ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT04199845Updated Dec 19, 2019

8-week of PS128 RCT in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

An interventional study of PS128 in Major Depressive Disorder, sponsored by Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital. Status unknown at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-19.

Sponsored by Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Aug 2019), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 3 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Aug 2019, registered Dec 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background: Recent studies have suggested that gut-brain axis may be one of the mechanisms of major depression disorder. In animal studies, alteration of gut microbiota can affect animal's depression or anxiety-like behavior, brain neurochemistry and inflammation. In human studies, the composition of gut microbiota is different between patients with MDD and healthy controls. In addition, supplementation of probiotics can improve mood status in community and clinical participants. In preliminary open trial, the investigators found PS-128 can significantly reduce depression severity in patients with MDD. Therefore, the investigators would like to conduct an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of PS-128 in patients with MDD.

Aims: This study will be an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 on psychophysiology in patients with MDD.

Method: This is a two-phase study. In the first phase, the investigators will recruited patients fulfilling the following inclusion criteria: Age 20-65; fulfill Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth version (DSM-V) criteria of major depressive episode in recent 2 years; Psychotropics including antidepressants, antipsychotics and hypnotics have been kept unchanged for at least 1 months. The exclusion criteria are: comorbid with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other substance use (except tobacco) disorder; having active suicidal or homicidal ideation; known allergy to probiotics; comorbid with diabetes mellitus, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowl disease, liver cirrhosis, or autoimmune diseases; known active bacterial, fungal, or viral infections in one month; use of antibiotics, steroid, immunosuppressants, probiotics, or synbiotics in the month before collecting blood and fecal samples; pregnant or lactating women; who state to have dietary pattern changed or in diet within previous two months. Those with HAMD-17 >=14 in the first screen will be randomized to PS-128 or placebo, with the ratio of 1:1, in the second phase intervention. In the second phase intervention, the investigators will give eligible patients Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 or placebo for 8 weeks, and compare depression symptoms, gut microbiota, gut permeability, and serum inflammation level before and after intervention.

Read the detailed description

The eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either active (PS128) or identical-appearing placebo capsule in an 1 : 1 ratio. A research assistant who is blind to the status of participants will conduct the randomization allocation. Recruited patients will be randomized in 1:1 ratio, by a computer-generated allocation sequence with blocks of 4. Patients, caregivers, and investigators will be all masked to the assignment. To ensure the concealment of the randomization assignment, active drug and placebo will be provided by coded containers. At the end of the first year, the investigators will temporarily decode the blinded medication to analyze the preliminary results.

Active capsule containing 300 mg of probiotics, equivalent to 3x10\^10 CFU of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128. PS128 and placebo will be manufactured by BENED biomedical and packed by a GMP pharmaceutical manufacture. PS128 or placebo will be provided twice, in the morning and in the afternoon, daily. Because activity and diet may alter composition of gut microbiota, the investigators will ask eligible patients not to change their lifestyle or diet pattern. In addition, though effects of psychotropics on inflammation are still controversial (Baumeister et al. 2016b), medications will be kept unchanged during the intervention period. If kinds of psychotropic were changed because of worsening clinical condition, the patient will be withdrawal from the study. However, if only dose of psychotropics were change, the investigators will record the changes, and the patients will be still kept in the study.

02

Conditions studied

  • Major Depressive Disorder

Keywords

  • probiotics
  • gut permeability
  • inflammation
03

In context

Depressive Disorder, Major

2,805 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major; 565 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 80 across 2,338 interventional studies indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major.

Browse Depressive Disorder, Major studies →

Lead sponsor

Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital is the lead sponsor of 200 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 65 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

  1. Age 20-65
  2. fulfill Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth version (DSM-V) criteria of major depressive episode in recent 2 years
  3. Psychotropics including antidepressants, antipsychotics and hypnotics have been kept unchanged for at least one month
  4. HAMD-17 >= 14

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Comorbid with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other substance use (except tobacco) disorder.
  2. having active suicidal or homicidal ideation
  3. known allergy to probiotics
  4. comorbid with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowl disease, liver cirrhosis, or autoimmune diseases
  5. known active bacterial, fungal, or viral infections in one month.
  6. use of antibiotics, steroid, immunosuppressants, probiotics, or synbiotics in the month before collecting blood and fecal samples
  7. pregnant or lactating women (by history)
  8. who obviously change dietary pattern or in diet within previous month
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    PS128

    PS128 will be given twice daily for 8 weeks Active capsule containing 300 mg of probiotics, equivalent to 3 x10\^10 CFU of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128.

    Dietary Supplement: PS128

  • Placebo comparator
    placebo

    Placebo containing starch will be given twice daily for 8 weeks.

    Dietary Supplement: PS128

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementPS128

    PS128 or placebo will be given twice daily for 8 weeks.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale- 17 items (HAMD-17)

    HAMD-17 to evaluate the severity of depression

    Time frame: baseline, week 2, week 4 and week 8.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes of Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS)

    DSSS to evaluate the severity of depression

    Time frame: baseline, week 2, week 4 and week 8.

  2. Changes of serum zonulin

    use serum zonulin and I-FABP to represent gut permeability

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  3. Changes of serum IFABP

    use serum I-FABP to represent gut permeability

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  4. Changes of serum hs-CRP level

    inflammation markers

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  5. Changes of serum IL-6 level

    inflammation markers

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  6. Changes of serum IL-10 level

    inflammation markers

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  7. Changes of serum TNF-alpha level

    inflammation markers

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

  8. Changes of composition of gut microbiota

    The investigators will compare the difference of alpha diversity and relative abundance in phylum level, family level, and genus level before and after 8-week PS128 intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and week 8

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • WanFang Hospital, Taipei Medical University
    Taipei, 116, Taiwan
    • Chun-Hsin Chen, MD · Contact · chunhsin57@yahoo.com.tw · 886-2-29307930
    • Chun-Hsin Chen, MD · Principal investigator
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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

Started Aug 2019 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2022, 33 months after the start.

Of 612 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Depressive Disorder, Major, half reached primary completion within 31 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 17 and three quarters within 53. This study's planned 33 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 652 studies reached it within 30 months; a quarter within 16 and three quarters within 53.

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

Registered
Dec 10, 2019
First posted
Dec 16, 2019
StartActual
Aug 28, 2019
Primary completionEst.
May 2022
CompletionEst.
Jul 2022
Last update
Dec 19, 2019
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 Dec 19, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04199845
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 16, 2019
Start date
Aug 28, 2019
Primary completion
May 2022 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 2022 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 19, 2019

Study contacts

Chun-Hsin Chen, MD
Contact
chunhsin57@yahoo.com.tw
886-970-746395
Chun-Hsin Chen, MD
Contact
chunhsin57@gmail.com
Chun-Hsin Chen, MD
principal investigator · TMU-Wan Fang Hospital

Oversight

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

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