Summary

Eligibility
for people ages 11-15 (full criteria)
Location
at UCLA
Dates
study started
completion around
Principal Investigator
by Naser Ahmadi, MD PhD (ucla)
Headshot of Naser Ahmadi
Naser Ahmadi

Description

Summary

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder in children and is associated with increased neurovascular inflammation, suicidality, adulthood mental health disorder, and major adverse events. Reminder focused positive psychiatry (RFPP) has been shown as well tolerated feasible trauma focused intervention that is associated with improved core PTSD symptoms, decreased severity of reactivity to PTSD trauma reminders, and increased vascular function. This study evaluates the clinical and biomolecular characteristics of RFPP in adolescents with PTSD.

Research Design/Overall Impact: After obtaining parents' informed consent and adolescent's assent, 60 adolescents aged 11-15 years old with PTSD, and free of known medical and other major psychiatric disorders will be recruited from the pool of eligible adolescents at Olive View UCLA Pediatrics Clinics (>3000 adolescents with PTSD). Eligible adolescents will be randomized to 1) RFPP group intervention, or 2) an attentional control condition (group process). Thirty subjects in each group will receive twice weekly telehealth intervention of either RFPP or group process, for 6 weeks, and undergo 4 blinded neuropsychiatric assessments at baseline, 3, 6, and 24 weeks. Parents will receive weekly interventions of either positive psychoeducation or group process, for 6 weeks and undergo baseline, 3, 6- and 24-weeks neuropsychiatric assessment. Vascular function, inflammatory biomarkers including CRP, homocysteine, and stress involved gene expression biomarkers (i.e. changes in gene expression of FKBP5, DDX6, B2M, LAIR1, RTN4, NUB1, and a multi-gene Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity score (CTRA) will be measured at baseline and 6-week. The primary and secondary endpoints are a) changes in PTSD core and reactivity to trauma reminder severity score in response to RFPP intervention, b) changes in wellbeing, biopsychosocial trait, vascular function, neuroinflammation and gene expression biomarkers in response to RFPP, and c) changes in parents' wellbeing and biopsychosocial trait as well as child-parent interactions.

Official Title

Clinical and Biomolecular Characteristics of Reminder-Focused Positive-Psychiatry in Adolescent With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Keywords

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

Eligibility

You can join if…

Open to people ages 11-15

  • Boy/Girl with documented PTSD,
  • aged 11- 15 years old,
  • able to read/write in English

You CAN'T join if...

Location

  • UCLA accepting new patients
    Los Angeles California 90024 United States

Lead Scientist at University of California Health

  • Naser Ahmadi, MD PhD (ucla)
    HS Assistant Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Medicine. Authored (or co-authored) 75 research publications

Details

Status
accepting new patients
Start Date
Completion Date
(estimated)
Sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles
ID
NCT04529031
Study Type
Interventional
Participants
Expecting 60 study participants
Last Updated