Clinical trials in depression: Integrated collection across EU and US registries

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience and Pharmacology
• Clinical Trial Analysis
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Depression impacts millions globally, with current treatments showing limited success.
• Existing therapies for depression, including pharmacological and psychological approaches, have significant limitations.
• The need for novel therapeutic strategies, particularly in pharmacogenetics, is critical for advancing depression treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive database of depression-related clinical trials.
• To identify clinical trials containing biological samples suitable for pharmacogenetic research.
• To facilitate the expansion of pharmacogenetic studies in depression.

Main Methods:

• Systematic data extraction from ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT) and EU Clinical Trials Register.
• Application of semantic similarity and vector-based natural language processing to identify trials with genetic information.
• Scoring of trial records based on textual indicators for likelihood of containing genetic data.

Main Results:

• Identification of 8,853 unique depression clinical trials (1987-2024).
• 41% of trials involved drug interventions, with 1,160 testing antidepressants (primarily SSRIs).
• Vector scores successfully prioritized trials with potential biological samples; data completeness varied.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive resource summarizing depression clinical trials since 1987 has been created.
• This database enables researchers to identify trials with genetic samples for pharmacogenetic studies.
• The findings support further investigation into the genetic underpinnings of depression treatment response.