This study examines acute and delayed adverse reactions reported in naturalistic psychedelic use, focusing on their associations with substance-use patterns, contextual variables, and user motivations. Using an online survey incorporating the Psychedelic Use Scale, data were collected from a large naturalistic sample (N=1022) to analyze patterns of self-reported adverse reactions. Acute adverse...
Cognitive impairment is a core feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Most conventional antidepressants do not have direct and clinically relevant procognitive effects. Ketamine and esketamine are effective in treating treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Herein, this systematic review aims to evaluate the effects of both pharmacotherapeutics on cognitive...
The subjective experience of patients during catatonic episodes is a relatively neglected area of research. The aims of this study were to contribute empirical data to the literature by assessing catatonic patients' subjective experiences and to explore how patients' subjective experiences vary according to their underlying medical and psychiatric conditions. All 2,281 patients admitted to an...
Intravenous ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting antidepressant intervention that has shown promising effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression, although evidence remains heterogeneous and less well established across diagnostic subtypes. Nevertheless, real-world data comparing diagnostic subtypes and sex-related differences remain limited. This observational study examined the...
Psychiatry ResearchAugust 1, 2026C. Bharat, Xin-Tong Huang, G. Campbell et al.
BACKGROUND Interest in cannabinoids for mental and substance use disorders is increasing. We examined experimental and observational evidence for treating these disorders and their symptoms. METHODS Systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO CRD42023467536). We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO to May 2025 for studies of cannabinoids in adults (≥18 years) with ADHD, anxiety,...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness with high rates of morbidity and stigma; however, successful remission is frequently limited by a paucity of accessible treatment options. In an era of growing interest in psychedelics as novel psychiatric treatment modalities, patients with BPD are often excluded from research due to perceived safety risks, particularly...
Pharmacological treatment for postpartum depression (PPD) have mainly involved conventional antidepressants, RCTs have also evaluated rapid-acting glutamatergic agents, neuroactive steroids, hormonal therapies, and botanical preparations. An updated comparative synthesis of these treatments is therefore needed. To synthesize RCT evidence and compare the efficacy, response, remission,...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) often occurs alongside treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the impact of BPD on real-world outcomes with intranasal esketamine is unclear. Consecutive TRD outpatients initiating intranasal esketamine treatment at four Italian centres between 1 September 2024 and 30 September 2025 were enrolled in the study (n = 90): 45 with comorbid BPD and 45 without...
Depersonalization is a disruption in self-awareness marked by a sense of detachment from one's own thoughts, body, sensory experiences, actions, and emotions. While psychological distress and temporal disturbances are known correlates, the mechanisms through which these factors contribute to symptom severity remain poorly understood. The present study proposed and tested the Time...
INTRODUCTION Drug use in Europe has increased in recent years, including a marked rise in new psychoactive substances (NPS). Substance use disorders negatively affect physical and mental health. Psychotic disorders are highly prevalent among drug users. Establishing a link between illicit drug use and schizophrenia would help clarify the progression risk after substance-induced psychosis. AIMS...
BACKGROUND Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by emotion dysregulation, interpersonal difficulties, and high levels of self-criticism, which may hinder engagement with compassion-based therapeutic practices. Oxytocin has been proposed as a modulator of social-affective processes and may facilitate specific mechanisms involved in psychotherapy. METHODS In this pilot study, 18...
There is a significant association between depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) represents an evolution of cognitive behavioural therapy and serves as a comprehensive psychological intervention. Preliminary research suggests that MBCT may enhance cognitive flexibility and attentional adjustment in patients with...
Functional recovery in cannabis-induced first-episode psychosis (FEP) remains incompletely understood. Dissociative symptoms, frequently associated with cannabis use, may represent a key but underexplored determinant of functional trajectories. This prospective cohort study followed 72 patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for cannabis-induced psychotic disorder over 24 months. Functional recovery...
Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a common condition with serious consequences for both mother and baby if left untreated. Currently, few effective strategies exist for prevention of PPD. Ketamine and Esketamine are rapid acting and potent antidepressants, and emerging evidence is showing promising results for PPD. This review searched the MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases,...
Ketamine, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, induces dissociative and psychotomimetic states and is widely used as an animal model for schizophrenia. However, strain-dependent variability in ketamine sensitivity is poorly understood, especially during adolescence, a developmental period marked by heightened vulnerability to NMDA receptor hypofunction. This study would compare...
Ketamine has been shown to decrease suicidality in patients with depression. However, little is known about tolerability and efficacy in heterogenous, acutely suicidal patients in emergency settings. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of generic intranasal racemic ketamine (75 mg) in the treatment of acute suicidality regardless of the underlying...
Ketamine, esketamine, rTMS and ECT are associated with reductions in SI in persons with MDD, with the strongest evidence from randomized controlled trials supporting rapid, short-term effects, particularly for ketamine and esketamine. Further characterization and differentiation of the durability of antisuicidal effects of the aforementioned interventions requires investigation in large-scale,...
Psychedelics' characteristic acute subjective effects predict therapeutic benefits, such as decreases in depression and anxiety. Thus, optimizing treatment involves better understanding which factors shape subjective effects. Session facilitators, who support participants before, during, and after psychedelic administration sessions, form an important part of the setting of these experiences....
Psychiatry ResearchFebruary 4, 2026Waseem Abu-Ashour, Rick Audas, John-Michael Gamble et al.
Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic condition with high relapse rates affecting patients and health systems. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are strategies for relapse prevention, but their comparative long-term cost-effectiveness remains unclear. Methods: We developed a cohort-based Markov model with three health states,...
Classic serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin show promising antidepressant effects in controlled trials, but real-world data from routine clinical care remain limited. This study retrospectively analysed routine data from adults with treatment-resistant depressive and/or anxiety disorders who received a first standardized Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) cycle with 100...
BACKGROUND Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent an evolving public health threat, yet evidence on their acute and long-term psychiatric consequences remains limited. OBJECTIVE To systematically review psychiatric and neurological consequences of NPS use across the full clinical spectrum, with primary focus on synthetic cannabinoids and related compounds, and to characterize...
Psychedelic use has greatly increased within clinical and recreational settings over recent years. While demonstrating a favorable safety profile within certain clinical populations, little empirical research has explored safety of psychedelic use within real-world samples. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) VigiBase, a comprehensive global pharmacovigilance database with voluntary...
Psychiatry ResearchDecember 1, 2025Ahmed Z Elmaadawi, Imane Naha, Shruti Prabhudesai et al.2 citations
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) poses significant clinical challenges, often necessitating alternative treatments such as intravenous (IV) ketamine or intranasal esketamine. This study compared the effectiveness of these modalities and examined predictors of treatment response, including comorbidity profile, prior antidepressant failures, age, and gender. A retrospective chart review was...
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major global health issue. Although esketamine shows promise for PPD, its preventive effect in cesarean patients with prenatal depression remains unclear. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of perioperative esketamine treatment on PPD incidence in this high-risk population. This dual-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial...
OBJECTIVE The study evaluated the effectiveness of Ketamine Intravenous Therapy (KIT) in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, using electronic health record data from outpatient psychiatric patients with PTSD. METHOD We analyzed data from 8,136 patients diagnosed with PTSD, 87 % (N = 7,070) of whom also had comorbid depression. Symptom severity was measured...