Cutting Edge Psychiatry in Practice
March 31, 2019
James Stone
There has been considerable interest in the potential of ketamine as a novel antidepressant with a unique mechanism of action. In a number of small trials, ketamine has been shown to lead to reductions in depressive symptoms within hours of administration in patients with symptoms that are otherwise refractory to treatment, with the antidepressant response lasting for days. Although the...
American Journal of Psychiatry
March 29, 2019
J. Phillips, S. Norris, Jeanne Talbot et al.
416 citations
OBJECTIVE Subanesthetic ketamine doses have been shown to have rapid yet transient antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression, which may be prolonged by repeated administration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antidepressant effects of a single ketamine infusion, a series of repeated ketamine infusions, and prolongation of response with maintenance...
March 23, 2019
A. Azam, V. Latman, J. Katz
BACKGROUND Mindfulness meditation is a commonly used psychological intervention for pain, mood, and anxiety conditions, but can be challenging to practice when dealing with severe symptoms without proper training experience. The Mindfulness Meditation App (MMA) is a supportive training tool specifically developed for the present study, to aid in the practice of mindful breathing using a...
Frontiers in Psychology
March 8, 2019
F. Parmentier, Mauro Garcia-Toro, Javier García-campayo et al.
The present study examined the effects of mindfulness on depression and anxiety, both direct and indirect through the mediation of four mechanisms of emotional regulation: worry, rumination, reappraisal and suppression. Path analysis was applied to data collected from an international and non-clinical sample of 1151 adults, including both meditators and non-meditators, who completed an online...
Behavior Therapy
March 2019
Tobias Krieger, Fabienne Reber, Barbara Von Glutz et al.
Increased levels of self-criticism and a lack of self-compassion have been associated with the development and maintenance of a range of psychological disorders. In the current study, we tested the efficacy of an online version of a compassion-focused intervention, mindfulness-based compassionate living (MBCL), with guidance on request. A total of 122 self-referred participants with increased...
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
March 1, 2019
Sophia Escobar
Introduction Approximately 10-20% of older adults treated in primary care settings suffer from symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. As our population ages, the number of older adults in primary care increases, and the urgent need to find cost-effective and efficient alternative therapies become crucial. The present RCT study aim was to investigate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive...
PsyPag Quarterly
March 1, 2019
Baland Jalal, Andrea Romanelli, Devon E Hinton
A recent study found that over a third of Italians (in Abruzzo) believe their sleep paralysis (SP) might be caused by the Pandafeche – a supernatural creature (Jalal et al., 2015). Research also suggests that SP in Italy has been shaped by local cultural beliefs, which have worsened the experience (e.g. longer paralysis and excessive fear) and made it more frequent; a mind-body interaction. In...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2019
Kelly A. Bryant, Murat Altinay, Nora Finnegan et al.
Abstract Purpose There is an immediate need for more sustainable, effective therapies for treatment-resistant depression in patients who do not respond to traditional psychopharmacology. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of intravenous ketamine infusions on the elderly population by using a case series of 6 geriatric patients with treatment-resistant depression....
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
March 1, 2019
J. Perepelkin, Kristen Antunes, Luke Boechler et al.
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the impact of mindfulness meditation offered in a community pharmacy on patients with current anxiety or a history of anxiety, depression, or both. SETTING Community pharmacy clinical space located in a grocery store. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION An 8-week, once-per-week mindfulness meditation program for patients with anxiety or depression. PRACTICE...
Journal of Affective Disorders
March 1, 2019
M. Carpena, P. Tavares, C. Menezes
BACKGROUND Evidence shows high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among university students. This study investigated whether a meditation-based program would help reducing these symptoms in this population. METHODS Non-randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a six-week focused meditation training on depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (Beck Anxiety...
Mental health & prevention
March 1, 2019
S. Sass, L. M. Early, L. Long et al.
Abstract Anxiety and mood disorders are common in university students but most students are not receiving treatment. The university setting presents a unique opportunity to provide interventions for at-risk students who may not otherwise seek services. Mindfulness interventions have been successfully adapted for use with individuals reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other forms of...
Mental Health Clinician
March 1, 2019
Jill L Nofziger, Chris Paxos, Jessica Emshoff et al.
Dextromethorphan (DXM), an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, may have ketamine-like antidepressant effects. Dextromethorphan is extensively metabolized via cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6, and its half-life in extensive metabolizers is 2 to 4 hours. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of DXM in combination with a moderate-to-strong CYP2D6 inhibitor antidepressant on...
JAMA Psychiatry
March 1, 2019
Gihyun Yoon, Ismene L. Petrakis, John H. Krystal
152 citations
This study examines whether naltrexone pretreatment interferes with the antidepressant effects of ketamine.
Neuron
March 1, 2019
John H. Krystal, Chadi G. Abdallah, Gerard Sanacora et al.
443 citations
Ketamine is the first exemplar of a rapid-acting antidepressant with efficacy for treatment-resistant symptoms of mood disorders. Its discovery emerged from a reconceptualization of the biology of depression. Neurobiological insights into ketamine efficacy shed new light on the mechanisms underlying antidepressant efficacy. The rapid, profound, and sustainable antidepressant effects of ketamine...
Mental Health Weekly
February 25, 2019
Valerie A. Canady
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee earlier this month recommended the approval of a ketamine nasal spray treatment for adults with treatment‐resistant depression. Recent research has shown that ketamine treatment is gaining traction as an effective treatment for people struggling with depression.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
February 25, 2019
Jenna Varley
4 citations
Psychedelics have been investigated for their therapeutic applications in end-of-life care as early as 1960. Recently, there have been four main groups conducting clinical trials for either lysergic acid diethylamide or psilocybin for the treatment of anxiety and depression in patients with terminal illnesses. The recent trials have higher methodological quality and demonstrate the profound...
BioPsychoSocial Medicine
February 18, 2019
Toru Takahashi, F. Sugiyama, T. Kikai et al.
BackgroundMindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being implemented worldwide for problems with depression and anxiety, and they have shown evidence of efficacy. However, few studies have examined the effects of a mindfulness-based group therapy based on standard programs for depression and anxiety until follow-up in Japan. This study addresses that gap. Furthermore, this study...
Journal of Health Psychology
February 1, 2019
J. Costa, J. Pinto-Gouveia, J. Marôco
The mediating effect of acceptance and mindfulness in the relationship between pain, depression, and physical disability was examined in 55 rheumatoid arthritis patients. Results showed that the relationship between pain and depression was mediated by both nonreact and acceptance. By contrast, the relationship between pain and physical disability was mediated by acceptance but not by nonreact....
Contemporary Clinical Trials
February 1, 2019
S. Mathew, S. Wilkinson, Murat Altinay et al.
54 citations
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental illness and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for MDD and the gold-standard therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet it remains underutilized due to factors such as limited availability, stigma, and concerns about cognitive side effects. Ketamine has...
Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging
January 30, 2019
Allison C. Nugent, Kathleen E. Wills, Jessica R. Gilbert et al.
Preclinical and clinical evidence has demonstrated that ketamine has rapid antidepressant effects. Studies using pre-treatment with an AMPA inhibitor suggest that enhancing AMPA throughput is crucial to ketamine's effects, including increases in both basal and evoked gamma power. This study sought to replicate previous findings of increased gamma response to a somatosensory stimulus at 230 min...