Depression in Persons With Epilepsy: Lessons From Case Review.

Background: Major depressive disorder is highly prevalent among persons with epilepsy (PWEs). Between 30% and 50% of PWEs suffer from depression. Many factors contribute to this prevalence, including the psychosocial impact of the diagnosis, restrictions on driving and certain types of work, and adverse effects associated with antiseizure medications.

Bright Light Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder in Adolescent Outpatients: A Preliminary Study.

Background: Bright light therapy (BLT) has not been well-studied in adolescents with major depressive disorder, particularly in outpatient settings.

Methods: We conducted an 8-week clinical trial of BLT in adolescents recruited from a primary care practice with moderate to severe major depression. Acceptability and feasibility were defined by daily use of the light box and integration into daily routines.

Light Therapy for Adolescent Depression: A Scoping Review.

Purpose: Depressive disorders in adolescents are a major health concern associated with developmental, social, and educational impairment. Bright Light Therapy (BLT) is a feasible and effective treatment for depressive disorders in adults, but few controlled trials have been conducted with children or adolescents. This scoping review focuses on the current state of knowledge for BLT in the treatment of adolescent depression.

Trajectories of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Across Pregnancy and Postpartum in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Treated Women.

Objective: Tracking perinatal mood and anxiety disorders is championed by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health. We conducted this study to examine trajectories of monthly depressive and anxiety symptoms through pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: This is a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study of pregnant women interviewed at baseline (≤18th gestational week), every four weeks through delivery and at 6 and 14 weeks postpartum at three urban academic medical centers ( = 85) and a single rural health center ( = 3) from 2016 to 2020.

C-Reactive protein concentrations in reproductive-aged women with major mood disorders.

To examine associations between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations and depressive symptoms in reproductive-aged women with mood disorders. Women (N = 86) with major depressive or bipolar disorder in a specialized mood disorders program provided plasma samples which were analyzed for CRP concentrations and categorized by tertiles (T1, low; T2, middle; T3 high). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Inventory of Depressive Symptoms.

A comparison of symptoms of bipolar and unipolar depression in postpartum women.

Background: Distinguishing postpartum women with bipolar from unipolar depression remains challenging, particularly in obstetrical and primary care settings. The post-birth period carries the highest lifetime risk for the onset or recurrence of Bipolar Disorder (BD). Characterization of differences between unipolar and bipolar depression symptom presentation and severity is critical to differentiate the two disorders.

Postpartum anhedonia: Emergent patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression.

The objective of this study was to identify differences in the longitudinal course anhedonia symptoms during postpartum in women diagnosed with unipolar or bipolar disorder. Female participants diagnosed with either bipolar (n = 104) or unipolar (n = 136) depression at week 20 during pregnancy were evaluated prospectively at weeks 2, 12, 26, and 52 postpartum using clinical interviews. A semi-parametric, group-based mixture model was applied to separate distinct longitudinal patterns of symptoms of anhedonia.

Carbon monoxide: a critical physiological regulator sensitive to light.

The mechanism by which humans absorb therapeutic light in winter seasonal and nonseasonal depression is unknown. Bright-light-induced release and generation of blood-borne gasotransmitters such as carbon monoxide (CO) may be one mechanism. Here, 24 healthy female volunteers had peripheral blood samples drawn.

Light Therapy for Patients With Bipolar Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: Bipolar disorder (BD) is challenging to treat, and fewer treatments are available for depressive episodes compared to mania. Light therapy is an evidence-based nonpharmacological treatment for seasonal and nonseasonal major depression, but fewer studies have examined its efficacy for patients with BD. Hence, we reviewed the evidence for adjunctive light therapy as a treatment for bipolar depression.

The chronotherapeutic treatment of bipolar disorders: A systematic review and practice recommendations from the ISBD task force on chronotherapy and chronobiology.

Aims: To systematically review the literature on the efficacy and tolerability of the major chronotherapeutic treatments of bipolar disorders (BD)-bright light therapy (LT), dark therapy (DT), treatments utilizing sleep deprivation (SD), melatonergic agonists (MA), interpersonal social rhythm therapy (IPSRT), and cognitive behavioral therapy adapted for BD (CBTI-BP)-and propose treatment recommendations based on a synthesis of the evidence.

Methods: PRISMA-based systematic review of the literature.

Results: The acute antidepressant (AD) efficacy of LT was supported by several open-label studies, three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and one pseudorandomized controlled trial.

Use of "Lights" for Bipolar Depression.

