Category: Mental Health

Categories : Medical Research & Technology Mental HealthTags :

Wearable Device may Detect Skin Electrical Impulses Associated with Mood Changes in Bipolar Disorder

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Researchers have used wearable technology to measure electrical impulses in the skin and other physiological biomarkers possibly linked to mood changes in bipolar disorder. Though at an early stage, they hope their work will be able to build on these patterns to detect mood swings in bipolar disorder sufferers, so helping in diagnosis and potentially offering more rapid and personalised treatments. They presented their research at the 36th ECNP Congress in Barcelona, and more information is available on GitHub.

Bipolar disorder (formerly called manic-depressive illness or manic depression) is a mental illness that causes swings in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. These shifts can make it difficult to carry out day-to-day tasks and can make interactions with other people difficult. The degree of mood swing can vary from person to person, from feeling manic (very “up”) to feeling depressed. At present, these mood swings are mostly diagnosed subjectively, through interview with doctors or by questionnaires. This takes time, and requires an immediate medical presence.

Now a group of Barcelona-based psychiatrists, in collaboration with data scientist in Edinburgh, have used a research grade wearable device to continuously collect several physiological biomarkers during the diverse phases and episodes of bipolar disorder. Among the collected physiological biomarkers is electrodermal activity which uses changes in the skin’s electrical conductivity to indicate the level of stress through the reactivity of the nervous system. This is a potential immediate indicator of whether someone is in a manic, depressive or in a normal mood state.

They recruited 38 patients with bipolar disorder, and 19 healthy controls, all from the Barcelona area.

Researcher Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei said “Each participant was fitted with a commercially available Empatica E4 bracelet, which they were asked to wear for around 48 hours. This can measure a variety of physiological changes, but we were most interested in measuring small electrophysiological changes in the skin of the wearer. We found that bipolar disorder patients in their depressed phase had on average a significantly lower skin electrical activity than the rest of the bipolar group or the healthy control group. We also found that as an individual moved from manic to depressive state (or vice versa), this was detectable by a change in skin surface electrical activity.

“It is important for the patient and doctor to know how and when these mood fluctuations take place. It is important also to highlight that the treatment is different for manic or depressive states. This can help with a prompt diagnosis and early personalized treatment, but it can also help in preventing adverse outcomes, for example in alerting to an increased risk of suicide, or of mood swings which may lead to dangers with activities such as driving. It is also easier to treat patients if we know if they are in a manic phase or a depressed phase. Until now, these mood swings have mostly been diagnosed subjectively, through interview with doctors or by questionnaires, and this had led to real difficulties. Arriving at the correct drug is difficult, with only around 30 to 40% of treated individuals having the expected response. We hope that the additional information these systems can provide will give us greater certainty in treating patients.

“We are still some way from that though. This is an exploratory observational study, so we need to look at a larger sample and use machine learning to analyse all the biomarkers collected by the wearers to confirm the findings to determine patterns which might indicate a specific episode. This may not be ideal for every bipolar disorder sufferer, in every circumstance, but a potential pattern may help in the future the people hardest hit by the mood changes which affect their lives”.

For information on the wearable device see https://e4.empatica.com/e4-wristband

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Medical Industry Mental HealthTags :

Rollout of Coaching Programme Reduces Burnout in Medical Residents

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Researchers found that a national level programme to reduce burnout levels, which disproportionately affects women, was even more successful than its pilot programme two years prior. They published their findings in the journal JAMA Network Open.

“We did a pilot programme in 2021 to see if it would work and it did,” said study co-author Tyra Fainstad, MD, associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Then we expanded it to 26 graduate medical institutions in 19 states. There were 1017 participants. We saw significant improvement in every wellbeing outcome we assessed including all three subscales involved in burnout.”

Burnout within the health care community is a national epidemic disproportionally affecting women. Last year, the US Surgeon General declared it a `crisis’ deserving ‘bold, fundamental change’ though little was known about scalable, effective solutions to the problem.

