Publications by authors named "Bernhard T. Baune"

Background: Anxiety disorders and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) are often comorbid. Studies suggest ketamine has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties.

Aims: To investigate if subcutaneous racemic ketamine, delivered twice weekly for 4 weeks, reduces anxiety in people with TRD.

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Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder (OABD) represent a heterogeneous group, including those with early and late onset of the disorder. Recent evidence shows both groups have distinct clinical, cognitive, and medical features, tied to different neurobiological profiles. This study explored the link between polygenic risk scores (PRS) for bipolar disorder (PRS-BD), schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ), and major depressive disorder (PRS-MDD) with age of onset in OABD.

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Environmental Enrichment (EE) has received considerable attention for its potential to enhance cognitive and neurobiological outcomes in animal models. This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive evaluation of the EE research spanning from 1967 to 2024, utilizing data extracted from Scopus and analyzed through R and VOSviewer. The volume of publications, citation patterns, and collaborations were systematically reviewed, highlighting important contributions and emerging trends within the field of animal research.

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Introduction: In severe cases, an infection with the Borna Disease Virus 1 (BoDV-1), the causative agent of Borna disease in horses, sheep, and other domestic mammals, was reported to be accompanied by cognitive dysfunctions, seizures, deep coma, or severe to fatal encephalitis in humans. In addition, asymptomatic or mild courses of BoDV-1 infection are discussed to act as a co-factor in the etiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Previously, studies using electroencephalography (EEG) reported BoDV-1-dependent changes in event-related potentials (ERPs), thus indicating the use and added value of non-invasive studies in Borna research.

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Background: Longitudinal outcome studies confirm that the majority of patients with schizophrenic psychoses develop cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).

Objective: To provide an overview of the epidemiology, diagnostics and evidence for various treatment options for CIAS.

Material And Methods: Literature review of the current level of evidence regarding the efficacy of different treatment strategies for CIAS.

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Purpose Of Review: The immune system is of pivotal importance with regard to the development and maintenance of mental illness. Aberrant cytokine levels are significant immune markers, and research is increasingly focusing on the complement system and the gut-brain axis. The efficacy and safety of immunomodulatory interventions are currently the subject of clinical studies.

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Background: Anhedonic features within major depressive disorder (MDD) have been associated with worse course and outcome and may predict nonresponse to treatment. However, a detailed clinical profile of anhedonia in MDD is still lacking.

Materials And Methods: One thousand two hundred ninety-four patients with MDD were selected from the cross-sectional European multicenter Group for the Study of Resistant Depression study.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety disorders in Germany, projecting prevalence rates up to 2030 for both men and women.* -
  • Using a three-state illness-death model and historical data, the researchers estimate that without additional pandemic-related increases, approximately 3.86 million women and 2.13 million men will have anxiety disorders by 2030; with potential increases, those numbers could rise to 5.67 million women and 3.30 million men.* -
  • The findings suggest that any rise in anxiety cases during the pandemic has lasting implications, highlighting the need for effective public health planning as more data becomes available.*
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  • - The study explores the role of epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, in predicting treatment response to antidepressants for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) based on a large sample size of 230 patients.
  • - Researchers used DNA methylation analysis and found suggestive evidence linking altered methylation patterns at several specific sites to how well patients responded to naturalistic antidepressant treatment and SSRIs/SNRIs.
  • - The findings indicate that understanding DNA methylation may help improve personalized treatment strategies for MDD in the future, although further research is needed for validation.
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Alterations in DNA methylation and inflammation could represent valid biomarkers for the stratification of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study explored the use of DNA-methylation based immunological cell-type profiles in the context of MDD and symptom severity over time. In 119 individuals with MDD, DNA-methylation was assessed on whole blood using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC 850 k BeadChip.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to explore the genetic basis of major depressive disorder by analyzing symptoms across various clinical and community cohorts, acknowledging challenges like sample size differences and missing data patterns.
  • - Researchers performed genome-wide association studies using data from both diagnosed and undiagnosed participants, fitting models to understand the relationships between different depressive symptoms.
  • - Findings emphasized the relevance of symptom directionality (e.g., hypersomnia vs. insomnia) and the necessity of considering study design when analyzing genetic data related to depression.
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Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent condition with a substantial incidence of relapse or treatment resistance. A subset of patients show evidence of low-grade inflammation, with these patients having a higher likelihood of more severe or difficult to treat courses of illness. Anti-inflammatory treatment of MDD has been investigated with mixed results, and no known studies have included assessments beyond cessation of the anti-inflammatory agent, meaning it remains unknown if any benefit from treatment persists.

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  • The study explored the relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-cn) as markers of cellular aging in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and their response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
  • Researchers measured LTL and mtDNA-cn in 31 TRD patients at three different time points before and after ECT, compared to 65 healthy controls.
  • The results indicated that TRD patients had shorter LTL and higher mtDNA-cn but found no significant correlation between these markers and the effectiveness of ECT treatment, suggesting these markers might be disease indicators but not predictors of treatment response.
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Resilience is the capacity to adapt to stressful life events. As such, this trait is associated with physical and mental functions and conditions. Here, we aimed to identify the genetic factors contributing to shape resilience.

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  • Cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 play a crucial role in the metabolism of antidepressants, and genetic variations in these enzymes can potentially predict how patients will respond to treatment.
  • This study analyzed clinical and genetic data from 13 studies involving patients of European and East Asian ancestry, focusing on how genetic polymorphisms relate to antidepressant response and remission rates.
  • Results showed that although poor metabolizers of CYP2C19 had a higher spontaneous remission rate compared to normal metabolizers, this finding was not statistically significant after accounting for multiple tests, indicating that more research is necessary to understand the genetic factors influencing antidepressant effectiveness.
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Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) benefits patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the underlying biological processes are unclear. We conducted an epigenome-wide association study in 32 TRD patients undergoing ECT to depict ECT-associated methylation changes. Illness severity and ECT outcomes were assessed with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale at baseline (T0) and 1 month after its end (T1).

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Introduction: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a novel form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) conducted in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). In this retrospective naturalistic study, we investigated the outcome of iTBS in treatment-resistant depression patients with (ECT+) and without (ECT-) history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in their current depressive episode, as well as among previous ECT responders and nonresponders.

Methods: We included 66 inpatients (57.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explored how genetic variation and the environment affect gene expression in older adults, focusing on a community sample of 246 individuals (mostly female twins).
  • - Researchers found that about 24% of the analyzed genes showed heritability in blood gene expression, with 5269 significant probes identified, particularly linked to immune response and aging.
  • - Comparisons with other studies revealed that only a small fraction of heritable genes were common, underscoring the necessity of studying gene expression specifically in older populations.
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Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) represents a long-term adjunctive treatment option in patients with difficult-to-treat depression (DTD). Anti-inflammatory effects have been discussed as a key mechanism of action of VNS. However, long-term investigations in real-world patients are sparse.

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