Ketamine Comparable to ECT for Patients With Refractory Depression Without Psychosis
Ketamine is about as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) at reducing depressive symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression, according to astudy published this week inThe New England Journal of Medicine. These findings were also discussed during a session on Wednesday at APA ’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco.For decades, physicians have recognized ECT as an effective and fast-acting treatment option for people with refractory depression, lead study investigator Amit Anand, M.D., of Brigham and Women ’s Hospital in Boston, told Annual Meeting attendees during his presentation of the data.However, ...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 26, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: dissociation ECT elctroconvulsive therapy ketamine MADRS memory New England Journal of Medicine QIDS-SR refractory depression treatment-resistant depression Source Type: research
Treating Chronic Pain Starts With Patient Education
According to theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 million adults in the United States experienced chronic pain (pain lasting three or more months) in 2021. Such pain is known to increase the risk of depression and anxiety. In a packed session yesterday atAPA ’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Xavier Jimenez, M.D., the director of psychiatry at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, offered pointers to psychiatrists on how best to talk with patients about their chronic pain and help them get on board with treatment.Psychiatrists are typically “adept at psychopharmacology, and much of chronic pai...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 25, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ACEs Adverse Childhood Experiences anxiety catastrophizing CDC chronic pain depression patient education trauma Source Type: research
Depression Associated With More Frequent Pain in People With Sickle Cell Disease, Study Finds
People with sickle cell disease and depression may experience more frequent pain episodes than those with the condition who do not have depression, suggests areport published yesterday inJAMA Network Open. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder, characterized by abnormal hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells), which interferes with red blood cells ’ ability to transport oxygen to tissues. Additionally, sickled red blood cells often clump together, blocking the flow of healthy, oxygenated blood, which can result in severe pain—most commonly in the chest, arms, and legs. “Although individ...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 19, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: blood disorder depression employment status JAMA Network Open pain pain frequency pain severity sickle cell disease Source Type: research
Study Identifies Maternal Risk Factors Associated With Behavioral Challenges in Youth
Developing an infection and/or smoking while pregnant are just two of several factors that astudy in theJournal of the American Academy of Child& Adolescent Psychiatry suggests may put offspring at risk of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulation.“Emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulation in childhood is associated with impaired psychosocial functioning, poor school performance and with increased rates of psychiatric disorders, suicidality, and functional impairment in adulthood,” wrote Jean Frazier, M.D., of UMass Chan Medical School and colleagues.Frazier and colleagues used data from the Natio...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 18, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: behavioral challenges behavioral dysregulation BMI cognitive emotional Journal of the Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry maternal health overweight smoking social Source Type: research
Most Americans Feeling Stressed About Inflation, Survey Shows
Inflation is causing a significant amount of stress for most Americans, especially women and people who are socioeconomically more vulnerable, areport inJAMA Network Open has found.Cary Wu, Ph.D., of York University in Toronto and colleagues analyzed data from the Household Pulse Survey collected from September 2022 to February 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau. They measured inflation stress using the survey question, “How stressful has the increase in prices in the last two months been for you?” The potential answers were “not at all stressful,” “a little stressful,” “moderately stressful,” and “very stres...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 17, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Cary Wu Household Pulse Survey inflation Price increases stress York University in Toronto Source Type: research
Regular Internet Use May Lower Dementia Risk in Older Adults
Older adults who use the internet regularly have nearly half the risk of dementia as adults with limited internet use, according to areport in theJournal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study also suggested that the more years of regular internet use, the more pronounced the dementia benefits become.“Our findings show evidence of a digital divide in the cognitive health of older-age adults,” wrote Gawon Cho, B.A., B.B.A., Rebecca Betensky, Ph.D., and Virginia Chang, M.D., Ph.D., of New York University. The benefits of regular internet use did not vary based on race/ethnicity, sex, education al attainment, or ge...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 16, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: dementia Health and Retirement Study Internet Journal of the American Geriatrics Society older adults prevention regular internet use Source Type: research
Americans Feel Worried About Their Safety, APA Poll Finds
Seven in ten American adults reported that they felt anxious or extremely anxious about keeping themselves or their families safe, according to a recentAPA Healthy Minds Poll.While this is an improvement over the 80% of adults who expressed anxiety over their safety and that of their loved ones in 2020 (during the early days of the pandemic), the percentage reporting anxiety about keeping safe has increased since 2022.Regarding specific areas of concern, 78% of adults surveyed said they were anxious about inflation, and 70% were anxious about the possibility of a recession. Anxiety about gun violence also stood out among t...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 15, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety APA poll gun violence Healthy Minds Poll inflation Rebecca Brendel recession safety Saul Levin Source Type: research
Congressional Briefing Emphasizes Actions Necessary to Address Substance Use Disorder Crisis
