Hippocampal volume and the rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine
Accumulating evidence underscores the utility of ketamine in treating severely treatment-resistant depressed patients. We investigated the relationship between the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine and hippocampal volume, a biomarker of antidepressant treatment outcome. We gave 16 medication-free, major depressive disorder (MDD) patients a single, sub-anesthetic dose infusion of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg, over 40 min). We assessed depression severity pre-treatment, and at 24 h post-treatment, with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Prior to treatment, patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Abdallah, C. G., Salas, R., Jackowski, A., Baldwin, P., Sato, J. R., Mathew, S. J. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Tianeptine in an experimental medicine model of antidepressant action
Changes in emotional processing have been shown following acute administration of a range of monoaminergic antidepressants, and may represent an important common neuropsychological mechanism underpinning their therapeutic effects. Tianeptine is an agent that challenges the traditional monoaminergic hypothesis of antidepressant action, though its exact mode of action remains controversial. Healthy volunteers were randomised to receive a single dose of tianeptine (12.5 mg) or placebo, and subsequently completed a battery of tasks measuring emotional processing, including facial expression recognition, emotional memory and at...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cooper, C. M., Whiting, D. A., Cowen, P. J., Harmer, C. J. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Simvastatin as an adjuvant therapy to fluoxetine in patients with moderate to severe major depression: A double-blind placebo-controlled trial
In conclusion, simvastatin seems to be a safe and effective adjuvant therapy for patients suffering from major depressive disorder. However, more confirmatory studies are warranted. (Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology)
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gougol, A., Zareh-Mohammadi, N., Raheb, S., Farokhnia, M., Salimi, S., Iranpour, N., Yekehtaz, H., Akhondzadeh, S. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Analysis of potentially predictive factors of efficacy of adjunct extended-release quetiapine fumarate in patients with major depressive disorder
Identification of predictors of treatment response in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may facilitate improved disease management. Data were pooled from two 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of extended-release quetiapine (quetiapine XR; 150 or 300 mg/day) as adjunct to ongoing antidepressant therapy. Effects of psychiatric history and baseline demographic and disease characteristics on efficacy outcomes (Week 6 Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS] total score reduction) were evaluated in population subgroups (quetiapine XR both doses pooled, n = 616; placebo, n = 303). Baseli...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Bauer, M., Thase, M. E., Liu, S., Earley, W., Eriksson, H. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Fixed dose-combination products in psychiatry: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Despite highly prevalent use of drug combinations in psychiatry, combination products are not commonly available. We aimed to systematically review the evidence for the use and efficacy of combination products in the practice of psychiatry. Systematic search of major data bases yielded nine double-blind randomized controlled trials, which generated 15 comparisons of combination products against a single therapeutic agent, that included a placebo. All these studies included 2827 participants: 976 in their combination products arms and 1851 patients in the comparator arms. The number of combination products were identified, ...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Farooq, S., Singh, S. P. Tags: Reviews Source Type: research
Antidepressants and the adolescent brain
Major unipolar depression is a significant global health problem, with the highest incident risk being during adolescence. A depressive illness during this period is associated with negative long-term consequences including suicide, additional psychiatric comorbidity, interpersonal relationship problems, poor educational performance and poor employment attainment well into adult life. Despite previous safety concerns, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remain a key component of the treatment of moderate to severe depression episodes in adolescents. The impact of SSRIs on the developing adolescent brain, howeve...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cousins, L., Goodyer, I. M. Tags: Reviews Source Type: research
Antidepressant drug development: Focus on triple monoamine reuptake inhibition
Many patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) only partially respond, and some have no clinically meaningful response, to current widely used antidepressant drugs. Due to the purported role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of depression, triple-reuptake inhibitors (TRIs) that simultaneously inhibit serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine reuptake could be a useful addition to the armamentarium of treatments for MDD. A TRI should more effectively activate mesolimbic dopamine-related reward-networks, restore positive mood and reduce potent 5-HT reuptake blockade associated "hypodopaminergic" adverse effects...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Lane, R. M. Tags: Reviews Source Type: research
Evidence-based guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants: A revision of the 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines
A revision of the 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology evidence-based guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants was undertaken in order to incorporate new evidence and to update the recommendations where appropriate. A consensus meeting involving experts in depressive disorders and their management was held in September 2012. Key areas in treating depression were reviewed and the strength of evidence and clinical implications were considered. The guidelines were then revised after extensive feedback from participants and interested parties. A literature review is provided which identifies...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - May 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cleare, A., Pariante, C., Young, A., Anderson, I., Christmas, D., Cowen, P., Dickens, C., Ferrier, I., Geddes, J., Gilbody, S., Haddad, P., Katona, C., Lewis, G., Malizia, A., McAllister-Williams, R., Ramchandani, P., Scott, J., Taylor, D., Uher, R., the Tags: BAP Guidelines Source Type: research
