Journal of affective disorders
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Depression is one of the commonest neuropsychiatric disorders in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and is associated with poor glycaemic control, vascular complications, a low quality of life and increased health care expenditure. Co-morbid DM and depression remains poorly identified and inadequately treated in sub-Saharan Africa. ⋯ Depression is highly prevalent among patients with DM in Uganda, and is associated with a number of adverse outcomes. A holistic approach that focuses on the depression management among patients with diabetes is recommended.
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The corpus callosum modulates interhemispheric communication and cognitive processes. It has been suggested that white matter abnormalities in the corpus callosum are related to the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of this study was to examine microstructural abnormalities in callosal fibers separated by their connection to functional brain regions and determine the relationship of these abnormalities with cognitive function in MDD and BD. ⋯ Our results suggest that MDD and BD have similar microstructural abnormalities in anterior callosal fibers connecting bilateral frontal cortices, and these abnormalities may be related to impairment of working memory and attention in MDD.
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Patients with advanced cancer commonly experience multiple somatic symptoms and declining functioning. Some highly prevalent symptoms also overlap with diagnostic symptom-criteria of depression. Thus, assessing depression in these patients can be challenging. We therefore investigated 1) the effect of different scoring-methods of depressive symptoms on detecting depression, and 2) the relationship between disease load and depression amongst patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ The scoring-method, not excluding somatic symptoms, had the greatest effect on assessment outcomes. Increasing pain and poorer than expected physical condition should alert clinicians to possible co-morbid depression. The large discrepancy in prevalence rates between scoring-methods reinforces the need for consensus and validation of depression definitions and assessment in populations with high disease load.
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Positron emission tomography (PET) studies have shown that the antidepressant effect of chronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG) may be consequence of modifications of brain metabolism at key structures involved in depression. Like clinical benefits, these metabolic changes may reverse when the stimulation is discontinued, even preceding clinical worsening. However no data on immediate effects of DBS discontinuation are available. The aim of this study was to determine immediate cerebral metabolism changes during a short switch-off of electrical stimulation in implanted patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) who had achieved clinical improvement after a period of chronic DBS. ⋯ Our results point to immediate effects of DBS discontinuation on metabolism of brain depressive network which precede clinical changes, helping to disentangle the rationale behind DBS efficacy in TRD.
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Forced disappearance is a frequent phenomenon in violent conflicts and regimes, yet little is known about unresolved grief processes as a possible outcome of the disappearance of a loved one. This study investigates prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and its risk factors in a sample of persons who lost a significant other to disappearance as compared with a sample of bereaved individuals, both groups having experienced displacement due to the armed conflict in Colombia. ⋯ Forced disappearance is related to prolonged grief reactions, particularly when those left behind maintain hope that the disappeared person is still alive.