Mental health conditions, such as depressive and bipolar disorders, are very complex. They are also very disabling illnesses. Often, additional health issues complicate the symptoms and experiences that patients feel. To date, research has aimed to identify biological markers that help us understand these illnesses better. But, such clinical research trials often include only patients with a very clear-cut diagnosis. That means that people with additional health or psychiatric concerns are excluded. However, this is not true for real-world patients with mood disorders who often have additional health concerns. One solution is to create large-scale platform trials. They combine efforts of many institutions (universities). This creates a shared database that helps recruit a range of patients into clinical trials. For ENABLE, we aim to recruit participants across the entire range of mood disorders. This includes depression with comorbid psychiatric and general medical conditions. Examples include anxiety, substance use, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, and cardiovascular or inflammatory conditions. The main objectives of ENABLE are threefold. First, to create a standardized method for collecting data. This data will characterize individuals with mood disorders. Second, get consent and standardize screening methods and get neurobiological data, including neuroimaging and EEG data. This will help recruit participants for future studies. Third, provide open access to standardized clinical and neurobiological data for the neuroscience community.

This study enrolls community dwelling adults over the age of 40 for assessments of cognition, behaviour, function, quality of life, and caregiver stress, in association with biomarkers, at 18 month intervals. Participants attend with a study partner, and at each visit are given a series of questionnaires and tests. The overall visit is ~2.5 hours in duration. Biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration are obtained via a participant blood draw and urine collection at each visit. Additionally, participants will be given a stool collection kit to take home which will be returned to the lab for gut microbiome analysis.

In the study we want to find out, whether Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) can improve depression in patients with Major Depressive Disorder. FMT means that a solution prepared from stool of a healthy person is transferred into the gut of a person with a disease. This is already used for people suffering from severe stomach disorders such as C. difficile colotis. We now want to see if this procedure can also reduce the symptoms of depression. If you decide to participate in the study, you will receive FMT either from a healthy screened donor or placebo pill. The FMT will be delivered by oral capsules. You will have a 50:50 chance of receiving placebo capsules or FMT capsules. For this research study, we are recruiting participants who are on treatment for Major Depressive Disorder but are still experiencing depressive episodes. This study will take about 13 weeks to complete and will include 18 visits to Foothills Medical Center.

This study is a longitudinal study requiring your answers to questions about your mental health once a year, for up to 4 years. It helps our understanding of mental health trajectories in help-seeking youth by determining possible genetic and environmental risk factors for those with mental illness. We will ask for a saliva sample along with personal history, risk factors, symptom/outcome measures, and electronic health record data from consenting children, adolescents, teenagers and families looking for or accessing mental health services. If you are interested in participating, here is how to sign up and what you can expect: 1. Use the link to start your registration: https://redcap.link/CalgaryTYMCohort 2. Screening Process - To determine whether you fit the participation criteria, we need to collect some information about you first. 3. If you fit the participation criteria, you may choose to complete the study online on your own time or complete the study in person along with one of our research assistants. 4. You will be asked to donate a one-time saliva sample for genetic analysis (mail in for online participants). 5. Follow ups will occur once a year for up to 4 years.

Agitation is common in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and is one of the most distressing and symptoms of AD. Agitation is associated with faster loss of independent living, increased caregiver stress, poorer quality of life, and increased risk of death. In addition, current treatments show only mild benefits but come with side effects. Therefore, identifying safer and more effective treatments for agitation in AD is a priority.

The aim of this study is to determine if a single dose of psilocybin administered with motivational enhancement therapy (MET) can reduce heavy drinking in patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Eligible participants will be randomly allocated into either a high or low psilocybin dose group. All participant will be paired with a therapist and will receive up to 8 hours of preparation work prior to dosing. Following dosing participants will receive 5 weekly therapy sessions. Clinical, behavioral and neuroimaging measures will be completed at various time points throughout the study.

The goal of this study is to use an online and in-person consensus method to identify the most important measures of healthcare for dementia in Alberta. We aim to develop a set of Quality Indicators to measure dementia care. To achieve this, we will: 1) Use online surveys to create list of quality indicators from those that are available. 2) Conduct in-person discussions to focus on measures for dementia healthcare in Alberta.

Poor sleep is associated with mood and anxiety problems in teens. We are looking at how creating healthy sleep habits can impact mental health in teens. We aim to use a digitized 7-session intervention involving teens and their parents to try to improve sleep in teenagers.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, life-disrupting and highly recurrent illness. Unfortunately, 30–40% of patients do not respond to currently available interventions. The research study we are conducting hopes to shorten the path from diagnosing a person with MDD to starting them on a right, or 'personalized', treatment plan. To achieve this we examine brain scans, clinical assessments and blood samples to gain a better understanding of depression and how best to treat it. we are. To do so, we are seeking to recruit participants who either have major depressive disorder (MDD) and are currently experiencing symptoms of depression. We are also recruiting healthy comparison participants.

Injured joints, especially the elbow, are at risk for permanent motion loss, also known as joint contractures. Joint contractures limit the function of a person due to the loss of elbow motion. For example, loss of elbow motion makes it difficult to perform activities of daily living such as feeding yourself, personal hygiene and dressing. Joint contractures are a recognized complication that occurs often after a fracture or dislocation of a joint. Current research suggests that mast cells, which are found in the joint, are key in causing the joint contracture. Mast cells are produced by our bone marrow along with other white blood cells and live in our tissues. They participate in healing after injury but in joint contractures they are over active. Research has been performed using a medication called Ketotifen. Ketotifen has been linked to stabilizing the mast cells and preventing the joint contracture. It is hoped that short-term use of this medication (Ketotifen) after a fracture or dislocation will prevent the contracture from occurring. This medication is not new. It is currently used in the treatment of Asthma. This research is continuing from another clinical study on people with elbow fractures or dislocations done in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Impact Statement: Ketotifen is a mast cell stabilizer that prevents the release of growth factors and has been used for the treatment of asthma for over 40 years. It has a wide safety profile; there are no reported deaths from overdose, the side effects are minor with the most common side effects being transient sedation (14% of individuals) and 1 – 2 kg weight gain (0.9% of individuals), it does not impair fracture healing, and there are no known teratogenic events. It has been off patent for several years and is low cost. Ketotifen is an oral medication and easily stored and transported. Based on a review of the literature, and our preclinical and Phase II randomized clinical trial (RCT) comparing ketotifen to a placebo, ketotifen is the only pharmaceutical possibility available in the foreseeable future. Successful results using ketotifen to prevent post-traumatic elbow contractures can be rapidly translated to clinical care since it is Health Canada approved for human use. An application to Health Canada to include joint contracture prevention or treatment as another approved indication for ketotifen treatment is all that would be needed. Post-traumatic joint contractures are a major issue. An analysis of the Calgary Health Region database revealed that approximately 1200 elbow fractures or dislocations occurred in 2002–2005. Most of the affected individuals were in the 20–60 year age group with an equal representation of men and women. Elbow injuries and their complications have a significant on productivity, return to work or duty, and quality of life. Thus, preventing contractures after joint injuries is a worthwhile strategy. In addition to preventing contractures, there are other potential applications of Ketotifen. For people with established elbow contractures, operations can be performed to improve motion. Ketotifen could be used as an adjunct to operative contracture release for established post-traumatic contractures, or contractures that develop following elective procedures for degenerative conditions, such as total knee replacement.