Impact of suppression of thyroxine on folate status during acute antidepressant therapy.

Antidepressant response is associated with a rise in red cell folate (RCF) and a reduction in thyroxine (T4). Since T4 levels may directly influence folate status, it is possible that the increase in folate with recovery results from the decline in T4. To examine the possible role of thyroid hormones in the observed change in folate status during antidepressant therapy, T4, tri-iodothyronine (T3) or placebo was given in a double-blind fashion to 25 depressed subjects at the initiation of standard antidepressant treatment.

Hormonal and subjective responses to intravenous m-chlorophenylpiperazine in women with seasonal affective disorder.

Background: There is emerging evidence of serotonergic dysfunction in patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). We examined central serotonergic function in female patients with SAD (fall-winter pattern) by means of neuroendocrine and subjective responses to the postsynaptic serotonin receptor agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine.

Methods: Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design, we assessed neuroendocrine and subjective responses to m-chlorophenylpiperazine (0.

Does the chronological relationship between the onset of dysthymia and major depression influence subsequent response to antidepressants?

Objective: To determine whether the chronological relationship between the onset of dysthymia and the onset of the first major depression influences treatment outcome in patients with double depression (DD).

Method: Clinical and outcome measures previously collected in 77 consecutive outpatients who presented with major depression and who had pre-existing dysthymia (i.e.

Differential pharmacological treatment response in high angry hostile and low angry hostile depressed patients: a retrospective analysis.

Fava et al., Am. J.

Hormonal and subjective responses to intravenous meta-chlorophenylpiperazine in bulimia nervosa.

Background: Several lines of evidence point to serotonergic abnormalities in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN). Our goal was to further examine central serotonergic function in bulimic patients using neuroendocrine and subjective responses to the postsynaptic serotonin receptor agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP).

Method: Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design, we assessed neuroendocrine and subjective responses to intravenous mCPP (0.

Thyroid hormone levels before unsuccessful antidepressant therapy are associated with later response to T3 augmentation.

Thyroid function was measured in 24 patients before antidepressant treatment, and following failure of acute desipramine treatment but before triiodothyronine (T3) augmentation. While all measures of thyroid function were within the euthyroid range, eventual T3 augmentation responders were found to have, prior to any antidepressant treatment, lower levels of TSH and higher levels of thyroxine (T4) and free thyroxine index (FTI) than non-responders. This suggests that T3 augmentation may be of particular importance in subjects with comparatively elevated levels of serum FTI.

Bipolar disorder, unipolar depression and the Five-Factor Model of personality.

We examined differences between personality characteristics of euthymic bipolar disorder patients (BD) (n = 34) and recovered unipolar depressed patients (UD) (n = 74) using the taxonomy of the Five-Factor Model of personality (FFM) as measured by composite scales derived from the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI) and the revised NEO PI (NEO PI-R). Euthymic BD patients scored significantly higher on the Openness (O) dimension and the Positive Emotions facet of the E dimension than did recovered UD patients. For O, euthymic BD patients scored higher on the Feelings facet.

Seasonal and non-seasonal depression and the five-factor model of personality.

The purpose of this study was to compare the personality characteristics of patients with non-psychotic, major depression, seasonal subtype (SAD) to patients with non-psychotic, major depression, without seasonality (non-SAD). The patients were consecutive referrals to a university-affiliated mood disorders outpatient clinic. The personality characteristics were assessed using the five-factor model of personality (FFM) as measured by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R).

Response to an open trial of a second SSRI in major depression.

Background: We evaluated the efficacy of a second serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in patients who had failed to respond to the first SSRI used.

Method: Fifty-five patients with major depression who had failed one of the SSRIs for their current depressive episode were included. After failing a trial of one SSRI, they received a second SSRI in an open clinical trial.

A controlled comparison of light box and head-mounted units in the treatment of seasonal depression.

Background: Patterns of response to the light box and head-mounted unit (HMUs) in seasonal affective disorder (SAD) appear to differ. The current study employed a "no light" condition to compare the response rates with the light box and HMU against a plausible placebo.

Method: Forty-three subjects with DSM-III-R nonpsychotic, unipolar major depression, seasonal subtype, were randomly assigned, in a double-blind manner, to receive 2 weeks of active treatment with a light box (N=9) or HMU (N=12) that emitted no visible light, or 2 weeks of placebo treatment with a light box (N=12) or HMU (N=10) that emitted no visible light.

Serum Mg2+ and Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio in major depressive disorder.

Serum Mg2+ has been implicated in the symptom severity and pathophysiology of mood disorders. Furthermore, the recent findings of blunted signalling through the G-protein-coupled adenylyl cyclase (AC) pathway in major depressive disorder (MDD) and the importance of Mg2+ in G-protein/AC function led us to reexamine in a large sample whether serum Mg2+ concentrations were decreased in MDD patients. In 145 drug-free MDD patients compared with 2 control groups: (a) patients with bipolar disorder (n = 33) and (b) non-mood-disordered patients (n = 47), there were no differences in Mg2+ levels or Ca2+/Mg2+ ratios.

Augmentation strategies: focus on anxiolytics.

Approximately 20% to 40% of patients will fail to respond to the first antidepressant used for their current major depressive episode. Furthermore, it has been suggested that a further 20% to 30% of patients will have only a partial response. There are four main options to consider in the treatment of these patients: optimization, substitution, augmentation, and combination therapy.

Multicenter, placebo-controlled study of fluoxetine in seasonal affective disorder.

Objective: The authors investigated the efficacy and safety of fluoxetine in the treatment of winter seasonal affective disorder.

Method: Sixty-eight outpatients who met the DSM-III-R criteria for recurrent major depressive episodes, seasonal (winter) pattern, were randomly assigned to 5 weeks of treatment with fluoxetine, 20 mg/day (N = 36), or placebo (N = 32). The outcome measures included the 29-item modified Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, administered by experienced clinicians, and the self-rated Beck Depression Inventory; adverse events and safety data were also recorded.

Treatment of seasonal affective disorder: a review.

Objective: To review the status of current treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Method: Treatment studies of SAD published between January 1989 and March 1995 were identified using a computerized MEDLINE literature search. Additional citations were obtained from the reference sections of these articles.

A comparison of Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire dimensions in bipolar disorder and unipolar depression.

The harm avoidance (HA) personality dimension has been hypothesized to be a vulnerability factor for unipolar depression (UD) but not for bipolar disorder (BD). The reported difference on HA scores between these diagnostic groups may have been compromised by the assessment of BD patients who had not fully recovered. To test the diagnostic specificity of elevated HA scores and to elucidate whether assumptions about differences between patients with UD or BD might be attributed to the lingering effects of mood state, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was administered to recovered patients with either BD or UD and a nonpatient comparison group.

Intrinsic F0 of vowels in the babbling of 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old French- and English-learning infants.

In every language so far examined, high vowels such as [i] and [u] tend to have higher fundamental frequencies (F0s) than low vowels such as [a]. This intrinsic F0 effect (IF0) has been found in the speech of children at various stages of development, except in the one previous study of babbling. The present study is based on a larger set of utterances from more subjects (six French- and six English-learning infants), at the ages 6, 9, and 12 months.