A Clinical Trial of Adjunctive Thyroxine for Avolition in Schizophrenia

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate whether adjunctive thyroxine treatment can ameliorate motivation deficits in adults with schizophrenia experiencing predominant avolition (core negative symptom). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does adjunctive thyroxine reduce avolition symptoms compared to placebo? * Does adjunctive thyroxine normalize cortico-striatal circuit activity during reward processing? Researchers will compare the treatment group (adjunctive sodium tablets, 50μg/day) with the control group (dose-equivalent placebo starch tablet) to see if thyroid hormone: 1. Significantly improves clinical scores of avolition 2. Modulates neural activation in motivation-processing brain circuits Participants will: * Maintain stable antipsychotic therapy for 8 weeks * Receive daily levothyroxine/placebo tablets * Complete the following assessments pre-/post-treatment: * Clinical evaluations (PANSS, NSA, PSP) * MRI scans (resting-state, structural, fMRI during reward tasks) * Blood tests * Behavioral motivation tasks

Timeline

Start

2025-07-01

Primary completion

2027-07-01

Completion

2027-07-01

Drugs

Indications