Tianeptine for Treatment Resistant Depression

Description

The studies will be conducted in parallel at two sites: the the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (MSSM), and Stanford Depression Research Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine (SUSM). In addition, MRI studies for the MSSM patients will be carried out at the New York State Psychaitric Institute (NYSPI). The following procedures will be approved by the local Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at each site, where the site PIs (Alla Landa, PhD, NYSPI, James Murrough, MD at MSSM, and Alan Schatzberg, MD at SUSM) will be responsible for overseeing conduct of the study at their respective site. Dr. Jonathan Javitch is the scientific leader of this program and holds the IND for tianeptine use in this study. Investigators will recruit 75 participants with current unipolar MDD, non-delusional, between 21-60, who have failed at least 2 two adequate treatment trials with a standard antidepressant. Patients will receive an 8-week treatment trial of tianeptine. MSSM patients will also undergo structural and task-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that will be performed under Dr. Landa's direction at NYSPI in order to maintain the internal validity of the data set. MSSM subjects will be transported to NYSPI to complete neuroimaging procedures as described below. Participants will be screened for MRI clearance during their screening visit and again at NYSPI on the day of the scan. Subjects will be asked MRI screening questions to ensure that are scanning eligible. Participants will also have additional tubes of blood drawn for human whole-genomic testing. This microarray will be used to identify regions of the human genome that contribute to disease susceptibility and phenotypes. The Illumina human whole-genome array will be used to provide a comprehensive view of the genome, detects single nucleotide polymorphisms and other variations across the genome.

Conditions

Treatment Resistant Depression

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

The studies will be conducted in parallel at two sites: the the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (MSSM), and Stanford Depression Research Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine (SUSM). In addition, MRI studies for the MSSM patients will be carried out at the New York State Psychaitric Institute (NYSPI). The following procedures will be approved by the local Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at each site, where the site PIs (Alla Landa, PhD, NYSPI, James Murrough, MD at MSSM, and Alan Schatzberg, MD at SUSM) will be responsible for overseeing conduct of the study at their respective site. Dr. Jonathan Javitch is the scientific leader of this program and holds the IND for tianeptine use in this study. Investigators will recruit 75 participants with current unipolar MDD, non-delusional, between 21-60, who have failed at least 2 two adequate treatment trials with a standard antidepressant. Patients will receive an 8-week treatment trial of tianeptine. MSSM patients will also undergo structural and task-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that will be performed under Dr. Landa's direction at NYSPI in order to maintain the internal validity of the data set. MSSM subjects will be transported to NYSPI to complete neuroimaging procedures as described below. Participants will be screened for MRI clearance during their screening visit and again at NYSPI on the day of the scan. Subjects will be asked MRI screening questions to ensure that are scanning eligible. Participants will also have additional tubes of blood drawn for human whole-genomic testing. This microarray will be used to identify regions of the human genome that contribute to disease susceptibility and phenotypes. The Illumina human whole-genome array will be used to provide a comprehensive view of the genome, detects single nucleotide polymorphisms and other variations across the genome.

Tianeptine for Treatment Resistant Depression

Tianeptine for Treatment Resistant Depression

Condition
Treatment Resistant Depression
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Stanford

Stanford Depression Research Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States, 94305

New York

Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States, 10029

New York

New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, United States, 10032

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. Age 21 - 60 years, male or female
  • 2. Current diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) without psychotic features
  • 3. 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) ≥ 16
  • 4. At least two previous antidepressant treatment failures (adequate trials within current episode) with a SSRI, SNRI, bupropion, tricyclic antidepressant, mirtazapine, nefazodone, or monoamine oxidase inhibitor, or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or IV ketamine or nasal ketamine.
  • 5. Capable of providing informed consent and complying with study procedures
  • 6. Currently using or willing to use contraception, if woman of childbearing potential (such as condoms, IUD, or oral contraceptive), for duration of the study.
  • 1. Any history of opioid-use disorder
  • 2. Any history of moderate- non-opioid (except for Nicotine) substance-use disorder.
  • 3. Any severity of alcohol use disorder (including mild)
  • 4. Past or current psychosis, psychotic disorder (including psychotic MDD), mania, or bipolar disorder
  • 5. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) suicide item \> 2 or Clinical Global Impressions (CGI)-Severity score of 7 at baseline
  • 6. Previous or current treatment with Tianeptine
  • 7. Current treatment or currently taking an opioid.
  • 8. Failed depression treatment with electroconvulsive therapy.
  • 9. Acute, severe, or unstable medical illness
  • 10. Weight \> 300 lbs, or girth size incompatible with scanner bore.
  • 11. Any physical or intellectual disability adversely affecting ability to complete assessments. MMSE \<26
  • 12. for MSSM site - Having contraindication to MRI scanning (such as metal in body) or inability to tolerate the scanning procedures (e.g., severe obesity, claustrophobia)
  • 13. Current pregnancy or currently breast feeding.
  • 14. Abnormal baseline liver function tests
  • 15. Currently being treated with an antidepressant medication, an antipsychotic or mood stabilizer.
  • 16. Positive urine toxicity at screening (except for cannabinoid)

Ages Eligible for Study

21 Years to 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

New York State Psychiatric Institute,

Alla Landa, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, New York State Psychiatric Institute

Study Record Dates

2025-12-31