Women are hit harder by burnout for reasons that include bias and sexism at work, pay disparities as well as a disproportionate burden of home management and child/elder care, the researchers said.

Fainstad and co-author Adrienne Mann, MD, both faculty in the CU Department of Medicine, created the web-based Better Together Physician Coaching Program at CU Anschutz with the goal of reducing that burnout. Then they replicated it to a national level and published their findings.

While the pilot programme saw improvements in `imposter syndrome’ (feeling as if you ‘don’t really belong in the job’) and self-compassion, the expanded national study also showed significant improvements in outcomes across the board including moral injury and flourishing, offering actual evidence that the program works.

“Physician trainees who received online group coaching over four months had substantial reductions in multiple dimensions of professional distress (burnout, moral injury and imposter syndrome) and improvements in well-being (self-compassion and flourishing),” said Mann.

Mann and Fainstad are both certified life coaches. Better Together is owned and operated by the University of Colorado. It’s not a business, they said, and they don’t personally profit financially from it. The program is available to any heath care institution, school of medicine, department, or residency program wishing to meaningfully support the wellbeing of their clinicians and trainees.

Better Together is web-based. Participants take part in two videoconferencing coaching calls per week where up to five people can be coached live on any topic with an unlimited audience. Calls are recorded for later listening on a private podcast.

Participants can also access unlimited, anonymous written coaching in a forum by submitting a narrative reflection and receive a coach’s response published to Better Together’s secure, members-only website. There are also weekly self-study sessions using videos and worksheets. They focus on topics pertinent to the physician lifestyle such as goal setting, cultivating a growth mindset, receiving critical feedback, imposter syndrome and perfectionism.

The researchers use the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to measure their work. The MBI has three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE) or feeling emotionally exhausted from work; Depersonalisation (DP), detached and impersonal treatment of patients; Professional accomplishment (PA), beliefs around competence and success at work.

The EE score is a key construct in health care related burnout. A one point increase in the EE scale has been associated with a 7% increase in suicidal ideation and a 5-6% increase in major medical errors.

The researchers said a reduced mean EE score among those that took part in the training and an increased EE score in those that did not.

“From what we see in this study, coaching helps in every aspect of burnout,” Fainstad said. “The multi-modal nature of our program is unique. You can interact in many ways. That partially explains the powerful impact -that and the group nature of our coaching.”

Mann said the majority are watching others being coached and share in the experience.

“That is deeply connecting. They try to see themselves in someone else’s story,” she said. “When someone is on a view screen you have compassion and empathy for them and, by extension, learn to practice compassion and empathy for yourself.”

While few strategies to address burnout have shown much overall effect, Fainstad said this study demonstrates that group coaching works.

“We’re now showing that we have an actual evidence-based answer to burnout,” she said.

Fainstad and Mann said burnout is a product of the current, often toxic, medical culture pervading every aspect of the profession.

“Culture is a belief system,” Fainstad said. “And while structural changes are absolutely necessary to fix our medical system, working with individuals who have been harmed along the way will be imperative to healing.”

Mann suggested a step towards healing the culture would be making coaching programs like Better Together accessible to everyone – not necessarily mandatory but at least made available by institutions.

“There are other coaching programs in this space but this one is rigorously evidence-based. We studied it,” Mann said. “There are no downsides. It helps in all aspects of burnout.”

Source: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Mental Health is Critical when Facing a Dread Disease Diagnosis, Treatment, or Bereavement

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A diagnosis of cancer or another dread disease is a devastating blow, not only for the patient but for their family and loved ones. The diagnosis itself, the trauma of going through treatments and the bereavement of losing someone all take their toll on mental wellbeing. Depression, anxiety, and mental illness frequently go hand in hand with physical illnesses like cancer. It is an isolating experience, and often people struggle through these feelings alone, but this does not have to be the case.

