Behaviors and Mental Disorders

All Conditions

Neoplasms

Nervous System Diseases

Immune System Diseases

Musculoskeletal Diseases

Symptoms and General Pathology

Rare Diseases

Depression

Anxiety Disorders

Myasthenia Gravis

Stress Disorders, Traumatic

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Depressive Disorder

Muscle Weakness

Paresis

Asthenia

Muscular Diseases

Neuromuscular Manifestations

Neurologic Manifestations

Syndrome

Paraneoplastic Syndromes

Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Nervous System

Nervous System Neoplasms

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System

Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neuromuscular Junction Diseases

Neuromuscular Diseases

Andreas Meisel, Prof. Dr. med.

The purpose of the study is to systematically capture and characterize mental comorbidities for patients with myasthenia gravis. Anxiety disorders and depression for example, can negatively affect the quality of life and lead to e.g. unemployment and early retirement especially in young patients.

Additionally the researchers want to find out in what way certain aspects of the disease have an influence on the quality of life, and whether different concepts of coping with the disease have different effects on the quality of life for patients with myasthenia gravis.

During the study, close relatives of patients will also be asked to provide input about their current stress situation in the context of supporting their relative.

Based on the results, the investigators want to improve and supplement established treatment concepts, to ensure a more comprehensive and individual treatment.

Myasthenia Gravis and Psyche

* Questionnaire for self-completion by patients containing questions about general information, information on myasthenia, information on diagnosis of mental illness and psychotherapeutic care
* Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS - questionnaire for self-completion by patients to determine the levels of anxiety and depression)
* Breslau scale PTBS-7 (questionnaire for self-completion by patients to determine the levels of Probability of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD))
* Mya Quality of Life 15 (Mya QoL15 - questionnaire for self-completion by patients for use as a measure of health outcome)
* Freiburg questionnaire for coping (FKV - questionnaire is used to assess disease processing modes at the levels of cognition, emotion, and behavior)

questionnaire is used to assess social work Intervention and couple's counselling

NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charite, Berlin

Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Prof. Dr. med.

Wounds and Injuries

Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Mental Disorders

Psychotic Disorders

Those assigned to the immediate treatment group will participate in the 10-week treatment.

After the 10-week immediate treatment period, wait-list control participants will be administered the treatment.

Each couple or family will have 10 weekly 75 minute sessions comprising the treatment protocol.Questionnaires will be administered at baseline-before the immediate treatment phase (T1) and after the 10-week treatment is completed (T2).

FOCUS Resilience Enhancement Program

Participants assigned to the Waitlist (No Treatment) group will receive the study intervention only after the 10 weeks of the immediate treatment phase has been completed. Questionnaires will be administered at baseline-before the immediate treatment phase (T1) and after the immediate treatment phase is completed (T2).

Waitlist (No Study Treatment)

William Saltzman, PhD

The FOCUS program (study treatment) is an established evidence-based intervention whose redesign for families and couples dealing with serious and chronic illnesses will provide a creative and promising supplement to the existing support services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. All participants will receive the 10-weeks of 75-minute weekly study treatment, but will be split into two groups, the immediate treatment group and the wait list treatment group, who will receive the study treatment after the immediate 10 weeks of treatment is completed.

Despite advances in the development of brief evidence-based programs for families and couples contending with illness, trauma or loss, the support services provided at even top-tier medical facilities are overwhelmingly focused on the individual patient. In most cases, combined treatment with spouses and family members is the exception rather than the rule.

FOCUS is one of the very few programs that has a strong evidence base and has been used in medical settings. It is a preventive, skill-based training program that is customized for each couple or family and is designed to build upon existing strengths in order to enhance family and individual resilience.

A cancer diagnosis is a family affair. Research has shown that the family or spousal relationship can be instrumental in lessening patient distress and supporting treatment compliance and positive adjustment across the various stages of treatment, survivorship, recurrence / relapse, and end-of-life. Reductions in patient depression and anxiety through couple or family interventions may reduce overall healthcare utilization and cost while improving care quality.

FOCUS:Families OverComing Under Stress

Evaluation of Feasibility and Effect Size of a Resilience Enhancement Program for Couples and Families Contending With Cancer (FOCUS)

A randomized controlled trial will be considered feasible if the dropout rate is less than or equal to 20%.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Psychologist

The study will recruit from outpatient clinics with procedures designed to obtain a representative sample of research participants, in terms of diagnosis and time since diagnosis.

The study will first identify a large cohort of children who are willing to participate, and then call them back individually as they are found to match participants in the cancer group.

