Wegovy, Ozempic Associated With Lower Risk of Suicidal Thoughts Than Related Drugs
Patients taking semaglutide for obesity or diabetes appear to have a lower risk of suicidal ideation than those who are taking other drugs for these conditions, according to areport inNature Medicine. Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP1R) agonist that was initially approved to treat diabetes (brand name: Ozempic) but was subsequently approved at a higher dose as a weight loss medication (brand name: Wegovy). “Instructions for Wegovy include recommended monitoring for suicidal ideation. However, the association of semaglutide with suicidal ideation compared with non-GLP1R agonist medications ...
Source: Psychiatr News - January 8, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: bupropion diabetes GLP1 Metformin Nature Medicine obesity Ozempic semaglutide suicidal ideation Wegovy Source Type: research
Certain Antidepressants May Increase Risk of Impulse Control Disorder in Parkinson ’s Patients
Taking serotonergic antidepressants such as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may increase the risk of patients with Parkinson ’s disease developing impulse control disorder, astudy inThe American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry has found.Impulse control disorders —which include a range of behaviors such as excessive gambling, spending, cleaning, and eating—are one of “the most challenging psychiatric syndromes” affecting people living with Parkinson’s disease, wrote Christopher B. Morrow, M.D., M.H.S., of the Johns Hopkins University Sch...
Source: Psychiatr News - January 5, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: antidepressants gambling impulse control disorders Parkinson ' s disease SNRIs spending SSRIs The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Source Type: research
Poor Quality Sleep in Midlife May Be Associated With Poor Cognition Later in Life
Individuals whose sleep is characterized by high restlessness at about 40 years of age may have a higher risk of poor cognitive functioning 11 years later compared with individuals whose sleep is better, according to a prospective cohort study published yesterday inNeurology.“Since Alzheimer’s disease pathology begins to accumulate in the brain many years before symptom onset, it’s possible that sleep disturbances identified in late life—close to the time when memory loss becomes apparent—is actually the consequence of this pathology that has been developing s ilently over the years,” said Yue Leng, Ph.D.,...
Source: Psychiatr News - January 4, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer ’s cognitive impairment fragmentation index poor cognition poor sleep sleep duration UCSF Yue Leng Source Type: research
Wearable Technology Could Change Depression Care, Review Suggests
About a third of U.S. adultsuse a wearable device (for example, a smartwatch) to track their health and fitness. These devices (also known as “wearables”) capture a large amount of information that could be used one day to enhance how depression is diagnosed, monitored, and treated, wrote Szymon Fedor, Ph.D., of MIT Media Lab and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital in areview article in theNew England Journal of Medicine.As the authors explained, the diagnosis and monitoring of depression today is based largely on symptoms reported by patients, which is subjective. However, wearables provide objective inform...
Source: Psychiatr News - January 3, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: depression care limitations New England Journal of Medicine objective data subjective data wearable technology Source Type: research
Benzodiazepine Use During Pregnancy May Be Associated With Miscarriage
Women who use benzodiazepines during pregnancy may be more likely to experience miscarriage, according to areport inJAMA Psychiatry.This finding underscores “the necessity for health care professionals to meticulously balance the risk-benefit ratio when considering the use of benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric and sleep disorders during pregnancy,” wrote lead author Fei-Yuan Hsiao, Ph.D., M.S., of the National Taiwan University College of Medicine and colleagues.The population-based study in Taiwan used two national data sources to investigate the association between benzodiazepine use during pregnancy and the risk o...
Source: Psychiatr News - January 2, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: alprazolam benzodiazepines Fei-Yuan Hsiao fludiazepam long-acting benzodiazepines miscarriage National Taiwan University College of Medicine pregnancy short-acting benzodiazepines Source Type: research
Check Out Psychiatric News ’ Most Viewed Articles of 2023
This article examines the evolution of these controversies in the treatment of children and adolescents.Memantine May Reduce Hair-Pulling, Skin PickingMemantine targets glutamate receptors much like the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine, which has also shown some effectiveness in reducing these obsessive-compulsive behaviors.FDA Approves Rexulti for Agitation Associated With Dementia Due to Alzheimer ’s DiseaseOne expert called the approval a “positive step” for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia in Alzheimer’s but cautioned against using the drug as a panacea for all behavioral symptoms of dementia.Tel...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 29, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: 2023 bipolar disorder brain scans FDA fee schedule gender-affirming care memantine most viewed Psychiatric News Rexulti telehealth Source Type: research
Living With Adults With Depressive Symptoms Linked to Lower Income, Quality of Life
Living with an adult with depressive symptoms is linked to substantially lower average yearly income and employment rates as well as reduced quality of life for adults who do not have depressive symptoms, astudy in theJournal of Affective Disorders has found.“These findings indicate that the impact of depressive symptoms may extend beyond the affected individuals, imposing a burden on other adults in their households,” wrote Paul Greenberg, M.S., M.A., of the Analysis Group, an economics consulting firm in Boston. “This further supports the value of adequate treatment to address depressive symptoms for adults and red...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 28, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: depressive symptoms employment household Journal of Affective Disorders Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Patient Health Questionnaire quality of life Source Type: research
Older Volunteers Delivering Loneliness Interventions Found to Be Less Lonely Themselves