There is help available with programmes designed to support families on the cancer journey. There is also financial support available from elements such as gap cover, where value-added benefits may cover items like trauma counselling, which can be a lifeline in times of great need. Looking after your mental health is essential, both for fighting disease and coping with the trauma of diagnosis and subsequent loss.

Evy Michalopoulos is the Founder and CEO of Machi Filotimo Cancer Project, a non-profit organisation that raises awareness about cancer, its symptoms and treatment, and helps to guide cancer patients and their families as they navigate this difficult journey. She believes that sound mental health is absolutely critical, both for patients fighting cancer and for families who are on this journey with a loved one or have already experienced a loss.

“Especially when a diagnosis or a loss is sudden and unexpected, feelings of anger, grief, frustration and guilt are common, and all of these emotions come into play at various stages, often in waves. We often feel the need to be strong, which typically involves locking our feelings away, but this frequently leads to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed,” Michalopoulos says.

“There is also a persisting perception that seeking help means you are weak, but nothing could be further from the truth. Mental strength is essential in fighting diseases like cancer, and developing this strength requires support. Professional help can be hugely valuable in helping you to process grief and give you the tools you need to deal with challenges in a constructive way, whether you have lost a loved one, are going through treatment, or have someone close to you who has received a diagnosis,” she adds. 

In situations like this, it helps to know that you are not alone. Organisations like Machi Filotimo are there to help patients and their families and loved ones, providing a vital support system. Alongside this support, it is also recommended that people in situations like a cancer diagnosis also seek professional mental healthcare treatment. However, often the cost of this can put people off, especially when they are already facing potential medical expense shortfalls relating to cancer treatments.

“This is where gap cover is essential. Not only does gap cover give you peace of mind that many of these shortfalls will be covered, but certain providers also have value-added benefits. For example, Turnberry offers Trauma Care Cover, which covers the cost of trauma counselling consultations with a registered healthcare provider after a critical illness diagnosis or the death of an immediate family member,” explains Tony Singleton, CEO at Turnberry.

Knowing that care is available and that finances will not be a hurdle in receiving the treatment you or a loved one needs, whether for physical or mental health, can significantly reduce the massive stress that critical illness and dread disease create. This then gives more freedom to focus on fighting the disease itself, rather than worrying about paying for treatments.

“The best advice I can give people is to make sure they have the options available to explore, to make better choices that can lead to better outcomes. Having gap cover in place facilitates many more choices, but people need to be open to asking for and receiving help, especially when it comes to mental well-being. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, and there is help available. Reach out, get as much information as you can, and take advantage of what is there and available. You do not have to walk this journey alone,” Michalopoulos concludes.

About Turnberry Management Risk Solutions

Founded in 2001, Turnberry is a registered financial services provider (FSP no. 36571) that specialises in Accident and Health Insurance, Travel Insurance, and Funeral Cover. With extensive experience across healthcare and insurance industries in South Africa, Turnberry offers unsurpassed service to Brokers and clients. Turnberry’s gap cover products are available to clients on all medical aid schemes, as they are independently provided and are therefore transferable in the event of a change in the client’s medical aid scheme. Turnberry is well represented nationally, with its Head Office based in Bedfordview, Johannesburg with Business Development Managers in Cape Town and Durban. The Turnberry Team’s focus on outstanding client service comes from having extensive knowledge and experience in the financial services sector and is underwritten by Lombard Insurance Company Limited. Lombard Insurance Company Limited is an Authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP 1596) and Insurer conducting non-life insurance business.

Categories : Mental Health PaediatricsTags :

Is There a Risk of Manic Episodes in Children Taking Antidepressants?

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Mania is a possible but rare side effect of treatment with antidepressant medication in adults, but there is little known about its occurrence in children and adolescents. A newly published paper in JAMA Psychiatry investigated this, finding no evidence of mania/hypomania induced by antidepressants by 12 weeks after treatment initiation. However, caution is necessary in treatment for children with more severe depression or where a parent has bipolar disorder.