Purpose: In this review, we will review the background and diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD); describe the efficacy data and potential circadian and neural mechanisms underlying the effects of bright light for bipolar depression; and discuss the implementation of light therapy in clinical practice.

Recent Findings: To date, morning bright light is the most widely tested form of light therapy for all mood disorders. Clinical trial reports suggest that midday or morning bright light treatment and novel chronotherapeutic interventions are effective for bipolar depression.

Four maternal characteristics determine the 12-month course of chronic severe postpartum depressive symptoms.

Background: Postpartum depression is a heterogeneous disorder in phenotype and etiology. Characterizing the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms over the first year after birth and identifying variables that predict distinct symptom trajectories will expedite efficient mental health treatment planning. The purpose was to determine 12-month trajectories of postpartum depressive symptoms, identify characteristics that predict the trajectories, and provide a computational algorithm that predicts trajectory membership.

Validity of the WHIPLASHED as a tool to identify bipolar disorder in women.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of the WHIPLASHED clinician-administered interview, a mnemonic of questions on clinical factors and illness course used to screen for bipolar disorder, as a self-report questionnaire.

Methods: Participants (n = 82) were females recruited from an outpatient academic women's mental health clinic. Relevant symptom data were extracted from a self-report questionnaire designed to parallel the WHIPLASHED interview questions.

Bipolar disorder and psychotropic medication: Impact on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.

Objective: The hypotheses were: (1) pregnant women with bipolar disorder (BD) have less favorable pregnancy outcomes than unaffected women, and (2) psychotropic treated women with BD have better outcomes than un-medicated women.

Method: This prospective study included 174 mother-infant dyads. Women had BD without psychotropic exposure (BD-NP, n = 38), BD with psychotropic treatment (BD-P, n = 49), or neither psychotropic exposure nor major mood disorder (Comp, n = 87).

Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objective: Patients with bipolar disorder have recurrent major depression, residual mood symptoms, and limited treatment options. Building on promising pilot data, the authors conducted a 6-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of adjunctive bright light therapy at midday for bipolar depression. The aims were to determine remission rate, depression symptom level, and rate of mood polarity switch, as well as to explore sleep quality.

Telephone-Based Depression Care Management for Postpartum Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: With a period prevalence of 21.9% in the year after birth, depression is a common complication of childbearing. We assessed the impact of telephone-delivered depression care management (DCM) on symptom levels, health service utilization, and functional status 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum.

Neonatal Discontinuation Syndrome in Serotonergic Antidepressant-Exposed Neonates.

Objective: To determine whether infants exposed in utero to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants or a DSM-IV-TR-defined mood disorder have significantly more neonatal discontinuation signs compared to an unexposed group of infants at 2-4 weeks after birth.

Methods: This secondary analysis was derived from 2 observational studies with enrollment from July 2000 to December 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mothers (n = 214) belonged to one of 3 groups based on exposure status during pregnancy: (1) Comparison-women who did not take psychotropics during pregnancy and had no major mood disorder; (2) SRI-exposed-women with a mood disorder who were taking an SRI but no benzodiazepines; and (3) Mood Disorder-women with depression or bipolar disorder who did not take psychotropic medications.

One-Year Developmental Outcomes for Infants of Mothers With Bipolar Disorder.

Objective: Few data about the development of infants born to women with bipolar disorder have been published. We hypothesized that infants of women with bipolar disorder (by DSM-IV criteria) treated with psychotropics (BD+) or untreated with psychotropics (BD-) would demonstrate poorer cognitive and behavioral development than infants of controls. On the basis of previous studies, we expected that psychotropic-exposed infants of women in the BD+ group would have poorer neuromotor performance during infancy.

Generating an efficient version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in an urban obstetrical population.

Background: Postpartum depression incurs significant burden and suffering.

Methods: We investigated the latent structure of the most commonly used screening measure, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in women (N=15,172) and tested its predictive validity for the diagnosis of depression as determined with a structured clinical interview. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Receiver Operating Characteristic curves, and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Factors associated with onset timing, symptoms, and severity of depression identified in the postpartum period.

Background: Unipolar and bipolar depression identified in the postpartum period have a heterogeneous etiology. The objectives of this study are to examine the risk factors that distinguish the timing of onset for unipolar and bipolar depression and the associations between depression onset by diagnosis, and general and atypical depressive symptoms.

Methods: Symptoms of depression were assessed at 4- to 6-weeks postpartum by the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Atypical Depression Symptoms in an obstetrical sample of 727 women.