Smita Das, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. (pictured at left), chair of APA ’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, was among a panel of experts who spoke to members of Congress and their staffs on Wednesday about the addiction crisis in this country and what actions Congress can take to address it.“As a psychiatrist who has dedicated my professional career to helping patients, I want to make clear that addiction is a chronic brain disorder, and it can be effectively treated,” Das said during the briefing, which was titled “A National Response to a Deadly Crisis: SUPPORT Full-Spectrum Ad diction Care.”Important steps have been t...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 12, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: addiction APA congressional briefing Council on Addiction Psychiatry integrated care opioid overdose prevention reimbursement Smita Das Support for Patients and Communities Act workforce Source Type: research
FDA Approves Rexulti for Agitation Associated With Dementia Due to Alzheimer ’s Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterdayapproved the expanded use of Rexulti (brexpiprazole) for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer ’s disease (AD).“Agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is a common neuropsychiatric symptom that is reported in approximately half of all patients with Alzheimer’s dementia,” wrote Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Lundbeck LLC, makers of the medication, in apress release. The symptoms cover “a large group of behaviors occurring in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, such as pacing, gesturing, profanity, shout...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 11, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: agitation Alzheimer ' s disease brexpiprazole dementia FDA Food and Drug Administration major depressive disorder Rexulti schizophrenia Source Type: research
FDA Approves Brexpiprazole for Agitation Associated With Dementia Due to Alzheimer ’s Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterdayapproved the expanded use of Rexulti (brexpiprazole) for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer ’s disease (AD).“Agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is a common neuropsychiatric symptom that is reported in approximately half of all patients with Alzheimer’s dementia,” wrote Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Lundbeck LLC, makers of the medication, in apress release. The symptoms cover “a large group of behaviors occurring in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, such as pacing, gesturing, profanity, shout...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 11, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: agitation Alzheimer ' s disease brexpiprazole dementia FDA Food and Drug Administration major depressive disorder Rexulti schizophrenia Source Type: research
DEA, SAMHSA Release Temporary Rule Extending Telemedicine Flexibilities
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)have issued a temporary rule that extends telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The temporary rule will go into effect tomorrow, May 11, when the COVID-19 PHE expires, and extends the full set of telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 PHE for six months (through November 11). Additional flexibilities will extend to established patients until November 11, 2024.“Access to evidence-based treatment is a pillar of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strate...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 10, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Anne Milgram APA COVID-19 PHE DEA HHS Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon opioids public health emergency samhsa telemedicine temporary rules Source Type: research
Zuranolone Found to Quickly Reduce Major Depression Symptoms in Phase 3 Trial
Adults with major depressive disorder may experience mood improvements within days of taking zuranolone (50 mg/day), astudy inThe American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP) suggests. Zuranolone is an oral, once-daily neuroactive steroid that acts on GABA-A receptors.“[P]atients receiving zuranolone 50 mg/day demonstrated significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms at day 15 compared with those receiving placebo,” wrote Anita H. Clayton, M.D., of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and colleagues. The study “supports the potential r ole for a 14-day therapy with oral zuranolone 50 mg/day in adults wi...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 9, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: American Journal of Psychiatry depression GABA-A receptors major depressive disorder phase 3 trial rapid-acting antidepressants zuranolone Source Type: research
Early PET Scans Improve Confidence When Diagnosing Cognitive Problems
Adults who receive a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to measure brain amyloid levels shortly after seeing a doctor for cognitive problems are more likely to be confidently diagnosed within three months than those whose PET scans are delayed, suggests astudy published today inJAMA Neurology.“Amyloid deposition in the brain is one of the main hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD) and is considered one of the strongest risk factors of dementia,” wrote Daniele Altomare, Ph.D., of Geneva Memory Center in Switzerland and colleagues. “This evidence from [the Amyloid Imaging to Prevent Al zheimer’s Disease Diagnostic...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 8, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer ' s disease amyloid dementia diagnosis JAMA Neurology mild cognitive impairment PET scan subjective cognitive decline Source Type: research
Psychosis Induced by Substance Use Linked to Schizophrenia
More than a quarter of people who experience substance-induced psychosis are diagnosed with schizophrenia within six years, astudy inThe American Journal of Psychiatry has found.Eline B. Rognli, Ph.D., of Oslo University Hospital and colleagues analyzed data from 3,187 patients in the Norwegian Patient Registry who were between the ages of 18 and 79 and had a diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis from 2010 to 2015. The patients had a mean age of 33.6 years, and 73.5% were men. Among the patients, 14.2% had alcohol-induced psychosis, 17.6% had cannabis-induced psychosis, 22.2% had amphetamine-induced psychosis, and 38.8%...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 5, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: alcohol use American Journal of Psychiatry bipolar disorder cannabis use psychosis schizophrenia substance use Source Type: research
DEA Delays Proposed Telehealth, Buprenorphine Rules
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)has delayed finalizing two proposed rules that were set to go into effect after theCOVID-19 public health emergency expires on May 11. The proposed rules, if finalized, would affect how health professionals implement telehealth services and prescribe certain controlled medications, including medications for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and opioid use disorder (OUD). The DEA received 38,000 comments in response to the proposed rules, which wereannounced on February 24. Instead of finalizing the rules, the DEA, in concert with the U.S. Department of Health an...
Source: Psychiatr News - May 4, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Anne Milgram APA controlled substances DEA Department of Health and Human Services Drug Enforcement Administration opioid use disorder telehealth Source Type: research
