Diseases
November 3, 2023
Kainat Riaz, Sejal Suneel, Mohammad Hamza Bin Abdul Malik et al.
16 citations
Half of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not respond to traditional therapies. A review of six phase II randomized controlled trials indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can reduce PTSD symptoms even in treatment-resistant cases. MDMA appears to work by increasing neurohormones such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and oxytocin, and by modulating brain regions involved in fear and anxiety. The FDA has granted MDMA-assisted psychotherapy a "breakthrough therapy" designation. Further research is needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks and how it might fit into existing PTSD treatment options.
European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
April 1, 2025
Eduard Vieta, Nahida Ahmed, Celso Arango et al.
12 citations
Patients with treatment-resistant depression who received esketamine nasal spray experienced 43.2% more weeks with functional remission over 32 weeks compared to those taking quetiapine extended release, a difference of 2.0 weeks. Esketamine also led to an 11.9% reduction in productivity loss due to absenteeism and a 14.2% reduction in overall work productivity loss. Both treatments were taken alongside an ongoing SSRI or SNRI. The findings suggest that esketamine provides greater improvements in daily functioning and workplace productivity for this patient group.
Journal of clinical medicine
August 14, 2024
Lorenzo Moccia, Giovanni Bartolucci, Maria Pepe et al.
7 citations
In a small preliminary study of 18 patients with treatment-resistant depression given esketamine nasal spray for one month, those who responded to treatment (44.5% of the sample, defined by at least a 30% reduction in depression scores) had lower heart rate variability at baseline compared to non-responders. After one month of treatment, responders' heart rate variability increased. Baseline heart rate variability showed potential to discriminate between responders and non-responders. The findings suggest a link between esketamine treatment and changes in autonomic function measured by heart rate variability, but larger studies are needed to confirm heart rate variability as a predictor of treatment response.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
March 31, 2024
Maria Pepe, Marco Di Nicola, Fabrizio Cocciolillo et al.
6 citations
The psychoactive substance 3-MeO-PCP, a type of NMDA receptor antagonist, can cause persistent psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment. A literature review and case report describe a 29-year-old man who developed substance-induced psychotic disorder after small oral intakes over two weeks, culminating in a high dose. Psychometric tests, neuropsychological assessment, and brain PET-CT imaging revealed lasting effects. Identifying the clinical features and neural substrates of NPS-induced psychoses may help distinguish them from other psychotic disorders and guide tailored treatments.
Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy
March 1, 2024
Georgios D Kotzalidis, Federica Fiaschè, Alessandro Alcibiade et al.
3 citations
Suicidal behavior is common among people with bipolar disorder and is the leading cause of death in this group, with rates remaining high despite standard treatments like lithium, antidepressants, and psychotherapy. A review of PubMed identified few studies on acute suicidality and lithium or clozapine, but 14 studies on ketamine, esketamine, or glutamate-related treatments. Glutamatergic abnormalities are present in both bipolar disorder and suicide. The NMDA antagonist ketamine and its S-enantiomer esketamine appear to decrease acute suicidality, possibly by rapidly remodeling glutamate activity. Intranasal esketamine or subcutaneous ketamine, and possibly other glutamate receptor modulators, may improve suicidal behavior in unipolar and bipolar depression, suggesting glutamatergic modulators could reduce acute suicidality and mortality in bipolar disorder.
Preprints.org
Kainat Riaz, Sejal Suneel, Mohammad Hamza Bin Abdul Malik et al.
1 citation
preprint
Half of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not respond to standard pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. A review of six phase II randomized controlled trials indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can reduce PTSD symptoms, even in treatment-resistant cases, by increasing neurohormones such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and oxytocin and by modulating brain regions involved in fear and anxiety. The FDA has granted MDMA-assisted psychotherapy a "Breakthrough Therapy" designation. Further research is needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks and whether this approach can be integrated into existing treatment options.
Eating and weight disorders : EWD
February 1, 2022
Lorenzo Moccia, Eliana Conte, Marianna Ambrosecchia et al.
People with anorexia nervosa-restrictive subtype experience more anomalous self-experiences (ASEs), such as a disturbed sense of self, than healthy controls. These ASEs directly contribute to eating disorder severity, and this relationship is partly explained by an abnormal body image attitude. The findings suggest that a disturbed self-experience may underlie both body image distortions and eating disorder symptoms in this condition, pointing to the need for broader exploration of self-disorder as a transdiagnostic feature.