Molecular Positron Emission Tomography and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging for Understanding the Neurobiological Mechanisms of Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Scoping Review.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) effectively treats severe psychiatric disorders such as depression, mania, catatonia, and schizophrenia. Although its exact mechanism remains unclear, ECT is thought to induce neurochemical and neuroendocrine changes. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have provided vital insights into ECT's neurobiological effects.

Electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive performance from the Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration.

The Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) has collected clinical and neuroimaging data of patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from around the world. Results to date have focused on neuroimaging correlates of antidepressant response. GEMRIC sites have also collected longitudinal cognitive data.

Late Life Depression is Not Associated With Alzheimer-Type Tau: Preliminary Evidence From a Next-Generation Tau Ligand PET-MR Study.

Objective: To investigate whether tau accumulation is higher in late life depression (LLD) compared to non-depressed cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults. To situate these findings in the neurodegeneration model of LLD by assessing group differences in tau and grey matter volume (GMV) between LLD, non-depressed CU and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's Disease (MCI).

Design: Monocentric, cross-sectional study.

Characterization of gray matter volume changes from one week to 6 months after termination of electroconvulsive therapy in depressed patients.

Background: Increased gray matter volume (GMV) following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been well-documented, with limited studies reporting a subsequent decrease in GMV afterwards.

Objective: This study characterized the reversion pattern of GMV after ECT and its association with clinical depression outcome, using multi-site triple time-point data from the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC).

Methods: 86 subjects from the GEMRIC database were included, and GMV in 84 regions-of-interest (ROI) was obtained from automatic segmentation of T1 MRI images at three timepoints: pre-ECT (T), within one-week post-ECT (T), and one to six months post-ECT (T).

Preliminary evidence for preserved synaptic density in late-life depression.

Late-life depression has been consistently associated with lower gray matter volume, the origin of which remains largely unexplained. Recent in-vivo PET findings in early-onset depression and Alzheimer's Disease suggest that synaptic deficits contribute to the pathophysiology of these disorders and may therefore contribute to lower gray matter volume in late-life depression. Here, we investigate synaptic density in vivo for the first time in late-life depression using the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A receptor radioligand C-UCB-J.

[Neural networks in late life depression].

Background: Major depression is associated with activity and connectivity changes of multiple neural networks that correlate to the clinical manifestation. The chronic and recurrent course of late -life depression (LLD) suggests a possible role for structural brain changes in these network alterations. Recent evolutions in brain imaging permits to investigate neural networks in LLD on multiple levels.

Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.

Neurostimulation is a mainstream treatment option for major depression. Neuromodulation techniques apply repetitive magnetic or electrical stimulation to some neural target but significantly differ in their invasiveness, spatial selectivity, mechanism of action, and efficacy. Despite these differences, recent analyses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS)-treated individuals converged on a common neural network that might have a causal role in treatment response.

Mild Motor Signs in Healthy Aging Are Associated with Lower Synaptic Density in the Brain.

Objective: To investigate whether mild motor signs (MMS) in old age correlate with synaptic density in the brain.

Background: Normal aging is associated with a decline in movement quality and quantity, commonly termed "mild parkinsonian signs" or more recently MMS. Whether MMS stem from global brain aging or pathology within motor circuits remains unresolved.

The Cortisol Awakening Response as a Biomarker for Cognitive Side-Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Objective: To test whether the cortisol awakening response (CAR) could be a biomarker for cognitive decline during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Methods: We studied 50 older patients with depression who were treated with ECT from the MODECT cohort. We used linear regression analyses to examine the association between CAR and cognitive change, assessed by the change in Mini Mental State Examination scores between baseline and 1 week after ECT course.

[Do clothes make the psychiatrist? Psychiatrists and patients on psychiatrists' dress style and form of address].

Background: Both the way a psychiatrist dresses and the way he gets addressed can have an impact on the therapeutic relationship. Most psychiatrists have stopped wearing white coats and dress less formally than before.

Aim: To identify psychiatrists’ and patients’ preferences regarding psychiatrists’ style of dress and form of address.

[The impact of high indoor temperatures on cognitive performance within the work setting: a systematic review].

