Vibeke Naja Høyrup Dam has been granted an Inge Lehman grant, worth 2.575.737 DKK, from the Independent Research Fund Denmark (IFRD) for her 3-year project "The PRIME-D Trial: Improving recovery in depression through pro-cognitive pharmacological enhancement of CBT" which will start Mar 1, 2026.
We congratulate Vibeke and look forward to hosting her project.
Brief scientific summary:
The PRIME-D trial investigates whether augmenting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with the 5-HT4 receptor agonist prucalopride improves memory function and treatment outcomes in depression. Cognitive deficits are common in depression and may limit CBT efficacy, yet no current interventions target these impairments directly. This double-blind RCT will enroll 106 medication-free patients with moderate to severe depression to receive 12 weeks of CBT plus prucalopride or placebo. Outcomes include memory performance, depression severity and patientreported experience. The trial aims to clarify whether memory enhancement mediates clinical response and whether prucalopride enhances CBT engagement. Findings could inform more effective, personalized treatment strategies for patients with cognitive dysfunction in depression.