. The PGI is used to measure the global impression of a treatment response in a psychiatric patient's illness by the patient. Two sub-scales are being used to measure severity of the illness and improvement of the illness. Items in the two-subscales being administered are rated on a seven-point scale ranging from "1=normal not ill at all" to "7=among the most extremely ill" for severity sub-scale and "1=very much improved" to "7=very much worse" for improvement sub-scale.

    Measured: 18 months

  9. Change in another related clinical assessment: MoCA

    Change in MoCA: Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The MoCA was designed as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction. It assesses different cognitive domains: attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation. Time to administer the MoCA is approximately 10 minutes. The total possible score is 30 points; a score of 26 or above is considered normal.

    Measured: 18 months

  10. Change in another related clinical assessment: SAFTEE-SI

    Change in SAFTEE-SI: Systematic Assessment for Treatment Emergent Events - Specific . The SAFTEE is a structural clinical interview developed by the National Institute of Mental Health which exams possible treatment-emergent side effects for clinical studies. The SAFTEE-SI looks at specific adverse symptoms for a particular treatment/ clinical trial where the summary scores represent the number of adverse events experienced.

    Measured: 18 months

  11. Change in another related clinical assessment: SF-36

    Change in SF-36: Short Form 36. The SF-36 Health Survey is a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health. The SF-36 is a measure of health status and is commonly used in health economics as a variable in the quality-adjusted life year calculation to determine the cost-effectiveness of a health treatment. The SF-36 consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in their section. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. The lower the score the more disability. The higher the score the less disability i.e., a score of zero is equivalent to maximum disability and a score of 100 is equivalent to no disability.

    Measured: 18 months

  12. Change in another related clinical assessment: QOL

    Change in QOL: Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire. The short form of the QOL is a self-report form composed of 16 items each rated on a 5-point scale that indicates the degree of enjoyment or satisfaction experienced during the past week. A total score of items 1 to 14 is computed and expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score of 70. The 14 items evaluated each subjects' satisfaction with his or her physical health, social relations, ability to function in daily life; ability to get around physically; mood; family relations; sexual drive and interest; ability to work on hobbies, work, leisure time activities; economic status; household activities; living/housing situation; and overall sense of well-being.

    Measured: 18 months

  13. Change in another related clinical assessment: HLQ

    Change in HLQ: Health and Labor Questionnaire. The HLQ is designed to collect quantitative data on the relation between illness and treatment and work performance. The HLQ data permits the estimation of production losses (costs) of paid and unpaid labor. It contains also an indicator for impediments for paid and unpaid labor, one of the indicators for quality of life. The HLQ is divided into 4 modules to collect data about absence from work, reduced productivity at paid work, unpaid labor production and impediments to paid and unpaid labor. The modular structure permits the omission of questions that are not applicable to the study population. The questionnaire is suitable for self-assessment.

    Measured: 18 months

  14. Change in another related clinical assessment: YMRS

    Change in YMRS: Young Mania Rating Scale. The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) is a rating scale to assess manic symptoms. The scale has 11 items and is based on the patient's subjective report of their clinical condition over the previous 48 hours. The items are selected based upon published descriptions of the core symptoms of mania. Each item given a severity rating. There are four items that are graded on a 0 to 8 scale (irritability, speech, thought content, and disruptive/aggressive behavior), while the remaining seven items are graded on a 0 to 4 scale. The authors encourage the use of whole or half point ratings once experience with the scale is acquired. Typical baseline scores can vary a lot and depend on the patients' clinical features such as mania (YMRS = 12), depression (YMRS = 3), or euthymia (YMRS = 2). Sometimes a clinical study entry requirement of YMRS > 20 generates a mean YMRS baseline of about 30.

    Measured: 18 months

  15. Change in another related clinical assessment: PSQI

    Change in PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The PSQI is a 19-item questionnaire evaluating sleep quality and disturbances over the past month.The first 4 items are open questions, whereas items 5 to 19 are rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Individual items scores yield 7 components. A total score, ranging from 0 to 21, is obtained by adding the 7 component scores. A score > 5 suggests poor sleep quality. The psychometric properties of the PSQI have been documented in multiple studies, including one with a French-Canadian sample. The PSQI was used because it measures a construct (sleep quality) that is related to insomnia but a construct that is broader than insomnia severity. It was administered to the community sample only.

