Biological psychiatry
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Biological psychiatry · Sep 2005
Comparative Study Clinical TrialEffects of 12 months of vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: a naturalistic study.
The need for effective, long-term treatment for recurrent or chronic, treatment-resistant depression is well established. ⋯ These 1-year open trial data found VNS to be well tolerated, suggesting a potential long-term, growing benefit in treatment-resistant depression, albeit in the context of changes in depression treatments. Comparative long-term data are needed to determine whether these benefits can be attributed to VNS.
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Biological psychiatry · Aug 2005
Comparative Study Clinical TrialExecutive dysfunction and the course of geriatric depression.
Executive dysfunction is common in geriatric depression and persists after improvement of depressive symptoms. This study examined the relationship of executive impairment to the course of depressive symptoms among elderly patients with major depression. ⋯ Executive dysfunction increases the risk for poor response of geriatric depression to citalopram. Because executive functions require frontostriatal-limbic integrity, this observation provides the rationale for investigation of the role of specific frontostriatal-limbic pathways in perpetuating geriatric depression. Depressed elderly patients with executive dysfunction require vigilant clinical attention because they might be at risk to fail treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressant.
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Biological psychiatry · Jun 2005
Comparative StudyImaging brain mu-opioid receptors in abstinent cocaine users: time course and relation to cocaine craving.
Cocaine treatment upregulates brain mu-opioid receptors (mOR) in animals. Human data regarding this phenomenon are limited. We previously used positron emission tomography (PET) with [11C]-carfentanil to show increased mOR binding in brain regions of 10 cocaine-dependent men after 1 and 28 days of abstinence. ⋯ These results suggest that chronic cocaine use influences endogenous opioid systems in the human brain and might explain mechanisms of cocaine craving and reinforcement.
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Biological psychiatry · Jun 2005
Comparative StudyClinical and diagnostic implications of lifetime attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder comorbidity in adults with bipolar disorder: data from the first 1000 STEP-BD participants.
Systematic studies of children and adolescents with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder show that rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) range from 60% to 90%, but the prevalence and implications of ADHD in adults with bipolar disorder are less clear. ⋯ Lifetime ADHD is a frequent comorbid condition in adults with bipolar disorder, associated with a worse course of bipolar disorder and greater burden of other psychiatric comorbid conditions. Studies are needed that focus on the efficacy and safety of treating ADHD comorbid with bipolar disorder.
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Biological psychiatry · May 2005
Activity and connectivity of brain mood regulating circuit in depression: a functional magnetic resonance study.
Functional imaging studies indicate that imbalances in cortico-limbic activity and connectivity may underlie the pathophysiology of MDD. In this study, using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), we investigated differences in cortico-limbic activity and connectivity between depressed patients and healthy controls. ⋯ The finding of increased activation of limbic regions and decreased LFBF correlations between ACC and limbic regions is consistent with the hypothesis that decreased cortical regulation of limbic activation in response to negative stimuli may be present in depression.