“In children and adolescents with unipolar depression, we did not find evidence of antidepressant-induced mania/hypomania by 12 weeks after treatment initiation”, says first author Suvi Virtanen, postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Insitutet. “This corresponds to the timeframe for antidepressants to exert their psychotropic effect and when treatment-induced mania is expected to emerge. Hospitalisations, parental bipolar disorder, and the use of antipsychotics and antiepileptics were the most important predictors of mania/hypomania.”

Antidepressants are increasingly prescribed to paediatric patients with unipolar depression (as opposed to bipolar depression which is seldom diagnosed in childhood), but little is known about the risk of treatment-emergent mania (ie, the transition from depression into mania shortly after the initiation of antidepressant treatment). Previous research suggests paediatric patients may be particularly vulnerable to this adverse outcome. The results provide complementary information to randomised clinical trials (RCTs) from a large cohort of patients treated in a real-world setting.

The researchers conducted a register-based study on children and adolescents, aged 4–17, diagnosed with unipolar depression between 2006 and 2019. They applied the emulation of target trial framework to guide the study design and analysis, reducing the bias of observational studies and mimicking a RCT.

Antidepressant treatment was unrelated to the risk of mania/hypomania, suggesting other characteristics are more relevant when evaluating which patients may have an increased risk of switching from unipolar depression into mania. “Our model using administrative information from several national registers had a moderate predictive ability, suggesting it is possible to identify patients at high risk for mania/hypomania with a prognostic clinical prediction model. The model has potential to be improved in later work”, says senior author Zheng Chang, Principal Researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Source: Karolinska Institute

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

‘All Work and no Play’ Really does Make ‘Jack a Dull Boy’

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A Journal of Personality-published study across three countries discovered people who prioritised achievement over enjoyment were less happy on the next day. Whereas those who aimed for freedom said they had a 13% increase in well-being, recording better sleep quality and life satisfaction.

And participants who tried to relax and follow their hobbies recorded an average well-being boost of 8% and a 10% drop in stress and anxiety.

Dr Paul Hanel from the University of Essex worked with colleagues at the University of Bath on the study, which explored for the first time how following various values impacts happiness. “We all know the old saying ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ and this study shows it might actually be true,” Dr Hanel said. “There is no benefit to well-being in prioritising achievement over fun and autonomy.

“This research shows that there are real benefits to having a balanced life and taking time to focus on enjoying ourselves and following individual goals. Ironically by doing this, people could in fact be more successful as they will be more relaxed, happier and satisfied.”

The study, called Value Fulfilment and Well-being: Clarifying Directions Over Time, examined more than 180 people in India, Turkey and the UK.

They filled in a diary across nine days and recorded how following different values affected them.

Interestingly all nationalities reported the same results with the following of ‘hedonism’ and ‘self-direction’ values leading to increased happiness.

‘Achievement’ and ‘conformity’ values had no impact on happiness whatsoever.

However, the researchers believe achievement could impact on happiness when linked to job satisfaction or the amount of days worked.

Professor Greg Maio, University of Bath, said: “This multination project was an exciting foray into questions about how values affect well-being in day-to-day life.

“People often spend most of their days working hard for their daily income, studies, and careers.

“Against this backdrop, where achievement-oriented values have ring-fenced a great portion of our time, we found that it helps to value freedom and other values just enough to bring in balance and recovery.

“In the future, it will be interesting to consider how this pattern interacts with relevant traits, such as conscientiousness, and situational contexts, such as type of employment.”

It is hoped the research will now influence mental health provision and influence therapeutic give to clients.

Dr Hanel added: “Our research further shows that it might be more important to focus on increasing happiness rather than reducing anxiety and stress, which is of course also important, just not as much.”