Background: Workplace guidelines exclusively focus on the impact of high indoor temperatures on physical work. There are no concrete recommendations in this regard concerning mental work.

Aim: To investigate to what extent high ambient temperatures can have an impact on cognitive performance within a work setting, which cognitive skills or tasks are impacted, and to what extent the results found can be transposed to the work setting of the psychiatrist.

Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.

Neurostimulation is a mainstream treatment option for major depression. Neuromodulation techniques apply repetitive magnetic or electrical stimulation to some neural target but significantly differ in their invasiveness, spatial selectivity, mechanism of action, and efficacy. Despite these differences, recent analyses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS)-treated individuals converged on a common neural network that might have a causal role in treatment response.

Sex-specifics of ECT outcome.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for patients with severe major depressive disorder (MDD). Given the known sex differences in MDD, improved knowledge may provide more sex-specific recommendations in clinical guidelines and improve outcome. In the present study we examine sex differences in ECT outcome and its predictors.

Remission Rates Following Electroconvulsive Therapy and Relation to Index Episode Duration in Patients With Psychotic Versus Nonpsychotic Late-Life Depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective treatment, especially in psychotic late-life depression (LLD). However, it is not yet clear whether the greater efficacy seen in psychotic LLD is because of a shorter index episode duration. The first aim of this study was to substantiate the superior ECT remission rates in patients with psychotic LLD, as compared to patients with nonpsychotic LLD, and a second aim was to investigate whether this association is independent of the index duration.

Which residual symptoms predict relapse after successful electroconvulsive therapy for late-life depression?

The risk of relapse following successful acute-phase treatment of late-life depression (LLD), including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is substantial. In order to improve reliable prediction of individuals' risk of relapse, we assessed the association between individual residual symptoms following a successful acute course of ECT for LLD and relapse at six-month follow-up. This prospective cohort study was part of the MODECT study, which included 110 patients aged 55 years and older with major depressive disorder.

Rivastigmine for ECT-induced cognitive adverse effects in late life depression (RECALL study): A multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial in patients with depression aged 55 years or older: Rationale, objectives and methods.

Background: Cognitive side-effects are an important reason for the limited use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Cognitive side-effects are heterogeneous and occur frequently in older persons. To date, insight into these side-effects is hampered due to inconsistencies in study designs and small sample sizes.

Long-term Outcome Following Electroconvulsive Therapy for Late-Life Depression: Five-Year Follow-up Data From the MODECT Study.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for late-life depression (LLD). Research addressing long-term outcome following an acute course of ECT for LLD is limited. We aimed to describe relapse, cognitive impairment and survival 5 years after a treatment with ECT for severe LLD, and assess the association of clinical characteristics with all three outcome measures.

River basin governance enabling pathways for sustainable management: A comparative study between Australia, Brazil, China and France.

Successful river basin governance is challenged by actor engagement in the various stages of planning and management. A governance approach for determining priorities for actors for sustainable management was developed, based on a river basin diagnostic framework consisting of four social-institutional and four biophysical indicators. It was applied in river basins in Australia, Brazil, China and France.

An optimized MRI and PET based clinical protocol for improving the differential diagnosis of geriatric depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) and hippocampal volume derived from magnetic resonance imaging may be useful clinical biomarkers for differentiating between geriatric depression and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we investigated the incremental value of using hippocampal volume and 18F-flutemetmol amyloid PET measures in tandem and sequentially to improve discrimination in unclassified participants. Two approaches were compared in 41 participants with geriatric depression and 27 participants with probable AD: (1) amyloid and hippocampal volume combined in one model and (2) classification based on hippocampal volume first and then subsequent stratification using standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR)-determined amyloid positivity.

The ratio and interaction between neurotrophin and immune signaling during electroconvulsive therapy in late-life depression.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe late-life depression (LLD), and several hypotheses on the precise working mechanism have been proposed. Preclinical evidence suggests that ECT induces changes in neurotrophin and inflammatory signaling and that these neurotrophic and inflammatory systems affect each other. We examine the relation, interaction, and ratio between the neurotrophic brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and depression severity during ECT.