Funder: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization Innovation Fund, 2024 - 2027

Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Jennifer Couturier, McMaster University; Dr. Nikhil Pai, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Summary: This study is the first to investigate oral fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) capsules as a treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) to improve weight and psychological symptoms in this population. The study aims to assess the feasibility of using oral FMT in adolescents with AN, providing insight into the practicality of conducting a larger-scale study in the future. The secondary aim is to assess attitudes and perceptions of FMT as a treatment option to determine if FMT is considered an acceptable intervention for youth with AN. Our final aim is to assess preliminary outcomes in participants, including changes in weight, psychological symptoms, and gut microbiome composition.

Currently Recruiting?: Yes

ClinicalTrials.gov Link: NCT06593366

Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2024 - 2027

Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Jennifer Couturier, McMaster University

Summary: Eating disorders are vastly understudied yet carry a high risk of morbidity and mortality. During the COVID pandemic, referrals for services increased significantly, leading to long wait list times and fragmented care for many youths with eating disorders. Guided self-help Family-Based treatment (GSH-FBT) is being studied as a promising treatment that is both effective and efficient, leading to improvement with fewer resources in less time than traditional Family-Based treatment, the current gold-standard. This study examines real-world implementation of GSH-FBT to determine barriers and facilitators to its use in clinical settings.

Currently Recruiting?: No

ClinicalTrials.gov Link: NCT06851273

Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2024 - 2027

Principal Investigators(s): Dr. Linda Booij, Douglas Research Institute

Dr. Jennifer Couturier's Role: Local Principal Investigator, Ontario

Summary: This nation-wide, multisite study aims to investigate brain development in individuals aged 12–24 with anorexia nervosa (AN), using advanced neuroimaging and clinical assessments. The study will provide a comprehensive understanding of how AN impacts the developing brain, with the goal of improving diagnosis and guiding the development of more targeted treatments. McMaster Children’s Hospital is one of nine research sites across Canada contributing to this important initiative. As part of the study, McMaster will recruit 25 adolescents with AN and 25 matched healthy controls. All participants will complete MRI scans and detailed clinical evaluations at multiple time points over one year, focusing on eating disorder symptoms, mental health, trauma history, and brain structure and function.

Currently Recruiting?: Yes

ClinicalTrials.gov Link: N/A

Funder: National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2022 - 2027

Principal Investigators: Dr. James Lock, Stanford University; Dr. Jennifer Couturier, McMaster University

Co-Investigators: Dr. Brittany Matheson, Stanford University; Dr. Booil Jo, Stanford University

Summary: Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an evidence-based treatment for adolescent Anorexia Nervosa (AN). While FBT can be delivered using videoconferencing (FBT-V), therapists’ limited availability hampers scalability. An innovative intervention, Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment (GSH-FBT) allows parents to learn FBT approach online with guidance from the coach and demonstrated promising effectiveness in preliminary studies compared to therapist-directed FBT. The teams at Stanford University and McMaster university are actively engaged in conducting a multi-centre randomized controlled trial to test GSH-FBT alongside FBT-V. The main aim of this comparative study is to confirm that clinical improvements in GSH-FBT are achieved with greater efficiency than FBT-V in generalizable clinical settings.

Currently Recruiting?: Yes

ClinicalTrials.gov Link: NCT05563649

Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2022 - 2025

Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Jennifer Couturier, McMaster University

Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada experienced a sharp rise in pediatric eating disorder cases, hospitalizations, and treatment waitlists, leaving many parents anxious and without adequate support—an issue that remains under-studied. The first aim of this study is to explore the nationwide impact of the pandemic on families affected by eating disorders and gather stakeholder perspectives on virtual parent-led peer support groups. The second aim is to assess whether implementing these support groups across Canada can help reduce parental burden, by examining their feasibility, acceptability, and the experiences of both parents and peer support providers.

Currently Recruiting?: No

ClinicalTrials.gov Link: NCT05151900