JAK Signaling in Depression and Cognition in Male Football Players

This study is looking into how inflammation might be linked to depression and thinking problems in male football players. We are testing a medication called baricitinib, which is already approved for other conditions, to see if blocking a part of the inflammatory process helps. You might be able to join if you are a man between 40 and 55 years old, have played football for at least 10 years (including at least one year in the NFL), and have current or past depression. We will measure success by looking at changes in brain activity related to reward processing using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans, as well as changes in your depressive and thinking symptoms. The study aims to enroll 30 participants, but its current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design: This is an interventional study, meaning participants will receive a specific treatment. It plans to enroll 30 male participants.
What's involved: If you qualify, you will take baricitinib once daily by mouth for 8 weeks. You will also have MRI scans, provide blood and urine samples, and complete assessments and tests for your depressive and cognitive symptoms.
Compensation: Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up: Your brain activity will be measured at the start of the study, and again at 2 and 8 weeks after starting the intervention.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

JAK Signaling in Depression and Cognition in Male Football Players

Not Yet Recruiting

PHASE2Ages 30–55InterventionalBasic science

Emory University

~30 participants

Updated 2026-08-20 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What's tested:Baricitinib

At a glance

Recruiting sites

0 of 3 listed sites are recruiting right now

RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open

What they're measuring

Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) Task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Measured over Baseline and weeks 2 and 8 post-intervention

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms

Cognitive Symptom

Where it's being run

3 sites across 1 states

Georgia3

Study leadership

Andrew H Miller, MD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Emory University

Who to contact

Andrew H Miller, MD

[email protected]

404-727-8260

Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

willing and able to give written informed consent

males

playing tackle football for at least 11 years

30-55 years of age

Current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-V major depression or Bipolar, depressed type; or DSM-V major depression or Bipolar, depressed type in partial remission as diagnosed by the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (SCID)-V

score of \>10 on the PHQ-9 from screening and HAM-D score ≥16 for study entry

off all antidepressant or other psychotropic therapy (e.g., mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and sedative hypnotics) for at least 4 weeks before baseline visit (8 weeks for fluoxetine) or on a stable psychotropic regimen for at least 4 weeks (and no planned changes)

CRP ≥3 mg/L

PHQ-9 anhedonia (item #1) and cognitive (item #7) scores ≥2

Exclusion

current or history of past autoimmune disorder

history or evidence (clinical or laboratory) of hepatitis B or C infection or human immunodeficiency virus infection

history of any type of cancer requiring treatment with more than minor surgery

unstable cardiovascular, endocrinologic, hematologic, hepatic, renal, or neurologic disease (as determined by physical examination, EKG, and laboratory testing)

significant hematological abnormalities at screening (ANC \< 1500, Hgb\<10, platelet\< 100,000)

history of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

history of deep venous thrombosis

history of cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke - controlled hypertension is OK)

major surgery within 6 months before screening, or will require major surgery during the study

current or recent (\<4 weeks before study start) viral (including COVID-19), bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infection, or any other active or recent infection

symptomatic herpes zoster infection at or within 12 weeks of study start

history of disseminated/complicated herpes zoster (for example, ophthalmic zoster or CNS involvement)

cirrhosis of the liver from any cause

What this trial measures

Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) Task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)Baseline and weeks 2 and 8 post-intervention
Resting-state and task-based MID Task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The MID Task is a specialized behavioral paradigm used during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). It isolates and measures the neural mechanisms of reward processing, specifically motivational salience, anticipation, and outcome feedback. fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) for resting and task-based functional connectivity: A multi-echo (ME) ep2 BOLD sequence will be optimized to provide a high signal-to-noise ratio in regions of interest that is maintained during minor incidences of head motion. Resting ME BOLD will be acquired over \~10 min, and task fMRI will involve two \~10 min scans. For resting bold, a single acquisition of phase-encoding in the opposite polarity (anterior-posterior) for distortion correction over \~30 seconds.

Trialytics