[The usefulness of therapeutic drug monitoring during treatment with second-generation antidepressants].

Background: Although there is clear evidence that therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has beneficial effects for patients treated with tricyclic antidepressants, it is generally not recommended for second-generation antidepressants (SGA). However, it has been suggested that methodological shortcomings might influence the results in TDM studies with SGA.

Aim: A qualitative assessment of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that specifically investigated drug concentration-effect relationships of SGA in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to analyze the potential benefit of TDM during treatment with these agents.

[Complex dynamical systems in psychiatry: an integrative approach].

Background: Psychiatry may currently hold unprecedented knowledge in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric conditions. Yet, there is a widely held belief that this knowledge is not adequately integrated, nor does it fully account for the complexity of the phenomena under study.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a system-oriented and network-focused approach in capturing and integrating the complexity of psychiatric disorders.

Continuous theta burst stimulation for bipolar depression: A multicenter, double-blind randomized controlled study exploring treatment efficacy and predictive potential of kynurenine metabolites.

Background: While theta burst stimulation (TBS) shows promise in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), its effectiveness in bipolar depression (BD-D) remains uncertain. Optimizing treatment parameters is crucial in the pursuit of rapid symptom relief. Moreover, aligning with personalized treatment strategies and increased interest in immunopsychiatry, biomarker-based stratification of patients most likely to benefit from TBS might improve remission rates.

The effect of the cultural formulation interview on therapeutic working alliance: a study protocol.

Background: The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) is designed to improve understanding of patients' mental health care needs. The lack of empirical evidence on the impact and effectiveness of CFI use in clarifying people's perspectives, experiences, context, and identity, and in preventing cultural misunderstandings between migrant patients and clinicians, inspired this study. The objective is to examine the effect of the CFI on the strength of therapeutic working alliances, and the potential mediating or moderating role of perceived empathy.

Long-acting second-generation injectable antipsychotics for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder: a narrative review.

Introduction: Non-adherence to medication significantly affects bipolar disorder outcomes. Long-Acting Injectable antipsychotics show promise by ensuring adherence and averting relapses.

Areas Covered: This narrative review sought to evaluate the efficacy of second-generation injectable antipsychotics in bipolar disorder through searches in Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycInfo for randomized controlled trials and mirror-image studies.

Motor learning and performance in schizophrenia and aging: two different patterns of decline.

Psychomotor slowing has consistently been observed in schizophrenia, however research on motor learning in schizophrenia is limited. Additionally, motor learning in schizophrenia has never been compared with the waning of motor learning abilities in the elderly. Therefore, in an extensive study, 30 individuals with schizophrenia, 30 healthy age-matched controls and 30 elderly participants were compared on sensorimotor learning tasks including sequence learning and adaptation (both explicit and implicit), as well as tracking and aiming.

[Does ECT raise the risk of a recurrent stroke?].

Background: As the guidelines and evidence for the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with a recent or past history of stroke are unclear, ECT tends to be avoided in this population.

Aim: To give a systematic review the literature on the risk and incidence of cerebrovascular accidents after ECT in these patients.

Method: A systematic literature search was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines in PubMed and in the Cochrane Library.

Reviewing the neurobiology of electroconvulsive therapy on a micro- meso- and macro-level.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the one of the most effective of biological antidepressant interventions. However, the exact neurobiological mechanisms underlying the efficacy of ECT remain unclear. A gap in the literature is the lack of multimodal research that attempts to integrate findings at different biological levels of analysis METHODS: We searched the PubMed database for relevant studies.

An update on pharmacotherapy for recurrent depression in 2022.

Introduction: Major depressive disorder remains a major challenge due to its biopsychosocial burden with increased morbidity and mortality. Despite successful treatment options for the acute episode, recurrence rates are high, on average four times in a life span.

Areas Covered: Both pharmacological as non-pharmacological evidence-based therapeutic options to prevent and treat recurrent depression are discussed.

Differential effect of panic on the DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene exon 1F in chronic subjective tinnitus with distress.

Objective: Tinnitus can be regarded as a chronic stressor, leading to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. There is important comorbidity with anxiety, particularly panic, potentially associated with differences in HPA axis functioning and methylation patterns of HPA axis-related genes. This study examines DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene ( NR3C1 ) exon 1F in adults with chronic subjective tinnitus and the possible differential effect of panic.

Unlocking asylum seekers' voices: protocol of a mixed-method clinical study on the use of the cultural formulation interview with asylum seekers in Belgium.

