Depression and anxiety
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Depression and anxiety · Feb 2013
Clinical TrialPilot study of the clinical and cognitive effects of high-frequency magnetic seizure therapy in major depressive disorder.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a very commonly used treatment for patients with severe and treatment-resistant depression. Although effective, this treatment is complicated by a number of side effects including cognitive impairment motivating attempts to develop treatment alternatives. Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is a brain stimulation technique using a high-powered transcranial magnetic stimulation device to produce therapeutic seizures. Preliminary research suggests that MST has antidepressant activity in the absence of cognitive side effects. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and cognitive profile of MST provided at high frequency (100 Hz) and potentially longer stimulation trains and longer treatment courses than have been previously investigated. ⋯ In conclusion, MST shows antidepressant efficacy without apparent cognitive side effects. However, substantial research is required to understand the optimal conditions for stimulation and to compare MST to established treatments including ECT.
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Depression and anxiety · Feb 2013
Baseline depression levels do not affect efficacy of cognitive-behavioral self-help treatment for insomnia.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can effectively treat insomnia (CBT-I). Randomized controlled trials have shown efficacy of self-help CBT-I, but unclear is whether excluding depressive patients boosted treatment effects. ⋯ This study showed that CBT-I is effective regardless of baseline depression levels. Treating the combination of insomnia and depression is an extra challenge since it is associated with increased sleep problems. These data may help us understand the relationship between insomnia and depression and indicate that self-help CBT-I may be a promising addition to regular depression treatment.