L-carnosine for Schizophrenia

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2007-12-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The investigators' hypothesis is that oral L-carnosine treatment (as compared with placebo) will enhance cognitive abilities (specifically: measures of attention, executive function, working memory, visuospatial ability and language) in persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Secondarily, they hypothesize that there will be secondary improvements in positive, negative and mood symptoms with L-carnosine treatment.

The investigators aim to test these hypotheses by conducting a randomized, placebo controlled, add-on treatment trial of L-carnosine (added to existing antipsychotic treatment) up to 84 recruited subjects with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder for a period of 16 weeks. Measures of cognition and psychopathology will be utilized for evaluating primary and secondary outcomes, along with safety assessments.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
• Collaborator: Stanley Medical Research Institute
• Treatments: Antioxidants

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia (any subtype, except currently catatonic) or schizoaffective disorder

• Ages 18 to 65 years

• Men or women

• Ability to read and communicate in English

• 8th grade education or greater

• Ability to provide informed, competent and written consent

• Current antipsychotic medication is stable for greater than or equal to 4 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medically unstable conditions

• Known allergy to L-carnosine

• Current cognitive decline is attributable to a diagnosis of dementia or other neurological disorder

• Pregnant or lactating women

• Mini-mental state examination score (MMSE) less than or equal to 23

• HIV positive status resulting in AIDS-related dementia.