Eye exams could end guesswork in depression treatment
NCT ID NCT06532604
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study explores whether simple eye tests (electroretinography) can predict how well a person with major depression will respond to common antidepressants. Researchers will measure electrical signals from the eyes of 108 participants before and after starting medication. The goal is to find biomarkers that help doctors choose the right drug faster, avoiding weeks or months of ineffective treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors choose the right antidepressant faster, reducing the trial-and-error process and improving quality of life for people with depression.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage observational study, not a treatment trial. The eye tests may not reliably predict response, and results may not apply to all patients or antidepressant types.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 108 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of a current unipolar depressive episode according to DSM-V criteria * Prescription of antidepressant treatment - SSRI or alpha-2 antagonist - by the psychiatrist or referring physician for the current depressive episode * Age 18 or more * Affiliation with a welfare scheme and native French speakers * Complete information on the study received and written informed consent signed Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of a progressive psychiatric disorder (except MDD and anxiety disorder) according to DSM-V criteria * Seasonal character of the depression * Current antidepressant treatment * Recommended antidepressant treatment other than SSRI or alpha-2 antagonist * High suicide risk * Retinal or ophtalmologic pathology affecting visual acuity as assessed by the Monoyer scale. * History of head trauma, epilepsy or other neurological disorders * Participation in another interventional study (including exclusion period) * Intellectual disability leading to difficulty participating or impossibility or inability to understand the information provided on the study. * Persons cited in Articles L. 1121-5 to L. 1121-8 of the French Public Health Code: pregnant women, parturient or breastfeeding mothers, persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision, persons under psychiatric care under duress, persons admitted to a health or social establishment for other goals than research, minors, adults subject to a legal protection, adults who are unable to express their consent and who are not subject to a legal protection measure. * Criteria incompatible with the use of the ERG device: open wound in an area covered or enveloped by the device; implantable medical device (e.g. pacemaker); user at high risk of contagion
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy
Laxou, Nancy, 54520, France
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