Whole-Body Hyperthermia for Depression: Effective or Too Early to Tell?

Topics: Depressive Disorder | Research Update

Review of: Janssen CW, Lowry CA, Mehl MR, et al. Whole-body hyperthermia for the treatment of major depressive disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2016;73(8):789-795:ahead of print. Study type: Randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial Saunas and hot tubs are pleasant and “therapeutic” for most of us, so it may be no sur

Treating Complicated Grief: Grief-Focused Psychotherapy Is More Effective Than Citalopram

Topics: Depressive Disorder | DSM | Psychopharmacology Tips | Research Update

Review of: Shear M et al, JAMA Psychiatry, 2016;73:685–694; Study type: Randomized placebo-controlled trial Complicated grief (CG) is a relatively common response in those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. In DSM-5, it is listed in the section on conditions for further study, and it is called “persistent complex bereavement disorder.”

N-acetylcysteine Shows Promise for Skin-Picking Disorder

Topics: OCD | Research Update

Subject: (Grant J et al, JAMA Psychiatry, 2016;73:490–496) Short Description: Excoriation, or what’s often referred to as skin-picking disorder (SPD), is a distressing and disfiguring behavior that affects up to 5% of people, occurring more commonly in women. Various lines of evidence imply that this compulsive behavior may be related to reduce

Buprenorphine for Suicidality? Maybe

Topics: Addiction | Depressive Disorder | Research Update

Subject: (Yovell Y et al, Am J Psychiatry 2016;173:491–498) Short Description: When patients become severely suicidal, we have few good treatment options. These include close monitoring (often in a locked unit), intensive psychotherapy, antidepressants (which, while effective, take weeks to work), a variety of medications to treat symptoms such a

Citalopram Safety Warning Has Serious Consequences for VA Patients

Topics: Depression | Research Update

Subject: (Rector T et al, Am J Psychiatry, 2016; ahead of publication) Short Description: In the summer of 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that post-marketing surveillance showed that patients taking greater than 40 mg/day of citalopram were at greater risk of QT prolongation. The agency advised doctors not to prescribe doses

Ongoing ECT Does Not Equal Ongoing Cognitive Problems

Topics: Brain Devices | Research Update

Subject: (Kirov G et al, BJ Psych 2016;208:266–270) Short Description: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is well known to cause short-term amnesia and disorientation around the time of treatment. However, for most of our patients, these cognitive side effects improve and disappear fairly quickly, usually within a few days. We have less informat

Second-Generation Antipsychotics Do Not Raise Risk of Major Malformations

Topics: Antipsychotics | Psychopharmacology Tips | Research Update

Subject: (Cohen L et al, JAMA Psychiatry 2016;173:263–270) Short Description: Second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) are used for a variety of psychiatric conditions, but even though they’ve been around for 20 years, we know little about what impact they have on the developing fetus. These medications are widely considered to be relatively safe

Does Light Therapy Work for Non-Seasonal Depression?

Topics: Depressive Disorder | Research Update | Seasonal Affective Disorder

(Lam R et al, JAMA Psychiatry 2016;73(1):56-63) Many studies have shown that light therapy works for seasonal affective disorder, but does it work for non-seasonal major depression? That’s less clear. Systematic reviews have yielded inconclusive results, in part because prior studies have had methodological weaknesses. A new study with a robust des

Botox Injections Work as Antidepressant

Topics: Research Update | Risk Management