The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: a review and meta-analysis of the evidence.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the evidence base for the efficacy of light therapy in treating mood disorders.

Method: The authors systematically searched PubMed (January 1975 to July 2003) to identify randomized, controlled trials of light therapy for mood disorders that fulfilled predefined criteria. These articles were abstracted, and data were synthesized by disease and intervention category.

The relationship between psychiatry residency applicant evaluations and subsequent residency performance.

Objective: The goal of this study was to measure the predictive value of applicant evaluations for a psychiatry residency in terms of the subsequent performance of those who matriculated in the program.

Method: The match lists for resident cohorts beginning their course of training over 4 years were divided into thirds, which served as our primary, preresidency measure of expected performance. The preresidency applicant evaluations of those residents who entered were compared to their postresidency evaluations.

Effect of stress on pregnancy outcome among women undergoing assisted reproduction procedures.

Background: This study was performed to examine the effect of stress on pregnancy outcome in women who underwent assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures.

Methods: In a controlled clinical study of healthy volunteers in an academic research environment, stress was measured subjectively by administering patient questionnaires and biochemically by examining urinary excretion of cortisol and 6-sulfatoxy-melatonin (6-SM), the primary metabolite of melatonin and a marker of peripheral stress response. A total of 42 women who underwent ART procedures during an 18-month period agreed to participate in the study and were enrolled consecutively.

The effects of mirtazapine on plasma lipid profiles in healthy subjects.

Background: The novel antidepressant mirtazapine has been linked to elevated random plasma total cholesterol (TC) levels. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in a more controlled and precise approach the putative effects of mirtazapine on plasma lipids.

Method: In a double-blind design, 50 healthy subjects (30 women and 20 men) were randomized to receive either mirtazapine (N = 28) or placebo (N = 22) for a 4-week period.

An international collaboration in nursing education viewed through the lens of critical social theory.

Critical social theory, including the work of Jurgen Habermas, provides a valuable lens for viewing phenomena within their sociopolitical contexts. According to Habermas, the lives and experiences of individuals, groups, and societies in the western world are strongly influenced by the forces of economics and power. These influences may interfere with communication and, therefore, the transmission and regeneration of culture and its meaning.

A longitudinal study of serotonergic function in depression.

Several reports have described abnormal neuroendocrine responses to serotonergic challenge tests in depression, but few have studied depressed patients followed longitudinally. In order to determine whether blunted prolactin responses to clomipramine challenge is a "state" vs. "trait" marker in depression, we applied this challenge paradigm to 20 patients with Major Depression prior to treatment and at three additional time points following response to desipramine: at the completion of acute treatment; at the end of the continuation phase of treatment; and after a minimum of three weeks "washout" following the discontinuation of treatment.

The Reliability of Computer-Processed EEG in the Determination of ECT Seizure Duration.

The reliability of single-channel analog EEG and two-channel, computer-processed EEG (cEEG) in determining seizure duration during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was studied in 144 consecutive individual treatment sessions of 14 hospitalized patients. Seizure durations determined by post hoc, blind readings of data generated by each method were compared. These estimates of seizure duration were also compared to those determined by the "cuff" method.