Journal of affective disorders
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Because brain morphological abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD) may be modulated by medication and episodes, previous meta-analyses of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies therefore have been biased for including medicated patients or medication-free patients who had ever received drugs, as well as patients with different episodes. We sought to identify the essential morphological features without the interference of medication and episodes in MDD. ⋯ The present meta-analysis revealed that structural abnormalities in the fronto-limbic networks are the essential characteristics in MDD and could contribute to the high risk of suicide in patients.
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Childhood maltreatment (CM) may be related to clinical expression and outcome of bipolar disorder (BD). Several neuroimaging studies have detected brain morphological changes in specific neural networks of adults who suffered maltreatment in their childhood. We investigated alterations in gray matter volume (GMV) to determine a possible neuroanatomical basis of vulnerability in patients with CM having type I BD (BD-I). ⋯ The severity of self-reported CM in BD-I patients is associated with morphological changes in GMV of specific neural networks relevant to responses to stress and to modulate emotional behavior.
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Although alcohol misuse co-occurs with PTSD symptoms at a strikingly high rate (i.e., nearly 52% of men and 28% of women with PTSD also meet diagnostic criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder), the functional associations between these symptom types remain unclear. ⋯ Findings underscore the importance of addressing PTSD symptoms in the context of alcohol treatment to facilitate improved drinking outcomes.
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Clinical Trial
Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on major depressive disorder: A nonrandomized controlled pilot study.
Depression presents a significant burden to both patients and society. One treatment that has emerged is vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), an FDA-approved physical treatment for depressive disorders. However, the application of this intervention has been limited by the involvement of surgery and potential side effects. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of stimulating the superficial branches of the vagus nerve as a solo treatment for MDD. ⋯ Our results suggest that taVNS is a promising, safe, and cost-effective therapeutic method for mild and moderate MDD.
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Comparative Study
Cerebellar microstructural abnormalities in bipolar depression and unipolar depression: A diffusion kurtosis and perfusion imaging study.
Depression in the context of bipolar disorder (BD) is often misdiagnosed as unipolar depression (UD), leading to mistreatment and poor clinical outcomes. However, little is known about the similarities and differences in cerebellum between BD and UD. ⋯ Our findings provide new evidence of microstructural changes in cerebellum in BD and UD. The two disorders may have overlaps in microstructural abnormality in MCP and DN during the depressive period. Microstructural abnormality in SCP may be a key neurobiological feature of UD.