Background: Despite a high prevalence of mental disorders among asylum seekers, many barriers to mental healthcare exist. Cultural and contextual factors strongly influence the experience and expression of psychological distress, putting asylum seekers at greater risk of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) is a useful tool to map out cultural and contextual factors of mental disorders; however, to the best of our knowledge, it has not yet been investigated in asylum seekers specifically.

White matter changes following electroconvulsive therapy for depression: a multicenter ComBat harmonization approach.

ECT is proposed to exert a therapeutic effect on WM microstructure, but the limited power of previous studies made it difficult to highlight consistent patterns of change in diffusion metrics. We initiated a multicenter analysis and sought to address whether changes in WM microstructure occur following ECT. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data (n = 58) from 4 different sites were harmonized before pooling them by using ComBat, a batch-effect correction tool that removes inter-site technical variability, preserves inter-site biological variability, and maximizes statistical power.

Cognitive performance among older adults with psychotic depression compared to non-psychotic depression.

It remains unclear whether psychotic depression (PD) compared to non-psychotic depression (non-PD) among older adults is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For inpatients (60+) with a major depressive episode, cognitive performance in PD and non-PD (categorical) were compared as well as the relationship between symptom severity for depression and psychosis (dimensional) and cognition. Of 90 participants (on average 72.

Cognitive trajectories during and after electroconvulsive therapy in patients with MDE: Taking different perspectives.

Cognitive function during an ECT care pathway is mainly investigated at the group level by analyzing mean cognitive test scores over time. However, there are important inter-individual differences, with some patients experiencing residual invalidating cognitive deficits. This study provides a nuanced examination of cognitive functioning during and after ECT by combining three approaches for data analysis.

[Barriers in mental health care for asylum seekers].

Background  Despite high prevalence of psychopathology, the use of mental health services by asylum seekers seems low. Barriers to care may play an important role in this. Aim  To explore the barriers in mental health care for adult and adolescent asylum seekers and their care providers in high-income countries.

Substance Use Disorders as a Critical Element for Decision-Making in Forensic Assertive Community Treatment: A Systematic Review.

The prevalence of substance use disorders in forensic populations is high. They are an important factor linked to negative outcomes in mentally ill offenders and are detrimental to forensic or non-forensic outcome measures. In contrast, substance use disorders are often underdiagnosed and undertreated, especially in forensic settings.

The Role of Kynurenines in Cognitive Dysfunction in Bipolar Disorder.

Introduction: Chronic low-grade inflammation is suggested to play a pathophysiological role in bipolar disorder (BD) and its related cognitive dysfunctions. Although kynurenine (KYN) pathway metabolites are key inflammatory mediators, studies investigating the association between KYN metabolism and cognition in BD are scarce. We aimed to explore the relationship between KYN metabolism and cognitive functioning across different mood states in BD.

Impaired Sensorimotor Adaption in Schizophrenia in Comparison to Age-Matched and Elderly Controls.

Background: The "cognitive dysmetria hypothesis" of schizophrenia proposes a disrupted communication between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, resulting in sensorimotor and cognitive symptoms. Sensorimotor adaptation relies strongly on the function of the cerebellum.

Objectives: This study investigated whether sensorimotor adaptation is reduced in schizophrenia compared with age-matched and elderly healthy controls.

Evaluation of a new online cognitive assessment tool in breast cancer survivors with cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Currently cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is mainly assessed by means of questionnaires, which is very laborious for the patients and the supervising physician. We evaluated a new online cognitive assessment tool, the MyCognition Quotient (MyCQ, Cambridge) in breast cancer survivors with CRCI, and compared the results with a psychometric test measuring cognitive complaints, depression, and anxiety.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, 46 adult patients between 18 and 70 years old with a diagnosis of BC were studied, all complaining of disturbing cognitive impairment.

Movement, mood and cognition: Preliminary insights into the therapeutic effects of electroconvulsive therapy for depression through a resting-state connectivity analysis.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment for depression but how it achieves its clinical effects remains unclear.

Methods: We set out to study the brain's response to ECT from a large-scale brain-network perspective. Using a voxelwise analysis, we looked at resting-state functional connectivity before and after a course of ECT at the whole-brain and the between- and within-network levels in 17 patients with a depressive episode.

Inflammatory Markers May Inform the Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Cognition in Patients with Depression.

Introduction: The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the acute cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remain poorly understood. Prior research has shown that proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, IL1-β, and IL-10 may interfere with cognitive functioning. Interestingly, immunomodulation is one of the proposed modes of action of ECT.