Source: University of Essex

Categories : Mental Health PaediatricsTags :

ADHD Medication Errors have Increased Nearly 300%

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In a new study published in Pediatrics, researchers investigated the characteristics and trends of out-of-hospital attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication errors among children and teenagers reported to US poison centres from 2000 through 2021. Their results showed that the number of medication errors increased by nearly 300%, with over half resulting from an accidental double dosage.

ADHD is among the most common paediatric neurodevelopmental disorders. In 2019, nearly 10% of children in the US had a diagnosis of ADHD, roughly half of whom currently have a prescription for ADHD medication.

According to the study by at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the annual number of ADHD-related medication errors increased 299% from 2000 to 2021. During the study period, there were 87 691 medication error cases involving ADHD medications as the primary substance among this age group reported to poison centres, yielding an average of 3985 individuals annually. In 2021 alone, 5235 medication errors were reported. The overall trend was driven by males, accounting for 76% of the medication errors and by the 6–12-year-old age group, accounting for 67% of the errors. Approximately 93% of exposures occurred in the home.

Among medication errors involving ADHD medications as the primary substance, the most common scenarios were:

  • 54% – “Inadvertently taken/given medication twice”
  • 13% – “Inadvertently taken/given someone else’s medication”
  • 13% – “Wrong medication taken/given”

“The increase in the reported number of medication errors is consistent with the findings of other studies reporting an increase in the diagnosis of ADHD among US children during the past two decades, which is likely associated with an increase in the use of ADHD medications,” said Natalie Rine, PharmD, co-author of the study and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

In 83% of cases, the individual did not receive treatment in a health care facility; however, 2.3% of cases resulted in admission to a health care facility, including 0.8% to a critical care unit. In addition, 4.2% of cases were associated with a serious medical outcome. Some children experienced agitation, tremors, seizures, and changes in mental status. Children under age 6 were twice as likely to experience a serious medical outcome and were more than three times as likely to be admitted to a health care facility than 6–19-year-olds.

“Because ADHD medication errors are preventable, more attention should be given to patient and caregiver education and development of improved child-resistant medication dispensing and tracking systems,” said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Another strategy may be a transition from pill bottles to unit-dose packaging, like blister packs, which may aid in remembering whether a medication has already been taken or given.”

Although prevention efforts should focus on the home setting additional attention should be given to schools and other settings where children and adolescents spend time and receive medication.

Source: Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Categories : Medical Industry Mental HealthTags :

Stress, Overwork, Understaffing Driving Healthcare Workers from NHS

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Work stress, high workload, and understaffing are the primary factors driving health professionals out of the NHS, suggest the results of a survey published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

The findings prompt the researchers to suggest that pay increases alone may not be sufficient to fix NHS staff retention. The NHS is short of well over 100 000 staff and fallout from COVID-19 has seen worsening retention.

The researchers investigated the ‘push’ factors behind decisions to leave the NHS, and whether these were ranked differently by profession and NHS setting, a year after exposure to the effects of the pandemic.

In 2021, NHS health professionals completed an online survey to determine the relative importance they gave to 8 factors as the key reasons for leaving NHS employment.

The respondents included 227 doctors; 687 nurses/midwives; 384 healthcare assistants and other nursing support staff; 417 allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists; and 243 paramedics from acute, mental health, community, and ambulance services.

Using the paired comparison technique, whereby two push factors at a time were presented at a time, respondents were asked: ‘Which of these two factors is the bigger influence on why staff in your profession/job role leave the NHS’?’

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Compared to other professions, paramedics gave a much higher relative weighting to work stress, work-life balance, work intensity and pay higher relative weighting.

The factors compared were: staffing levels; working hours; mental health/stress; pay; time pressure; recognition of contribution; workload intensity; and work–life balance.

Compared to other professions, paramedics gave a much higher relative weighting to work stress, work-life balance, work intensity and pay higher relative weighting. Paramedics also ranked work-life balance as a stronger driver to leave the NHS. They ranked this second compared to a fourth or fifth ranking across the other professions.

