DBS for TRD With the Medtronic Summit RC+S (NCT04106466) | Clinical Trial Compass
Active — Not RecruitingNot Applicable
DBS for TRD With the Medtronic Summit RC+S
United States10 participantsStarted 2020-01-21
Plain-language summary
Of the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, approximately 10% are considered treatment resistant. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to a region of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) is an emerging strategy for treatment resistant depression (TRD), which involves placement of electrodes in a specific region of the brain and stimulating that area with electricity. This is believed to reset the brain network responsible for symptoms and results in a significant antidepressant response. A series of open-label studies have demonstrated sustained, long-term antidepressant effects in 40-60% of patients who received this treatment. A challenge to the effective dissemination of this fledgling treatment is the absence of biomarkers (objective, measureable indications of the state of the body and brain) to guide device placement and select stimulation parameters during follow-up care.
By using an experimental prototype DBS device called the Summit RC+S (Medtronic, Inc) which has the ability to both deliver stimulation to and record electrical signals directly from the brain, this study aims to identify changes in local field potentials (LFPs), specific electrical signals that are thought to represent how the brain communicates information from one region to another, to see how this relates to DBS parameter settings and patient depressive symptomatology. The goal of this study is to study LFPs before and during active DBS stimulation to identify changes that correlate with the antidepressant effects of SCC DBS.
The study team will recruit 10 patients with TRD and implant them with the Summit RC+S system. Participants will be asked to complete short questionnaires and collect LFP data twice daily for the first year of the study, as well as have weekly in person research procedures and assessments with the study team for up to one year. These include meetings with the study psychiatrist, psychologist, symptom ratings, and periodic EEGs (scalp brainwave recordings). A brief discontinuation experiment will be conducted after 6 months of stimulation, in which the device will be turned off and patterns of LFP changes will be recorded. The entire study is expected to last about 10 years, which is the expected life of the battery that powers the device. All participants are required to live in the New York metropolitan area for the first two years of the study.
Who can participate
Age range
25 Years – 70 Years
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Inclusion criteria
. Failure to respond to a minimum of four different antidepressant treatments (including at least three medications from at least three different drug classes), evidence-based psychotherapy, or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) administered at adequate doses and duration during the current episode. We will require documentation (i.e., statement from the treating psychiatrist) that a treatment trial has failed (either no response to maximum tolerable doses for a minimum of 4 weeks, or side effects at sub-maximal doses) as coded by a revised Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF). The study investigators will confirm each treatment via review of records from referring psychiatrists and/or pharmacy records.
. Failure or intolerance of an adequate course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during any episode (confirmed by medical records) or not receiving ECT due to a reason considered valid by the study psychiatrist. Such reasons might include lack of availability of ECT providers in the patient's location, concern regarding the impact of cognitive side effects of ECT on current ability to work or function, or inability to obtain third-party payment for ECT. Additionally, it is recognized that the probability that a patient who has failed four medications in the current episode will achieve a lasting response with ECT is about 18% (60% probability of an acute response and 30% of maintaining response for at least 24 weeks); patients who have refused ECT because they feel the chance of benefit does not outweigh the risks associated with ECT will be considered eligible.
Questions worth asking your doctor
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
1This trial uses deep brain stimulation, which involves brain surgery — given that I have treatment-resistant depression, what would need to be true about my situation before my doctor would even consider a surgical option like this?
2The trial is actively running but no longer enrolling new participants — does that mean there's any chance of joining a follow-up phase, or should we focus on finding other DBS studies or trials that are still open?
3The trial measures success using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale — what kind of score improvement would actually be meaningful for my day-to-day life, and how does that compare to what patients in DBS studies have typically experienced?
4Since this is listed as Phase NA, which often applies to device or surgical studies, what does that mean for how much is already known about the safety of this specific brain stimulation system compared to DBS devices that have gone through standard drug-trial phases?
5Before considering something like DBS, what other treatment-resistant depression options — like ketamine, ECT, or TMS — have I not yet tried, and would my doctor recommend exhausting those first?
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
Questions for the trial coordinator
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
1What does taking part actually involve week to week — how many visits, where, and how long does each one take?
2What costs are covered by the study, and what might I have to pay for myself, including travel, parking, or time off work?
3What happens during screening, and what happens if the study team confirms I don't meet the criteria after those tests?
4Who pays for the scans, blood work, and other tests the trial requires — the study, my insurance, or me?
5How will being in the trial affect my regular care, and will my own doctor stay informed and involved?
6Can I leave the trial at any point if I change my mind, and what would happen to my care if I do?
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
What they're measuring
1
Change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score
Timeframe: Baseline; after 6 months of continuous active stimulation; after 1 year of continuous active stimulation