Diffusion MRI derived free-water imaging measures in patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic siblings.

Free-water imaging is a diffusion MRI technique that separately models water diffusion hindered by fiber tissue and water that disperses freely in the extracellular space. Studies using this technique have shown that schizophrenia is characterized by a lower level of fractional anisotropy of the tissue compartment (FA) and higher free-water fractional volume (FW). It is unknown, however, whether such abnormalities are an expression of pre-existing (genetic) risk for schizophrenia or a manifestation of the illness.

Interhemispheric connectivity and hemispheric specialization in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings.

Hemispheric integration and specialization are two prominent organizational principles for macroscopic brain function. Impairments of interhemispheric cooperation have been reported in schizophrenia patients, but whether such abnormalities should be attributed to effects of illness or familial risk remains inconclusive. Moreover, it is unclear how abnormalities in interhemispheric connectivity impact hemispheric specialization.

Lithium augmentation compared with phenelzine in treatment-resistant depression in the elderly: an open, randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Up to a third of elderly patients with major depressive disorder do not respond to a first course of treatment with an antidepressant. There is a lack of controlled studies evaluating therapies for treatment-resistant depression in late-life depression, and no randomized controlled studies assessing the efficacy and tolerability of lithium augmentation in elderly patients have been published.

Method: Twenty-nine elderly inpatients with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria who had previously failed to respond to 1 or more adequate trials with a tricyclic antidepressant or venlafaxine were included in a 6-week, open, randomized, controlled study with a 2-year follow-up.

Venlafaxine versus nortriptyline in the treatment of elderly depressed inpatients: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial.

Background: The majority of the trials in the elderly are outpatient trials which excluded psychotic patients and patients with common comorbid physical disorders. Consequently information is lacking about the more complex cases of elderly depressed patients, as found in inpatient wards.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of two antidepressants, venlafaxine and nortriptyline, in a clinically representative sample of elderly depressed inpatients.