Pay was considered more important by healthcare assistants and other nursing support staff and paramedics, but was generally ranked fourth or fifth by other professional groups. 

This contrasts with “some contemporary media and industrial relations accounts, and some academic research findings,” say the researchers, who nevertheless add: “While other variables appear to exert a stronger push than pay, this is not grounds to diminish it as a potential source of dissatisfaction in absolute terms.” 

Overall, health professionals ranked work-related stress, workload intensity, and staffing levels as the primary ‘push factors’ underpinning decisions to leave the NHS. Recognition of effort and working hours were ranked lowest. But there were differences in the order of importance and relative weighting given to the push factors among the different health professions.

Work intensity in acute care hospitals and community services; time pressure in community services; and recognition of effort in mental health services were given higher relative weightings.

“In common with the NHS annual staff survey and all other voluntary participation employee surveys, the potential for self-selection response bias cannot be discounted,” emphasise the researchers. 

But they conclude: “Excepting paramedics, rankings of leave variables across the different health professional families exhibit a high degree of alignment, at the ordinal level, and highlight the primacy of psychological stress, staff shortages, and work intensity.”

They add: “While increases in pay are transparently important to NHS staff, findings from this research suggest that enhancements in that domain alone may produce a modest impact on retention.

“An equivalent conclusion might be drawn with respect to the current high-profile emphasis on increased access to flexible working hours as a solution within contemporary NHS staff retention guidance to employers. 

“Both have potential to do good, but there are grounds for inferring there is a risk that neither may deliver sufficient good to redress the high and rising exodus in the absence of attention to what present as more fundamental factors driving exit.” 

Source: BMJ Open

Categories : Gender Mental HealthTags :

Inflammatory Markers of Depression Risk Differ in Boys and Girls

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New research led by King’s College London researchers has found that depression and the risk of depression are linked to different inflammatory cytokines in boys and girls. Previous research has shown that higher levels of inflammatory cytokines are associated with depression in adults, but little is known about this relationship in adolescence.

This study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that different cytokines were implicated in depression risk and severity in boys compared to girls. The research was part of the IDEA (Identifying Depression Early in Adolescence) project funded by MQ Mental Health Research.

To assess inflammation, researchers measured the blood cytokine levels in 75 adolescent boys and 75 adolescent girls (aged 14–16 years) from Brazil. The 150 participants had been recruited into three groups with equal numbers (50 participants in each group: 25 girls and 25 boys). The groups were those at low-risk for depression and not depressed, those at high risk of depression and not depressed, and those currently experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD).

The findings indicated that there are sex differences between the individual cytokines that are associated with depression in adolescents. Higher levels of the cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) were associated with both increased risk for depression and the severity of depressive symptoms in boys, but not in girls. However, higher levels of IL-6 were associated with severity of depression in girls, but not boys. In boys the levels of IL-2 were higher in the high-risk than the low-risk group and even higher in the group diagnosed with depression, indicating that in boys IL-2 levels in the blood could help indicate the onset of future depression.

Dr Zuzanna Zajkowska, Postdoctoral Researcher at King’s IoPPN and first author of the study, said: “This is the first study to show differences between boys and girls in the patterns of inflammation that are linked to the risk and development of adolescent depression.

“We found that the severity of depressive symptoms was associated with increased levels of the cytokine interleukin-2 in boys, but interleukin-6 in girls. We know more adolescent girls develop depression than boys and that the disorder takes a different course depending on sex so we hope that our findings will enable us to better understand why there are these differences and ultimately help develop more targeted treatments for different biological sexes.”

