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Automatic Self Transcending Meditation Versus Treatment as Usual

NCT02149810 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 95

Last updated 2021-10-05

Study results available
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Summary

Depression is a leading contributor to global burden of disease. Antidepressants do not provide adequate response for many patients. Mind-body therapies are often safe, increasingly embraced by patients, however good quality clinical trial data is limited. The PI has shown that there is autonomic instability in patients with late life depression (LLD). Through his team of across discipline researchers he will investigate benefits of one adjunctive mind-body intervention, automatic self transcending meditation on autonomic instability in LLD and depressive symptoms compared to treatment as usual. If results are positive, such an intervention could be used for management of LLD across all levels of care.

WHAT IS THE INNOVATION AND MAIN QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS UNDERLYING THIS PROPOSAL? The main study objectives are to assess heart rate variability (HRV), other autonomic parameters and depression scores in patients with late life depression undergoing an innovative mind-body therapy 'automatic self-transcending meditation' (ASTM) not previously evaluated in a randomized controlled manner in the treatment of late life depression.

It is expected that adding ASTM to TAU will be better than TAU in improving HRV, depression severity and other autonomic parameters in the treatment of LLD. It is expected that this intervention will produce significant anxiolytic and enhanced quality of life outcomes and will have no major side effects. If the results of this study are positive, it is possible that this intervention could be considered as treatment option for the management of this disabling illness in primary, secondary and tertiary care. Such treatment option would be more cost and staff effective, and self empowering than the current standard of care. It could also provide treatment options for patients who are currently resistant to their antidepressants.

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Automatic Self Transcending Meditation

as above

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Western Ontario, Canada

    collaborator OTHER

  • London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • akshya vasudev, MD, MRCPsych · Western University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
60 Years
Max Age
85 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2014-05-31
Primary Completion
2017-01-31
Completion
2017-01-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02149810 on ClinicalTrials.gov