Augmentation of antidepressants with bright light therapy in patients with comorbid depression and borderline personality disorder.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is typically characterized by instability and impaired behaviour, affectivity, interpersonal relations and lifestyle. The most common condition comorbid with BPD is a depressive episode. Depression is associated with severe disturbance of the circadian rhythms.

Trazodone improves the results of cognitive behaviour therapy of primary insomnia in non-depressed patients.

Objectives: Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) of primary insomnia is frequently combined with various pharmacological treatments, including sedative antidepressants. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical efficacy of CBT, singly and combined with trazodone pharmacotherapy, for primary insomnia.

Design And Setting: Randomised, comparative clinical trial, at a single academic medical centre.

Discontinuation of hypnotics during cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.

Background: In practical sleep medicine, therapists face the question of whether or not to discontinue the ongoing use of hypnotics in patients, as well as the possible effects of discontinuation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of discontinuing third-generation hypnotics on the results of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for primary insomnia in patients after long-term abuse.

Methods: Twenty-eight outpatients were treated by CBT for 8 weeks.

The effect of tryptophan depletion on the action of haloperidol in MK-801-treated rats.

We investigated the effect of tryptophan depletion (tryptophan-free mixture) on locomotor activity in an animal model of schizophrenia, induced by acute administration of 5R,10S-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]-cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801), and the influence of the tryptophan-free mixture on the action of the typical antipsychotic haloperidol. Male rats were pre-treated with haloperidol 60 min after receiving the tryptophan-free mixture (or water). We measured total distance travelled in an open field during a 90-min period.

Subjective and objective evaluation of alertness and sleep quality in depressed patients.

Background: The reliability of the subjective statements reports on disturbed night sleep and alertness in the daytime was assessed by their correlation to the objective indicators in patients with mild depression.

Method: Among patients with depression, altogether 28 patients with insomnia were examined. Their answers to typical questions, as they are used during a psychiatric interview, were scored.