Adrenal activity and metabolic risk during randomized escitalopram or placebo treatment in PCOS.

Background/aims: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance, adrenal hyperactivity and decreased mental health. We aimed to investigate the changes in adrenal activity, metabolic status and mental health in PCOS during treatment with escitalopram or placebo.

Methods: Forty-two overweight premenopausal women with PCOS and no clinical depression were randomized to 12-week SSRI (20 mg escitalopram/day,  = 21) or placebo ( = 21).

Explanatory models of depression and treatment adherence to antidepressant medication: a qualitative interview study.

Background: Adherence to antidepressant medication is a challenging clinical issue, which reduces treatment efficacy: 30-60% of all patients commencing treatment with antidepressants are estimated to stop taking the medication within the first 12 weeks. Patients' personal beliefs about depression and antidepressants are regarded as central influences on adherence.

Objectives: The aim was to gain detailed insight into patients' personal accounts of depression and use of antidepressant medication and to relate these accounts to the patients' self-reported level of adherence.

[Risk of affective disorder in multiple sclerosis].

An increased risk for depression has been found in multiple sclerosis (MS). The purpose of the present study has been to give suggestions to guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of depression in MS in Denmark based on the international literature and recommendations. The method was a review of the relevant literature.

[Medical treatment of depression during pregnancy and breastfeeding].

Medical treatment of depression during pregnancy and breastfeeding often involves concern by both the patient and the doctor because of the fear of adverse reactions or malformations of the child. This article gives an updated review on how antidepressants, lithium, antipsychotics and ECT can be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and presents a treatment algorithm which is used at Odense University Hospital.

[Acute pharmacological treatment of depression].

Depression is one of the most economically burdensome diseases with serious consequences for patients as well as their families. Many depressed patients are not treated because they neither contact a doctor nor are diagnosed correctly. Today, it is generally accepted that depression is not just one disease but is composed of subgroups, each requiring its own specific treatment.

Anxiety and depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A review.

A review of the literature revealed high comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and states of anxiety and depression, indicative of excess, psychiatric morbidity in COPD. The existing studies point to a prevalence of clinical significant symptoms of depression and anxiety amounting to around 50%. The prevalence of panic disorder and major depression in COPD patients is correspondingly markedly increased compared to the general population.

Gender differences in severity, symptomatology and distribution of melancholia in major depression.

Background: Studies of gender differences in the clinical presentation of depression have provided divergent results. This study aimed at analyzing gender differences in severity, symptomatology and distribution of melancholia in major depression.

Sampling And Methods: The study comprised 930 in- and out-patients (652 women, 278 men) from 6 randomized controlled trials.

Are gender differences important for the clinical effects of antidepressants?

Objective: Gender differences in antidepressant treatment response, side effects, dropout rates, and plasma concentrations were examined in patients with major and predominantly melancholic depression.

Method: The study included a subgroup of 292 inpatients (96 men, 196 women) from three Danish double-blind, randomized, controlled trials. All patients completed a 5-week treatment period and fulfilled the DSM-III or DSM-III-R criteria for major depression.