Sean Phipps, Ph.D

This proposal examines trauma and growth responses in the childhood cancer experience. It addresses a number of gaps and unanswered questions in the literature, while integrating several distinct but related lines of research. The rationale for this proposal is outlined briefly as follows:

1. Traumatic stress models focused on pathology dominate pediatric psychosocial oncology research despite empiric evidence of low levels of post-traumatic stress in this population.
2. The assumption of 'cancer as a traumatic event' has biased research designs (including lack of control comparisons) to focus on deficits and pathological outcomes.
3. This deficit-oriented approach has stimulated the development of interventions to treat or prevent PTSD, which may be unnecessary or even harmful.
4. Theoretical and empiric evidence suggests that a more common response to traumatic stress is growth and positive change, but posttraumatic growth phenomenon have been understudied in pediatric populations.
5. Cognitive and personality factors are important determinants of PTSD and positive growth outcomes, and some constructs from positive psychology theory may be particularly relevant in children with cancer.
6. Empirically, parents of children with cancer appear to be at higher risk of PTSD/PTSS, although results are not unequivocal, and the same research biases have applied to parental outcomes. This proposal includes assessment of parental PTSS and PTG, both as an outcome and a predictor of child outcomes.

This study examines the following outcomes:

1. To examine outcomes of posttraumatic growth and benefit finding (PTG) in children with cancer/cancer survivors in comparison to a population of children without history of serious illness.
2. To examine outcomes of posttraumatic stress (PTSS/PTSD) in children with cancer/cancer survivors in comparison to children without a history of serious illness.
3. To examine predictors of child posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth from medical variables, life events history, family environment, and child personality variables.
4. To apply an accelerated longitudinal design to examine trajectories of both pathological outcomes such as posttraumatic stress (PTSS) and positive outcomes such as challenge-related growth (CRG) in children with cancer/cancer survivors in comparison to a population of children without a history of serious illness. Additional observations will be obtained at 1-, 3-, and 5-years post study entry.
5. To examine outcomes of PTG and PTSS/PTSD in parents of children with cancer/cancer survivors in comparison to parents of healthy children. Parental PTSS/PTSD and PTG will be examined both as outcomes and as predictors of child outcomes.
6. To examine predictors of parent PTSS/PTSD and PTG from demographic and medical variables, life events history, and parent personality variables.
7. To determine the sensitivity/specificity of measures of PTSS in screening for PTSD based on diagnostic interview.
8. To examine the validity and reliability of a new measure of child personality, the Child and Adolescent Five Factor Inventory (CAFFI).
9. To examine emerging social developmental outcomes in this longitudinal cohort.
10. To develop an electronic version of the study measures and to compare data obtained electronically (on desktop or laptop computer), with data obtained on paper for comparability in reliability and outcomes obtained.

Stress, Adjustment And Growth In Children With Cancer And Their Parents

Use the Hemingway measure of social connectedness, and the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2) by child, parent and teacher report.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Blood and Lymph Conditions

Lymphoma

Neoplasms by Histologic Type

Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Lymphatic Diseases

Immunoproliferative Disorders

Lymphosarcoma

Regina A Jacob, MD

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a well-documented phenomenon that occurs in cancer survivors. PTSD is known to cause problems with anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Furthermore, there is little treatment available for cancer survivors who suffer from PTSD.

Posttraumatic Growth, however, is a lesser known phenomenon that also occurs in cancer survivors. It is a positive psychological phenomenon that occurs in some people who have suffered a traumatic event--the people who are able to note a "greater appreciation for life", a "stronger relationship with their family/friends," or a "new found level of spirituality" are examples of instances of posttraumatic growth.

Coping with Lymphoma to Enhance Adjustment and Reduce Stress in Survivors (CLEAR Stress) is a study designed to compare the development of PTSD versus the development of Posttraumatic Growth in lymphoma patients at any stage of the cancer experience, regardless of treatment. The hypothesis is that posttraumatic growth, if it is significant, can reduce the impact of PTSD symptoms in the survivor.

Study title	NCT ID	Conditions	Interventions	Eligibility	Organization
Myasthenia Gravis and Psyche	NCT03205306	Myasthenia Grav...		18 Years -	Charite University, Berlin, Germany
FOCUS:Families OverComing Under Stress	NCT02992405	Cancer Depression PostTraumatic S... Anxiety	FOCUS Resilienc... Waitlist (No St...	5 Years -	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Stress, Adjustment And Growth In Children With Cancer And Their Parents	NCT01044160	Posttraumatic G... Posttraumatic S...		3 Years - 25 Years	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Myasthenia Gravis and Psyche	NCT03205306	Myasthenia Grav...		18 Years -	Charite University, Berlin, Germany
Longitudinal Survey Analysis in Lymphoma Survivors	NCT01469754	Lymphoma Posttraumatic S... Posttraumatic G... Coping Resilience		18 Years -	Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for posttraumatic stress disorder