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nct Update Il y a 5 ans

Brain Regulation of Emotions in People With Depression and Anhedonia This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine how the brain regulates emotions in healthy people and in patients who have major depression and anhedonia (loss of feeling of pleasure in things that normally give pleasure). Healthy normal volunteers and patients between 18 and 50 years of age with major depression, with or without significant anhedonia, are eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a psychiatric interview, a physical examination that will include blood and urine samples, and an electrocardiogram, and a questionnaire about their emotions. Participants will perform a monetary reward task while lying in an MRI scanner. The task is similar to playing a computer video game with the possibility of winning cash. The amount of cash is largely dependent on the subject's performance. The accumulated amount of cash earned in a session will fluctuate depending on the subject's continuing performance level. That is, during a single session, a subject could lose money earned early in the session if his or her performance later in the session is not as good as earlier. MRI pictures will be taken during performance of the task. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of body tissues and organs. The patient lies on a table that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder) and wears earplugs to muffle loud knocking and thumping sounds that occur during the scanning process. The procedure will last about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

  • Country None
  • organs None
  • Specialty None
Closed trial
nct Update Il y a 5 ans

Vitamin Deficiency and Blood Pressure in Hospitalized Jewish General Hospital (JGH) Patients There is suggestive evidence that vitamin C and vitamin D deficiency may increase blood pressure across the range of blood pressures from normal to elevated. Information about this relationship is inadequate in part because of the rarity of individuals with subclinical vitamin C and D deficiency. The investigators have observed subnormal to deficient plasma vitamin C and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in a large proportion of patients under active treatment in the investigators' hospital. The clinical implications of widespread hypovitaminosis C and D are unknown. In this randomized prospective comparison trial the investigators will measure vitamin levels and blood pressure in clinically stable acutely hospitalized patients with a wide range of diagnoses, and expected to remain in the hospital for at least 7 more days. The investigators will examine for an inverse relationship between baseline vitamin level and blood pressure across the range of blood pressures. Consenting patients will be randomized to receive vitamin C (500 mg twice daily) or vitamin D (1000 IU twice daily) for as long as 10 days. Blood pressure will be re-measured every 2 days and vitamin levels re-measured on the last study day. Treatment courses of at least 5 days will be considered sufficient for analysis. The hypothesis is that either treatment will reduce blood pressure in patients whose baseline systolic blood pressure is 110 or more; the investigators will also examine whether the reduction in blood pressure with treatment is proportional to the increase in the circulating vitamin level with treatment.

  • Country None
  • organs None
  • Specialty None
Closed trial