Exploratory genome-wide analyses of cortical inhibition, facilitation, and plasticity in late-life depression.

Late-life depression (LLD) is a heterogenous mood disorder influenced by genetic factors. Cortical physiological processes such as cortical inhibition, facilitation, and plasticity may be markers of illness that are more strongly associated with genetic factors than the clinical phenotype. Thus, exploring the relationship between genetic factors and these physiological processes may help to characterize the biological mechanisms underlying LLD and improve diagnosis and treatment selection.

Effect of prior pharmacotherapy on remission with sequential bilateral theta-burst versus standard bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment-resistant late-life depression.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is used for treatment of late-life depression. In the FOUR-D study, sequential bilateral theta-burst stimulation (TBS) had comparable remission rates to standard bilateral rTMS. Data were analysed from the FOUR-D trial to compare remission rates between two types of rTMS based on the number and class of prior medication trials.

Differential Placebo Responses for Pharmacotherapy and Neurostimulation in Late-Life Depression.

Background: The magnitude of the placebo response depends on both the modality used as the "placebo" and the intervention with which it is compared, both of which can complicate the interpretation of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for depression in late life. Given that neurostimulation and pharmacotherapy are among the most common interventions studied for late-life depression, comparing the relative placebo responses in studies of these interventions can aid interpretation of relative effect sizes.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed data from two RCTs of adults aged ≥60 years in an episode of treatment-resistant major depression, one comparing aripiprazole and matching placebo pills and the other comparing deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and sham rTMS.

Hypertension and orthostatic hypotension with venlafaxine treatment in depressed older adults.

Background: Venlafaxine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is often used as first- or second-line therapy for depression in older adults. It can be associated with adverse blood pressure (BP) effects.

Methods: Adults ⩾60 years of age in a current major depressive episode were treated in a protocolized manner with venlafaxine XR; 429 participants were treated for 8-16 weeks with a daily dose up to 300 mg to achieve remission from depression.