The effects of exercise on oxidative stress (TBARS) and BDNF in severely depressed inpatients.

Exercise can be an effective treatment for depression. Although the efficacy of exercise is well established, little is known concerning the biological changes associated with the antidepressant effects of exercise. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding exercise to the usual treatment on the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels of severely depressed inpatients.

Gender differences in perception of quality of life in adults with and without chronic health conditions: the role of depressive symptoms.

Previous studies have shown that chronic conditions have a negative impact on quality of life. Furthermore, this impact appears to be different in males and females, but it is not yet clear what factors may mediate this relationship. Females with chronic health conditions had poorer quality of life in the physical and psychological domains as compared to males with chronic health conditions.

An introduction to Rasch analysis for Psychiatric practice and research.

This article aims to present the main characteristics of Rasch analysis in the context of patient reported outcomes in Psychiatry. We present an overview of the main features of the Rasch analysis, using as an example the latent variable of depressive symptoms, with illustrations using the Beck Depression Inventory. We will show that with fitting data to the Rasch model, we can confirm the structural validity of the scale, including key attributes such as invariance, local dependency and unidimensionality.

Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Research version (YQOL-R): psychometric properties in a community sample.

Objective: To test some psychometric properties of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Research (YQOL-R) in a community sample of Brazilian adolescents.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional community study conducted in six schools of the catchment area of a family health unit. From an original population of 2,754 students from 10 to 17 years old, we randomly selected 419 to answer the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the YQOL-R.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is not associated with response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): a pilot study in drug resistant depressed patients.

Refractory depression is a highly debilitating mental condition that originates major social and economic burden. About 50% of the patients experience a chronic course of illness and up to 20% show an insufficient response to drug treatments. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment method in refractory depression, although its mechanism of action is still unknown.

Subsyndromal depression: an impact on quality of life?

Objective: The objective of this study was to demonstrate the association between quality of life and subsyndromal depression in a primary care clinic in a Brazilian sample.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The cases were divided into three groups according to the severity of depressive symptoms: 1) subjects with major depressive disorder; 2) subjects with subsyndromal depression; 3) subjects without depressive symptoms--controls.

Major depression and its correlates in primary care settings in six countries. 9-month follow-up study.

Background: Few published studies address depression outcomes in primary care from a cross-cultural perspective.

Aims: To define baseline factors associated with 9-month clinical outcomes across six countries.

Method: Adults meeting criteria for current major depression were recruited from primary care clinics in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Spain, Russia and the USA; 968 patients were assessed at the 9-month follow-up.