In Brief: Sexual Activity on the Decline

Topics: Free Articles | Sexual Dysfunction

IN BRIEF Alfred Kinsey caused widespread shock in 1948 when his surveys of sexual behavior revealed what was happening behind bedroom doors. This year, researchers from Kinsey’s institution (Indiana University) updated his work, and this time the surprise is about what is not happening. The new survey asked over 4,000 US adolescents and adults a

Light Therapy: Good for What Ails You?

Topics: ADHD | Alternative treatments | Antidepressant Augmentation | Bipolar Depression | Bulimia Nervosa | Complementary treatments | Complimentary Medicine | Depression | Depressive Disorder | Light and Dark Therapy | Light therapy | Lightbox | PTSD | Seasonal Affective Disorder | Sexual Dysfunction | Sleep | Sleep Disorders | Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

There are several lifestyle changes with broad health benefits that we often encourage in our patients. Exercise, a healthy diet, sleep hygiene, and supportive social connections are near the top of the list, and bright daytime light might be worth adding. Light therapy is a standard treatment for seasonal affective disorder, and in this article we’ll

Keeping Up With Trintellix

Topics: Antidepressants | Cognition | Cognitive Decline | Negative Symptoms | Pharmacology | Pharmacology Tips | Psychopharmacology | Psychopharmacology Tips | Sexual Dysfunction | Sexual Side Effects | Trintellix | Vortioxetine

In a previous report (TCPR, Feb 2019), we summarized the data on cognitive effects associated with vortioxetine (Trintellix). We found that vortioxetine produced impressive results for cognition based on improvement on the Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), and gave Takeda Pharmaceuticals high marks for choosing to compare vortioxetine to duloxeti

FDA Approves a Hormonal Injection for Low Libido in Women

Topics: Addyi | Female hypoactive sexual desire disorder | Female Issues in Psychiatry | Low libido | Sexual Dysfunction | Vyleesi | Women’s Issues in Psychiatry

On June 24, 2019, the FDA approved Vyleesi (bremelanotide injection) for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. Bremelanotide is an analogue of the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, which activates melanocortin in the nervous system. This hormone was originally explored as a sunless tanning agent in the 1980s.

Sexual Side Effects of the Newer Antidepressants

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips | Psychopharmacology Tips | Sexual Dysfunction

It’s no secret that SSRIs and SNRIs cause sexual dysfunction (SD) in a large proportion of patients who take them. The exact size of that proportion, though, is difficult to pinpoint with any reliability. Most of the large clinical trials of antidepressants ascertain side effects through spontaneous reports, and research subjects are understandably em