    Measured: 18 months

  16. Change in another related clinical assessment: ISI

    Change in ISI: Insomnia Severity Index. The ISI is a 7-item self-report questionnaire assessing the nature, severity, and impact of insomnia. The usual recall period is the "last month" and the dimensions evaluated are: severity of sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakening problems, sleep dissatisfaction, interference of sleep difficulties with daytime functioning, noticeability of sleep problems by others, and distress caused by the sleep difficulties. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate each item (e.g., 0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem), yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 28. The total score is interpreted as follows: absence of insomnia (0-7); sub-threshold insomnia (8-14); moderate insomnia (15-21); and severe insomnia (22-28). Three versions are available-patient, clinician, and significant others-but the present paper focuses on the patient version only.

    Measured: 18 months

  17. Change in another related clinical assessment: LAPS

    Change in LAPS: Leuven Affect and Pleasure Scale. The LAPS is a comprehensive depression assessment scale that integrates several theoretical frameworks on negative and positive affect an on anhedonia. The LAPS comprising of 16 items grouped in 6 categories addresses not only negative affects (depressed mood and anxiety) but also the positive affects, anhedonia, cognitive and overall functioning on a scale of 0-10, where 10 is very much experiencing a feeling/ affect and 0 is not at all.

    Measured: 18 months

  18. Change in another related clinical assessment: SHAPS

    Change in SHAPS: Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale. The 14-item SHAPS is a self-administered instrument that was used to measure hedonic experience or positive valence. Each of the items has a set of four response categories--Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree, with either of the Agree responses receiving a score of 0 and either of the Disagree responses receiving a score of 1. Total scores ranged from 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating a lower level of hedonic experience or a higher level of anhedonia.

    Measured: 18 months

  19. Change in another related clinical assessment: TEPS

    Change in TEPS: Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale. The TEPS has 18 items and two subscales designed to distinguish between anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. It uses a 6-point Likert scale (from 1 = very false for me to 6 = very true for me). Items only reflect physical anhedonia. A significant advantage of this scale is that its two-factor structure that separates anticipatory and consummatory aspects of reward.

    Measured: 18 months

Timeline

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

  1. First posted16 May 2019
  2. Study start28 Oct 2022
  3. Primary completionJul 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completionJul 2027 (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
Device feasibility
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Sequential
Model description
There will be an initial 12-month open label period for all participants involved. In the second period of the study, patients will be divided into groups: responders (defined as a 40% reduction or more in MADRS) versus non-responders. Responders will continue to the 6-month double-blinded discontinuation phase (see below for additional details of study procedures during this phase). The non-responders, after the open label period (12 months) will have monthly follow-up visits for 12 mo. During the discontinuation period, patients will be randomized to either the ON or OFF stimulation phase for 3 mo each. If randomized to ON, there will be no change for 3 mo, then a biweekly 25% reduction in stimulation amplitude for the next 3 mo until stimulation is off. If randomization to OFF phase, there will be an initial biweekly 25% reduction in stimulation amplitude for 3 mo until the device is off then the stimulation settings will be turned back to the optimized settings for three months.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
12 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03952962
Sponsor's protocol ID
19-000767; STU-2021-0635
Status last verified
Jul 2026
First submitted
13 May 2019
Last updated
15 Jul 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
Individual data sharing
No: Investigators with established research programs will be eligible for data sharing. Interested investigators will be required to submit a summary of proposed work and requested data elements. If approved by the Principal Investigator of the study, data will be shared. This data will be de-identified and coded. There is no plan to share identifiers outside the study team

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Abbott Laboratories Infinity™ implantable deep brain stimulation system in people with Treatment Resistant Depression and Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Surgery, run by Nader Pouratian 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 11 inclusion and 17 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Jul 2026. 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Nader Pouratian, MD, PhD (310/274-2095, Nader.Pouratian@UTSouthwestern.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score. (time frame: 18 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 15 Jul 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 26 Oct 2026.

Free account

Keep searching with a free account

You’ve used your 3 free searches for this session. Log in or create a free AzTrials account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in