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111 active trials for Anxiety Disorders

Physical Fitness and Brain - Interventional Study

According to the Global Burden of Disease report in 2015, anxiety disorders are among the top 10 contributors to years lived with disability worldwide. There is a need for effective treatment protocols. As cardiovascular fitness has a major impact on the brain's ability to change structurally and functionally, interventions involving physical exercise might prove positive in the treatment of persons with anxiety. Yet there are few high quality clinical studies with physical exercise as an intervention for anxiety disorders. Aims: To test a 12 week physical exercise intervention for persons treated for anxiety disorders within primary care. The exposure of interest is intensity of physical exercise; outcomes include anxiety symptom burden, cognitive ability and sick leave. To gain knowledge regarding potential mechanisms by comparing serum levels of specific hormones and cytokines (characterized and associated with brain plasticity in animal models) before and after different intensities of exercise. Implementation: Patients will be randomized into 3 groups: 1) Intervention I: 12 week exercise program with low-intensity fitness training 3 times per week. 2) Intervention II: 12 week exercise program with moderate to high-intensity fitness training 3 times per week. 3) Control group, who will have a physiotherapy session once and will be given general advice about physical activity. At baseline, 12 weeks and 1 year data of cardiovascular fitness, anxiety symptoms, cognitive and working ability and biomarkers will be collected. Impact: If physical exercise positively affects anxiety disorders it would have significance, for the patients as well as for society. In addition to increased quality of life, it may decrease future marginalization and premature death among individuals suffering from anxiety disorders. Reducing medical and sick-leave costs would also liberate health care resources to be used elsewhere in an economically strained health care system.

Start: August 2017
Transdiagnostic CBT for Comorbid Alcohol Use and Anxiety Disorders

Almost 18 million US adults have alcohol use disorders (AUD), with one third of these individuals also diagnosed with anxiety disorders (AXD). The coexistence of AUD and AXD imposes a high burden via healthcare costs and lost productivity. To date, existing treatment approaches for addressing AUD/AXD comorbidity have been only modestly effective and there is a lack of adequate research to guide treatment decisions. The Unified Protocol (UP) is a transdiagnostic, cognitive-behavioral therapy that has shown efficacy in treating emotional disorders. The efficacy of the UP to facilitate abstinence from alcohol consumption in individuals with comorbid AUD/AXD has also been examined, with results from this study indicating a reduction from baseline in drinks consumed per day. However, further evaluation of the UP for managing AUD/AXD is warranted. In this clinical trial, the investigators will further assess the UP's effectiveness in reducing alcohol consumption in patients with comorbid AUD/AXD. Participants will be randomized to one of two conditions: 1) treatment with the UP or 2) treatment with therapist-guided Take Control (TC; a computerized alcohol reduction program). In addition, in a subset of twenty-five participants, functional magnetic resonance scanning (fMRI) will be used to examine the effects of the UP on changes in brain activity in areas important to regulation of emotional and reward processes implicated in excessive alcohol consumption. The researchers' primary hypotheses are that the UP group will, compared to the TC group: 1) be superior in acute symptom reduction from pre- to post-treatment, and 2) evidence greater reductions in percent days heavy drinking, percent days of drinking per week, and alcohol craving.

Start: March 2018