Melancholia as Predictor of Electroconvulsive Therapy Outcome in Later Life.

Objectives: In clinical practice, particularly melancholic depression benefits from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), albeit research melancholia criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is not conclusive. We compared clinical characteristics and ECT outcome of melancholic and nonmelancholic depression, here defined by psychomotor symptoms.

Methods: One hundred ten depressed older in-patients treated with ECT were included in the Mood Disorders in Elderly treated with ECT study.

Efficacy of Tranylcypromine in Bipolar Depression: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Currently, there is a paucity of treatment options with limited efficacy for bipolar depression. The monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine might be an effective form of treatment. The current systematic review reassesses the efficacy and safety of tranylcypromine in bipolar depression.

The prevalence and management of side effects of lithium and anticonvulsants as mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder from a clinical perspective: a review.

Side effects are among the most frequent reasons preventing patients from taking their medication. Although the management of side effects is an important issue in clinical practice, particularly in patients with physical comorbidities, research on clinical management of side effects is rather scattered. The aim of this article was to provide an overview on the prevalence and management of various side effects of mood-stabilizing drugs.

Electroconvulsive therapy after eye surgery.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is known to increase intraocular pressure (IOP). Data on the safety of ECT in patients after eye surgery remain scarce, and data on the influence of modern anesthetic drugs on IOP during an ECT procedure are lacking.

Methods: We describe the case of a 49-year old woman, treated with ECT for depression, 13 days after phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation.

Measuring catatonia: a systematic review of rating scales.

Background: Despite a growing scientific and clinical interest in catatonia, its precise definition remains debated.

Aim: The aim of this study was to offer a systematic review of the different rating scales that have been developed to assess catatonia in clinical practice.

Methods: A Medline-search was performed, up to December 2010.

What we have learned about electroconvulsive therapy and its relevance for the practising psychiatrist.

In this narrative review, the current knowledge base on the efficacy and the practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is reviewed, and its relevance for the practising psychiatrist is appreciated. In the past decade, several large-scale studies have confirmed the significant superiority of ECT in the treatment of severe and refractory psychiatric conditions, such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. However, the efficacy of ECT is not reflected in current treatment algorithms, where ECT is often reserved as a last resort.

Metabolic parameters in the short- and long-term treatment of schizophrenia with sertindole or risperidone.

The presence of the metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The short- and long-term metabolic safety of sertindole was compared to that of risperidone in a subset of patients enrolled in the sertindole cohort prospective (SCoP) study, an open randomized study. In 261 randomized patients, there were moderate increases in mean weight, BMI, and waist circumference during treatment with either sertindole or risperidone; after 12 weeks, the increase in weight was 1.

Psychiatric diagnosis as an independent risk factor for metabolic disturbances: results from a comprehensive, naturalistic screening program.

Objective: Unconfounded differences in inherent vulnerability to metabolic disturbance may be hypothesized for different diagnostic groups with severe mental illness.

Method: A naturalistic cohort of patients diagnosed with DSM-IV bipolar disorder (N = 112), schizophrenia (N = 503), and schizoaffective disorder (N = 92) were assessed for metabolic disturbances. The prospective inclusions started in November 2003 and were concluded in July 2007.

The association between cognition and functional outcome in first-episode patients with schizophrenia: mystery resolved?

Objective: The presence of a prospective association between cognition and functional outcome in first episode patients with schizophrenia is much debated.

Method: Associations between Intelligence Quotient (IQ) measures and functional outcome were assessed at the first hospitalization and after 10 years follow-up.

Results: Functional outcome was associated with estimated premorbid IQ and IQ at 10-year follow-up, but not with IQ assessed at first hospitalization.