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CompletedNCT03435744DepSTATUpdated Aug 26, 2021

Simvastatin as an Augmentation Treatment for Treatment Resistant Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.

A Phase 3 interventional study of Simvastatin 20 mg and Placebo Oral Tablet in Treatment Resistant Depression and Major Depressive Disorder, sponsored by Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning. Completed at 4 sites in Pakistan. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-08-26.

Sponsored by Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
150
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

In this double blind, randomized placebo controlled trial we aim to determine the efficacy of simvastatin as an add-on treatment for treatment resistant depression. We will recruit 150 people with treatment-resistant depression with the aim of determining whether the addition of simvastatin (20mg daily) to treatment as usual (TAU) for 12 weeks leads to an improvement in depressive symptom compared with placebo added to TAU.

02

Conditions studied

  • Treatment Resistant Depression
  • Major Depressive Disorder
03

In context

Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant

448 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant; 147 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 150 is above the median of 59 across 372 interventional studies indexed under Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant.

Browse Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant studies →

Lead sponsor

Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning is the lead sponsor of 59 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • current major depressive episode
  • Must currently be on an antidepressant and must have had a non-response to >2 oral antidepressant treatments in the current episode (including the one they are currently taking).
  • Capacity to give
  • Willing to use adequate
  • Give written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary psychotic or bipolar disorder
  • History of intolerance to statins or presence of any to statins
  • Presence of any serious medical condition or neurological problem
  • Presence of or inflammatory disorder
  • Alcohol or drug dependence
  • Active suicidal ideation
  • Pregnant or breast-feeding.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
150 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Simvastatin with TAU

    Participants will receive Simvastatin 20 mg added to TAU for 3 months

    Drug: Simvastatin 20 mg

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo Oral Tablet with TAU

    Participants will receive placebo added to TAU for 3 months

    Other: Placebo Oral Tablet

Interventions

  • Simvastatin 20 mg added to TAU for 3 months.

    Also known as: Statins

  • OtherPlacebo Oral Tablet

    Matched placebo added to TAU for 3 months

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS; Montgomery Asberg, 1979)

    The MADRS will be used as primary outcome measure in estimating depression severity

    Time frame: Week-2, Week-4, Week-8 and Week-12

07

Study locations

4 sites
  • Civil Hospital
    Hyderabad, Pakistan
  • Civil Hospital
    Karachi, 75500, Pakistan
  • Abbasi Shaheed Hospital
    Karachi, Pakistan
  • Institute of Professional Psychology
    Rawalpindi, Pakistan
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Husain MI, Chaudhry IB, Khoso AB, Husain MO, Rahman RR, Hamirani MM, Hodsoll J, Carvalho AF, Husain N, Young AH. Adjunctive simvastatin for treatment-resistant depression: study protocol of a 12-week randomised controlled trial. BJPsych Open. 2019 Jan;5(1):e13. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2018.84. PubMed 30762508 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Jan 2019 to primary completion in Jun 2021, 29 months.

Of 24 phase 3 interventional studies under Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 24 and three quarters within 59. This study's 29 months is close to that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 9, 2018
First posted
Feb 19, 2018
StartActual
Jan 1, 2019
Primary completionActual
Jun 30, 2021
CompletionActual
Jun 30, 2021
Last update
Aug 26, 2021
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 26, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03435744
Lead sponsor
Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 19, 2018
Start date
Jan 1, 2019
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2021
Completion
Jun 30, 2021
Last update
Aug 26, 2021

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

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Studies of the drug tested here: Simvastatin

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