Corrigendum
for ‘Genetic differences in cytochrome P450 enzymes and antidepressant treatment response’ by Karen Hodgson, Katherine Tansey, Mojca Zvezdana Dernovšek, Joanna Hauser, Neven Henigsberg, Wolfgang Maier, Ole Mors, Anna Placentino, Marcella Rietschel, Daniel Souery, Rebecca Smith, Ian W Craig, Anne E Farmer, Katherine J Aitchison, Sarah Belsey, Oliver SP Davis, Rudolf Uher, and Peter McGuffin. Journal of Psychopharmacology 28: 133-141. DOI: 10.1177/0269881113512041
The following author name Sarah Belsey was erroneously misspelled as Sarah Belsy. (Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology)
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Corrigendum Source Type: research
Scopolamine provocation-based pharmacological MRI model for testing procognitive agents
There is a huge unmet need to understand and treat pathological cognitive impairment. The development of disease modifying cognitive enhancers is hindered by the lack of correct pathomechanism and suitable animal models. Most animal models to study cognition and pathology do not fulfil either the predictive validity, face validity or construct validity criteria, and also outcome measures greatly differ from those of human trials. Fortunately, some pharmacological agents such as scopolamine evoke similar effects on cognition and cerebral circulation in rodents and humans and functional MRI enables us to compare cognitive ag...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Hegedűs, N., Laszy, J., Gyertyan, I., Kocsis, P., Gajari, D., David, S., Deli, L., Pozsgay, Z., Tihanyi, K. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Detecting impairment: Sensitive cognitive measures of dose-related acute alcohol intoxication
The cognitive impairment that results from acute alcohol intoxication is associated with considerable safety risks. Other psychoactive substances, such as medications, pose a similar risk to road and workplace safety. However, there is currently no legal limit for operating vehicles or working while experiencing drug-related impairment. The current study sought to identify a brief cognitive task sensitive to a meaningful degree of impairment from acute alcohol intoxication to potentially stand as a reference from which to quantify impairment from other similar substances. A placebo-controlled single-blind crossover design ...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cash, C., Peacock, A., Barrington, H., Sinnett, N., Bruno, R. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
The subjective experience of acute, experimentally-induced Salvia divinorum inebriation
This study examined the overall psychological effects of inebriation facilitated by the naturally-occurring plant hallucinogen Salvia divinorum using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Thirty healthy individuals self-administered Salvia divinorum via combustion and inhalation in a quiet, comfortable research setting. Experimental sessions, post-session interviews, and 8-week follow-up meetings were audio recorded and transcribed to provide the primary qualitative material analyzed here. Additionally, post-session responses to the Hallucinogen Rating Scale provided a quantitative groundwork for mixed-meth...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Addy, P. H., Garcia-Romeu, A., Metzger, M., Wade, J. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characterisation of JNJ-40411813, a positive allosteric modulator of mGluR2, in two randomised, double-blind phase-I studies
Metabotropic glutamate receptor-2 positive allosteric modulator, JNJ-40411813 (ADX71149), was characterised for clinical effects in healthy volunteers in two phase-1 studies. In study 1, healthy men received 50-, 100-, 150- or 225 mg and women received 100 mg JNJ-40411813 (n=6, each cohort) or placebo (n=2, each cohort) twice daily for seven days; smoking men (n=30) received placebo twice daily on days 1–7, 100 mg JNJ-40411813 (n=20) or placebo (n=10) on days 8–14. In study 2, healthy men received intravenous 0.005 mg/kg S(+) ketamine over 60 min at 3 (n=24; cohort 1), 12 h (n=8; cohort 3), and 24 h (n=8; cohor...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Salih, H., Anghelescu, I., Kezic, I., Sinha, V., Hoeben, E., Van Nueten, L., De Smedt, H., De Boer, P. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Optimizing the glutamatergic challenge model for psychosis, using S(+)-ketamine to induce psychomimetic symptoms in healthy volunteers
In this study, 36 healthy volunteers (21 males and 15 females) received infusions of S(+)-ketamine or placebo to achieve pseudo-steady state concentrations of 180 and 360 ng/mL during two hours. The target of 360 ng/mL induced increasingly more intensive effects than expected, and the targets were subsequently reduced to 120 and 240 ng/mL, which were considered tolerable. There was a clear, concentration-dependent psychomimetic effect as shown on all subscales of the positive and negative syndrome scale (e.g. positive subscale +43.7%, 95%CI 34.4–53.7%, p < 0.0001 for 120 ng/mL and +70.5%, 95%CI 59.0–82.8%, p...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Kleinloog, D., Uit den Boogaard, A., Dahan, A., Mooren, R., Klaassen, E., Stevens, J., Freijer, J., van Gerven, J. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
Repeated administration of aripiprazole produces a sensitization effect in the suppression of avoidance responding and phencyclidine-induced hyperlocomotion and increases D2 receptor-mediated behavioral function
The present study investigated how repeated administration of aripiprazole (a novel antipsychotic drug) alters its behavioral effects in two behavioral tests of antipsychotic activity and whether this alteration is correlated with an increase in dopamine D2 receptor function. Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were first repeatedly tested with aripiprazole (3, 10 and 30 mg/kg, subcutaneously (sc)) or vehicle in a conditioned avoidance response (CAR) test or a phencyclidine (PCP) (3.20 mg/kg, sc)-induced hyperlocomotion test daily for five consecutive days. After 2–3 days of drug-free retraining or resting, all rats were ...
Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - March 17, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gao, J., Qin, R., Li, M. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research
