Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on plasma levels of neuroactive steroids in inpatients with major depression.

Objective: Neuroactive steroids (NAS) are neuroactive molecules that have been shown to be associated with various psychiatric disorders. There are some inconclusive findings about the alteration in neuroactive steroid levels after the treatment of depression and ECT is still one of the most effective treatment choices for treatment resistant depression. Thus, we aimed to investigate the alterations of several NAS in plasma after ECT in inpatients with treatment resistant depression.

Cerebral blood flow changes in patients with probable medication-overuse headache.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a non-invasive method for measuring blood flow velocity (BFV), and a marker of vessel diameter. In this study, intracranial BFV was investigated, by means of TCD, in patients suffering from probable medication-overuse headache (PMOH). Twenty-three female patients with probable ergotamine- overuse headache (PEOH), 23 female patients with probable analgesic-overuse headache (PAOH), and 15 healthy female controls participated in the study.

EEG correlates of startle reflex with reactivity to eye opening in psychiatric disorders: preliminary results.

Previous studies have shown alterations of eyeblink reflex in patients with various psychiatric disorders. It has previously been demonstrated by our group that EEG measures of the reactivity to eye opening could effectively predict patient-reported startle response in patients with acute stress reaction. In our present study, EEG spectral power analysis and eyeblink electrical startle responses were acquired from a total of 39 patients diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders: 7 patients with schizophrenia, 10 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 10 patients with panic disorder, 5 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 7 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).