Adjunctive Curcumin for Symptomatic Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder: Brain and Body Considerations

Summary

This study will enroll 30 adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) who are suffering from symptoms of depression despite already taking a traditional mood-stabilizing medication. Curcumin will be added to their current medications for 8 weeks. During these 8 weeks, their mood symptoms will be assessed regularly. Height, weight, and blood pressure will also be measured repeatedly. Blood tests will be completed before treatment, after 4 weeks of treatment, and at the end of the study. Blood tests will allow us to determine whether changes in inflammation and oxidative stress explain curcumin's effect on mood. Finally, we will use sophisticated technology to measure blood vessel functioning. We have three main predictions: 1. Curcumin will improve mood symptoms without causing physical problems; 2. Curcumin will reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, and these reductions will be linked to improvements in mood; 3. Curcumin will improve blood vessel functioning, and these improvements will be linked to improved inflammation and oxidative stress.

Timeline

Start

2013-09

Primary completion

2017-03-03

Completion

2017-03-03

Drugs

Indications