Enhancing Recovery in Early Schizophrenia

NCT02926859 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 180

Last updated 2026-02-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Current antipsychotic treatments of schizophrenia are only partially effective, and their use is often associated with serious side effects. Cannabidiol is a natural counterpart of the psychoactive component of marijuana, delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol and has no psychotomimetic or addictive properties. In a controlled clinical trial of cannabidiol versus amisulpride in acute paranoid schizophrenia we showed a statistically significant clinical improvement in all symptoms clusters of schizophrenia compared to baseline with either treatment. Cannabidiol displayed a significantly superior side-effect profile in particular regarding prolactin elevation, extrapyramidal symptoms and weight gain. The favorable side-effect profile and potentially novel mechanism of action identify this molecule as a potential antipsychotic. However, long-term safety and efficacy data is still lacking. This study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the novel compound cannabidiol in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in comparison to placebo as an add-on to an established treatment with either amisulpride, aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone, in a 12-months, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Thereby, relevant data on cannabidiol's antipsychotic potential will be gained.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Cannabidiol as add-on

Cannabidiol capsules 2x200 mg twice a day as add-on to individualized pharmacological treatment with either amisulpride, aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone over 26 weeks

DRUG

Placebo as add-on

Placebo capsules 2x200 mg twice a day as add-on to individualized pharmacological treatment with either amisulpride, aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone over 26 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • F. Markus Leweke, MD · Central Institute of Mental Health

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-04-08
Primary Completion
2027-12-31
Completion
2027-12-31

Countries

  • Germany

Study Locations

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Entities

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 NCT02926859 on ClinicalTrials.gov