Atypical Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Depressive and Psychotic Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia: A Naturalistic Study.
Atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of depressive and psychotic symptoms in patients with chronic schizophrenia: a naturalistic study.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Schizophr Res Treatment. 2013; 2013: 423205
Innamorati M, Baratta S, Di Vittorio C, Lester D, Girardi P, Pompili M, Amore M
Objectives. The aim of this naturalistic study was to investigate whether treatment with clozapine and other atypical antipsychotics for at least 2 years was associated with a reduction in psychotic and depressive symptoms and an improvement in chronic schizophrenia patients’ awareness of their illness. Methods. Twenty-three adult outpatients (15 men and 8 women) treated with clozapine and 23 patients (16 men and 7 women) treated with other atypical antipsychotics were included in the study. Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), depressive symptoms were assessed with the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), and insight was assessed with the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD). Results. The sample as a whole had a significant reduction in positive, negative, and general symptoms, whereas the reduction in depression was significant only for patients with CDSS scores of 5 and higher at the baseline. At the follow-up, patients treated with other atypical antipsychotics reported a greater reduction in depression than patients treated with clozapine, but not when limiting the analyses to those with clinically relevant depression. Conclusions. Atypical antipsychotics may be effective in reducing psychotic and depressive symptoms and in improving insight in patients with chronic schizophrenia, with no differences in the profiles of efficacy between compounds.
HubMed – depression
Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with “male depression” syndrome, hopelessness, and suicide risk: a pilot study.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Depress Res Treat. 2013; 2013: 408983
Angeletti G, Pompili M, Innamorati M, Santucci C, Savoja V, Goldblatt M, Girardi P
Objectives and Methods. This was an observational study of the efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) in a sample of 35 (30 women and 5 men) patients with moderate-to-severe “male depression” (Gotland Scale for Male Depression (GSMD)???13) comorbid with unipolar mood disorder (dysthymia and major depression) or anxiety disorder. Outcome measures were GSMD and BHS (Beck Hopelessness Scale) score changes from baseline. Results. Patients had a strong response to STPP on the GSMD (estimated mean score change (± SE) = -9.08 ± 2.74; P < 0.01; partial eta squared = 0.50), but not on the BHS (estimated mean score change (± SE) = -0.92 ± 1.55; P = 0.57; partial eta squared ? = 0.03). BHS score changes were significantly associated with GSMD score changes (Pearson's r = 0.56; P < 0.001), even when controlling for the severity of hopelessness at the baseline (partial r = 0.62; P < 0.001). Conclusions. STPP proved to be effective in patients suffering from "male depression" although hopelessness was only marginally reduced by this treatment which points to the need to better understand how STPP can be involved in the reduction of suicide risk. HubMed – depression
Apathy and cognitive test performance in patients undergoing cardiac testing.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Cardiovasc Psychiatry Neurol. 2013; 2013: 659589
Kakos LR, Alosco ML, Spitznagel MB, Hughes J, Rosneck J, Gunstad J
Background. Psychiatric comorbidity is common in patients with cardiovascular disease, with the literature indicating that this population may be at risk for apathy. The current study examined the prevalence of apathy in patients with cardiovascular disease and its relation to aspects of cognitive function. Methods. 123 participants from an outpatient cardiology clinic completed a brief neuropsychological battery, a cardiac stress test, and demographic information, medical history, and depression symptomatology self-report measures. Participants also completed the Apathy Evaluation Scale to quantify apathy. Results. These subjects reported limited levels of apathy and depression. Increased depressive symptomatology, history of heart attack, and metabolic equivalents were significantly correlated with apathy (P < 0.05). Partial correlations adjusting for these factors revealed significant correlations between behavioral apathy and a measure of executive function and the other apathy subscale with a measure of attention. Conclusion. Findings revealed that apathy was not prevalent in this sample though associated with medical variables. Apathy was largely unrelated to cognitive function. This pattern may be a result of the mild levels of cardiovascular disease and cognitive dysfunction in the current sample. Future studies in samples with severe cardiovascular disease or neuropsychological impairment may provide insight into these associations. HubMed – depression
Struggle with Atypical Depression – TRIGGERS: Depression I am taking HUGE strides in talking to other people in my life about this rather than keeping it bottled up inside, and this is one way I’m doing it. The point of this video isn’t to garner sympathy- it’s to show to other people that IT IS OKAY to talk about it. You’re not alone, and there are people (like me), who will help you through this. It is NEVER okay for someone else to insinuate that this is your fault, because you MATTER and it WILL get better. A guide to atypical depression: www.webmd.com
Related Depression Treatment Information…