Researchers recruited adolescents from public schools in Brazil. Risk of depression was assessed by a composite risk score for depression based on 11 sociodemographic variables that had been developed as part of the IDEA project. Adolescents completed several questionnaires, self-reporting their emotional difficulties, relationships, experiences, and mood. They also completed a clinical assessment with a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Senior author on the study Professor Valeria Mondelli, Clinical Professor of Psychoneuroimmunology at King’s IoPPN and theme-lead for Psychosis and Mood Disorders at the NIHR Maudsley BRC, said:

“Our findings suggest that inflammation and biological sex may have combined contribution to the risk for depression. We know that adolescence is a key time when many mental disorders first develop and by identifying which inflammatory proteins are linked to depression and how this is different between boys and girls we hope that our findings can pave the way to understanding what happens at this critical time in life. Our research highlights the importance of considering the combined impact of biology, psychology, and social factors to understand the mechanisms underlying depression.”

Source: King’s College London

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Antidepressants Improve Recall but Still Reduce Bad Memories

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New research from Rice University finds that antidepressants may actually reduce negative memories in individuals suffering from depression while improving overall memory function. The study, appearing in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, examines how antidepressant use in depressed individuals affects memories, both good and bad.

Stephanie Leal, an assistant professor of psychological sciences, is the study’s lead author. She said the study’s main finding about the link between antidepressants and memories was an important one, because there is still much to be learned about how these drugs work.

“While antidepressants have been around since the 1950s, we still don’t really know how they work,” Leal said. “They only work about 50% of the time, and users often have to go through multiple types of antidepressants to get to a place where they actually feel like the drugs are beneficial. We don’t fully understand how these drugs reduce depressive symptoms and why they are so often ineffective. That’s a big problem.”

The study’s results suggest that antidepressants, when effective, can shift memory dynamics toward healthy function, Leal said.

“How antidepressants affect cognition is a hugely understudied area of research,” she said. “By measuring how antidepressants impact memory, we can use this information to better select treatments depending on people’s symptoms of depression.”

The study included 48 participants ages 18–35. All individuals were surveyed and had been actively taking antidepressants (regardless of the type of antidepressant and diagnosis) for at least one month prior to participation in the study. Researchers are conducting a follow-up study is to examine how the brain responds to antidepressants.

Source: Rice University

Categories : Mental Health NeurologyTags :

Aripiprazole Improves Sleep in Psychiatric Disorders by Entrainment to Light/Dark Cycles

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Researchers in Japan have shown that the commonly prescribed antipsychotic drug aripiprazole helps reduce sleep disruptions in patients with certain psychiatric disorders by improving their natural entrainment to light and dark cycles. Their findings are published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Many patients with psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, frequently experience disruptions in their sleep–wake cycles. Research has shown that the administration of aripiprazole, a commonly prescribed antipsychotic drug, alleviates the symptoms of circadian sleep disorders in these patients. This improvement may be attributed to the effects of aripiprazole on the circadian central clock, specifically the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which regulates various circadian physiological rhythms, including the sleep–wake cycle, in mammals. However, the precise mechanism through which aripiprazole addresses these sleep disorder symptoms remains elusive.

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have discovered that aripiprazole can directly affect the mammalian central circadian clock; specifically, it can modulate the photic entrainment in mice. Located in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the central circadian clock comprises clock neurons that synchronize with each other, maintaining a roughly 24-hour rhythm. Simultaneously, SCN is receptive to external inputs like light, aligning itself with the environmental light-dark cycle. The researchers have found that aripiprazole disrupts the synchronization among the clock neurons in the SCN, heightening the responsiveness of these neurons to light stimuli in mice. Additionally, aripiprazole influences intracellular signalling within the SCN by targeting the serotonin 1A receptor, a prominent receptor in the SCN.

These findings suggest that the efficacy of aripiprazole in alleviating circadian rhythm sleep disorder symptoms in psychiatric patients might be attributed to the modulation of the circadian clock by the drug. This study expands the potential clinical usage of aripiprazole as a treatment for circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

Source: University of Tsukuba