A volunteer program that engages lonely older adults in delivering psychosocial interventions to other lonely older adults benefited the volunteers themselves by reducing their loneliness, stress, and depressive symptoms and increasing their social engagement, according tostudy in theAmerican Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.The program could be a scalable solution to address the loneliness epidemic in this country, according to lead author Lisa Warner, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology at MSB Medical School in Berlin and colleagues.As part of the “Helping Alleviate Loneliness in Hong Kong Older Adults (HEAL-HOA)” ...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 27, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: depression Lisa Warner loneliness loneliness epidemic peer counseling psychosocial interventions social engagement stress volunteering Source Type: research
Health Professionals Confident About Suicide Screening, Less So About Prevention Services
Most health professionals feel confident about screening for suicidality but less confident about performing more complex practices such as risk assessment and safety planning, astudy inPsychiatric Services in Advance has found.Celine Larkin, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and colleagues invited 5,559 clinicians in a large health care system to take a survey on suicide prevention practices and implementation, and only 1,224 responded. They included physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, residents, advanced practice providers, and medical assistants.Participants were asked to rate ...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 26, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research
Experts Urge Caution in Prescribing Zuranolone for Postpartum Depression
Zuranolone (Zurzuvae, by Biogen) made medical news headlines when it wasapprovedby the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last August as the first oral treatment for postpartum depression. However, some experts have concerns about the drug ’s pivotal trials that they feel should give health professionals pause in prescribing it.“The FDA saw fit to approve zuranolone based on modest efficacy data in trials that compared it with substandard medical care,” wrote Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California, San Francisco, and David Allely, B.S., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New Y...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 22, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: breastfeeding David Allely FDA approval oral treatment for postpartum depression PPD Vinay Prasad zuranolone Source Type: research
Patients at High Risk for Psychosis May Benefit From Step-Based Care
People who are at high risk of developing psychosis may benefit from a step-based care program that starts with low-intensity interventions before progressing to ones of greater intensity, according to asmall study published inPsychiatric Services.“Although comprehensive, cost-effective, and multicomponent treatment packages have been developed for individuals with psychotic disorders … treatment packages designed to address the complex needs of individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis are currently lacking,” wrote Sarah Hamilton , M.D., of Ohio State University and colleagues.Hamilton and colleagues recruited...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 21, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: clinical high risk multicomponent care pharmacotherapy Psychiatric Services psychosis psychotherapy step-based care Source Type: research
Tips for Doctors Working With Kids, Teens Using Mental Health Apps
Mobile apps for mental health and wellness have changed the way that people —particularly youth—track and care for their mental health. With more than 10,000 mental health–related apps on the market today, how can doctors best help youth navigate this rapidly expanding and evolving terrain?In anarticle appearing in theJournal of the American Academy of Child& Adolescent Psychiatry, Stephen M. Schueller, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues recommend three actions that doctors can take to support youth using or interested in mental health apps:1. Understand the content within mental healt...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 20, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: clinicians JAACAP kids mental health apps motivation motivational interviewing risks teens youth Source Type: research
More Than 1 in 4 U.S. Adults Plans to Make Mental Health a Priority in 2024
Over 75% U.S. adults plan to start 2024 with a New Year ’s resolution—including 28% who are resolving to work on improving their mental health, according to APA’s latest Healthy Minds monthly poll. The poll was conducted online from December 2 to 4 among 2,202 adults.Of those who want to work on improving their mental health, the most common steps they plan to take toward this goal include exercising more (67%) or meditation (49%). Other actions included seeing a therapist or psychiatrist (35% and 21%, respectively) and journaling (26%).“Many see the new year as a time for a new chance, or to try something differen...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 19, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: 2024 APA poll diet exercise meditation mental health new years resolution psychiatrist therapist U.S. adults Source Type: research
Psilocybin Group Therapy May Reduce Depression in People With Cancer
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is typically provided in a private setting involving one patient and two therapists. Asmall study described today inCancer suggests a single session of psilocybin-assisted therapy delivered in a group setting can significantly reduce depressive symptoms in patients with cancer for up to eight weeks with minimal side effects.“Approximately 25% to 33% of patients with cancer meet criteria for clinically significant depressive symptoms, which are associated with lower treatment adherence, reduced quality of life, and higher rates of mortality,” wrote Manish Agrawal, M.D., CEO and Co-foun...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 18, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: cancer cancer diagnosis depression MADRS psilocybin psychedelics Source Type: research
Hypochondriasis Linked to Increased Risk of Death
People who have hypochondriasis (health anxiety disorder) may have an increased risk of dying by either natural or unnatural causes, including death by suicide, compared with people who do not have the disorder, astudy inJAMA Psychiatry has found. According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), people who have the disorder are preoccupied with thoughts that they have one or more serious and progressive physical disorders and repeatedly check for symptoms and seek reassurance from health professionals.“[T]hese findings illustrate a paradox, whereb...
Source: Psychiatr News - December 15, 2023 Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety death depression health anxiety disorder hypochondriasis ICD-10 JAMA Psychiatry respiratory disease suicide Source Type: research
