Journal of affective disorders
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Comparative Study
Methohexitone, propofol and etomidate in electroconvulsive therapy for depression: a naturalistic comparison study.
Methohexitone has been the most widely used anaesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). However, recent scarcity and erratic availability has led to use of other anaesthetics with differing effects upon ECT. We compared treatment parameters and response to ECT in patients anaesthetised with different anaesthetics in a routine clinical setting. ⋯ Individual anaesthetics differentially influence seizure duration and stimulus charge but final response to ECT appears not to be adversely affected.
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Comparative Study
Nocturnal sleep panic and depression: relationship to subjective sleep in panic disorder.
Patients with panic disorder (PD) often complain of sleep disturbances. PD patients have high co-morbid depression and almost 65-70% reports a history of nocturnal panic attacks. It is possible that both nocturnal-sleep panic attacks and depression contribute to sleep disturbances in PD patients. However, the individual and interactive effects of nocturnal-sleep panic attacks and lifetime depression on subjective sleep in PD are unknown. ⋯ A high percentage of panic disorder individuals report subjective sleep disturbances. Not surprisingly, an unusually high prevalence of patients with nocturnal panic attacks or depression have sleep problems and 92.3% of patients with both nocturnal panic attacks and depression report striking extremes in sleep duration or insomnia. Thus, nocturnal-sleep panic attacks and depression are independently as well as interactively associated with increased sleep disturbances in panic disorder. Although these findings are expected, they underscore the importance of assessing sleep functions, including over-sleeping, in panic disorder patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Inter-rater reliability of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale as a diagnostic and outcome measure of depression in primary care.
The inter-rater reliability of the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) has not been examined in primary care settings with a view to using it as both a primary outcome measure and for determining entry into a trial. ⋯ In primary care, the 17-item HDRS delivered using a standardised interview has high overall inter-rater reliability as a primary outcome measure but a few patients may be erroneously excluded if it is used to determine study entry.
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Depression is common after hip fracture and is associated with poorer functional recovery. Polymorphisms of the serotonin 1a (5HTR1A) and 2a receptors (5HTR2A) are associated with depression; therefore, we examined their association with depressive symptoms and functional recovery after hip fracture. ⋯ The 5HTR1A (-1019) G allele is associated with increased depressive symptoms after hip fracture, which in turn accounts for poorer functional recovery. These results suggest a role for serotonergic genetic variation in elderly persons' resilience and recovery from medical events.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prevalence and association of somatic symptoms in patients with Major Depressive Disorder.
Painful and non-painful somatic symptoms are often reported in patients with depressive disorder. The proper identification of depression-relevant somatic symptoms is important for the accurate diagnosis of depression, development of treatment strategies and measurement of outcome. The objective of this study was to characterize the relationship between somatic symptoms and depression in patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), using data from randomized drug trials carried out by a pharmaceutical company. ⋯ These results demonstrate a high prevalence and association of somatic symptoms in patients with MDD, including feelings of fatigue, physical malaise and pain-related symptoms, which could be potentially useful in the assessment of depression and in the evaluation of treatment strategies.