TMS is an expensive, time-consuming, but effective treatment for depression, but how should it be used for treating patients with chronic depression? And for those who have an initial positive response when should we consider another course of TMS (known as reintroduction therapy)? These are all questions which have not been adequately addressed in the research literature. A study published in …
SSRI Antidepressants and Pregnancy – 2016
Several recent articles provide additional information about the effects on the infant of exposure to SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy. A large study published in Pediatrics adds to information that suggests that exposure to SSRI antidepressants, particularly late in pregnancy, may be associated with birth complications. As with other studies, one major limitation in the design of the study is that it …
CBT for Seasonal Affective Disorder
CBT May Be More Durable Treatment for SAD Than Light Therapy Six weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions tailored for seasonal affective disorder (CBT-SAD) may lead to longer-lasting effects than those seen with light therapy, according to a recent study in AJP in Advance. Light therapy is a proven approach to treat acute SAD, but previous studies show that most patients …
Depression and Inflammation: Treatment Options
A host of conditions have been associated with mild to moderate levels of inflammation in the body. Depression is one of these. Elsewhere in this blog we have discussed the relationship between depression and inflammation, evidence that treatment with an antidepressant (escitalopram) reduces inflammation in depression, and talked about how exercise prevents depression. We have also noted that elevated levels of inflammation (simple …
B Vitamins and Depression and Cognition
We ran across a Q&A from Consumer Lab on the role of B vitamins in depression which sparked us to update and expand this section of our page on nutritional supplements. ConsumerLab.com Answers Question: I’ve heard that having low B-12 or B-6 can cause depression. Is that true? Answer: Yes, being deficient in vitamin B-12 or B-6 can cause …
Depression Therapeutics and Mechanisms
The September 15, 2016 edition of Biological Psychiatry is devoted to updates in the area of psychobiology that relate to depression and its treatment. In this blog post I will summarize some of those studies to give you a sense of what is going on in the field. Some of these studies may not be replicated in follow-up research, but some …
Why SSRIs May Increase Anxiety Short Term
SSRIs are among the most commonly prescribed medications for chronic anxiety, but not infrequently these medications may be associated with a short term increase in symptoms that precedes the long term benefit. In an elegant series of studies published online in late August 2016 in the premier scientific journal, Nature, researchers from the NIH and the University of North Carolina at …
Antidepressants Alter Gene Expression
An interesting study looked at similarities and differences in the effects of two medications that have anti-depressant effects and yet are extremely different in terms of how they work: ketamine and imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant). This industry supported study looked at the effects of these two agents on a reward circuit (involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC), nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and amygdala – …
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar May Reduce Anxiety and Improved Cognitive Function Researchers in the Departments of Biology and Psychiatry at University of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa, recently reported results from a study in which 23 bipolar patients received neuropsychological tests and functional MRI scans before and after a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy 8 week program. The study showed increased …
TMS Guidelines
In the April edition of Brain Stimulation, the Clinical TMS Society published expert consensus guidelines on the use of TMS. This definitive review of the literature identifies both what is known as well as significant areas of uncertainty about the use of TMS in the treatment of depression. The process of developing the guideline is described in the introduction to the …