Effects of separate and combined estradiol and progesterone administration on fear extinction in healthy pre-menopausal women.

Altered fear conditioning and extinction learning are discussed as key etiological features in anxiety disorders. Women have an increased risk for anxiety disorders and fear conditioning has been shown to be influenced by the menstrual cycle phase and circulating gonadal hormones. The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of separate and combined estradiol and progesterone administration on fear extinction in healthy women.

Long-Term Assessment of Weight Loss Medications in a Veteran Population.

Background: Overweight and obesity are common in the veteran population. Medical management with semaglutide, orlistat, liraglutide, phentermine, phentermine/topiramate, and naltrexone/bupropion is increasingly common. This study expands on a 2021 study and evaluates medication effectiveness.

Acute stress and blockade of mineralocorticoid or glucocorticoid receptors: Effects on working memory.

Although early studies were able to demonstrate a negative impact of stress on working memory performance, present research findings are heterogeneous. Numerous further studies found no effects or even improved performance, with the direction of these stress effects likely depending on the underlying biological mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate receptor-specific effects, as part of the stress-induced cortisol response, on working memory performance.

Effects of stress-related neuromodulators on amygdala and hippocampus resting state functional connectivity.

Background: The human stress response is characterized by increases in neuromodulators, including norepinephrine (NE) and cortisol. Both neuromodulators can enter the brain and affect neurofunctional responses. Two brain areas associated with stress are the amygdala and the hippocampus.

Eight-year nationwide study of the bidirectional association between type 2 diabetes and depression in nearly 8 million German outpatients.

Introduction: Research linking type 2 diabetes and depression mostly relied on hospital-based diagnoses or prescription data, overlooking many outpatient diagnoses. We aimed to quantify the risks of depression in individuals newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in those newly diagnosed with depression, while exploring potential risk differences depending on age, sex, and follow-up time.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study using German nationwide outpatient claims data from 2012 to 2022.

The effects of yohimbine and hydrocortisone on selective attention to fearful faces: An fMRI study.

Introduction: Selective attention to salient emotional information can enable an advantage in the face of danger. The present study aims to investigate the influence of the stress neuromodulators, norepinephrine and cortisol, on selective attention processes to fearful faces and its neuronal activation.

Methods And Materials: We used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design.

Adipokines in depressed women with and without adverse childhood experiences.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) elevate the risk of both major depressive disorder (MDD) and metabolic diseases. The underlying pathophysiology might include alterations of adipokine levels as a consequence of ACE. In this study, we used a full-factorial design to investigate the levels of select adipokines in women with ACE-only (n = 23), MDD-only (n = 27), ACE+MDD (n = 25) and healthy controls (HC, n = 29) to identify metabolic makers associated with vulnerability and resilience of developing MDD after ACE exposure.

Depression and fatigue six months post-COVID-19 disease are associated with overlapping symptom constellations: A prospective, multi-center, population-based cohort study.

Background: Depression and fatigue are commonly observed sequelae following viral diseases such as COVID-19. Identifying symptom constellations that differentially classify post-COVID depression and fatigue may be helpful to individualize treatment strategies. Here, we investigated whether self-reported post-COVID depression and post-COVID fatigue are associated with the same or different symptom constellations.

Comparative effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depression in 43,061 older adults with chronic somatic diseases: A Danish target trial emulation study.

Objective: To investigate the comparative effectiveness of commonly used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for comorbid depression in older adults with chronic somatic diseases by applying a target-trial-emulation framework.

Methods: Danish target-trial-emulation study including 43,061 individuals aged ≥65 years (54.1% females, mean age 77.

The influence of pharmacological mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptor blockade on the cortisol response to psychological stress.

The glucocorticoid cortisol is the end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and crucial for the stress response in humans. Cortisol regulates numerous biological functions by binding to two different types of receptors: the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Both receptors are found in the brain where they are crucially involved in various mental functions and in feedback inhibition of cortisol release.

Effects of oral contraceptives on intrusive memories: a secondary analysis of two studies using the trauma film paradigm in healthy women.

Women are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men. Recent research suggests an impact of oral contraceptive (OC) intake on PTSD and intrusive memories, a hallmark symptom of PTSD. Although a majority of women use OCs at some point in their lives, the effects on PTSD pathogenesis are only poorly understood.

Causes, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of high lithium levels and intoxications: Retrospective analysis of patient records.

Background: The mood stabilizer lithium has a narrow therapeutic index with a relevant risk of intoxication. We used real-world hospital data to identify causes, treatment courses, and outcomes of high lithium levels and intoxications.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with a lithium concentration of ⩾1.

Efficacy and Safety of Antidepressants in Patients With Comorbid Depression and Medical Diseases: An Umbrella Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Every third to sixth patient with medical diseases receives antidepressants, but regulatory trials typically exclude comorbid medical diseases. Meta-analyses of antidepressants have shown small to medium effect sizes, but generalizability to clinical settings is unclear, where medical comorbidity is highly prevalent.

Objective: To perform an umbrella systematic review of the meta-analytic evidence and meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of antidepressant use in populations with medical diseases and comorbid depression.

Evidence of deviant parasympathetic response to social exclusion in women with borderline personality disorder.

Stressful social situations like social exclusion are particularly challenging for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and often lead to dysfunctional reactive behaviour of aggression and withdrawal. The autonomous signature of these core symptoms of BPD remains poorly understood. The present study investigated the parasympathetic response to social exclusion in women with BPD (n = 62) and healthy controls (HC; n = 87).

Treating nightmares in posttraumatic stress disorder with dronabinol: study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled study (THC PTSD-trial).

Background: Distressing nightmares are a core symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and contribute to psychiatric comorbidity, impaired physical health and decreased social functioning. No specific pharmacological treatment for PTSD-related nightmares is yet approved. Preliminary clinical data indicate that cannabinoid agonists can improve nightmares and overall PTSD symptoms in patients with PTSD.

Association between baseline dissociation levels and stress-induced state dissociation in patients with posttraumatic-stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, and major depressive disorder.

Introduction: Dissociative symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with trauma-related disorders such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD), and also occur in patients with depressive disorders. Acute dissociative states are theorized to be stress-related, and some individuals experience recurring patterns of dissociation. The relationship between the intensity of dissociative episodes (trait-like dissociation) and acute dissociative states, however, is incompletely understood.

Associations between individual depressive symptoms and immunometabolic characteristics in major depression.

Inflammation and metabolic dysregulations are likely to underlie atypical, energy-related depressive symptoms such as appetite and sleep alterations. Indeed, increased appetite was previously identified as a core symptom of an immunometabolic subtype of depression. The aim of this study was 1) to replicate the associations between individual depressive symptoms and immunometabolic markers, 2) to extend previous findings with additional markers, and 3) to evaluate the relative contribution of these markers to depressive symptoms.