Journal of clinical medicine
March 17, 2024
Ane Larrea, Laura Sánchez-Sánchez, Eguzkiñe Diez-Martin et al.
21 citations
Mitochondrial dysfunction is central to the onset and progression of major depressive disorder (MDD), causing imbalances in energy production and oxidative stress. Identifying mitochondrial biomarkers could enable more objective and precise diagnosis than symptom-based methods. Traditional antidepressants have limits, but emerging pharmacological treatments such as ketamine/esketamine, psychedelics, and anti-inflammatories show potential for rapid antidepressant effects by modulating neuroplasticity and motor processing. Non-pharmacological approaches like transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation also offer alternatives by modulating neuronal activity. A SWOT analysis highlights key challenges for these approaches.
Journal of clinical medicine
April 24, 2025
Weronika Kisielewska, Michał Kościółek, Weronika Kowalczyk et al.
16 citations
About 80% of adult patients experience preoperative anxiety. This review describes pharmacological options such as benzodiazepines, ketamine, fentanyl, and antidepressants (which require four weeks to take effect) and nonpharmacological methods including supportive relationships with medical staff, informed consent forms, video materials, virtual reality, breathing techniques, music therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and essential oils. Nonpharmacological interventions can be used across ages. Many researchers advocate for a holistic approach integrating less invasive, cost-effective interventions with conventional medicine. More research is needed to determine the most effective and feasible interventions for different patient populations.
Journal of clinical medicine
June 6, 2023
Maria Eduarda Sodré, Isabel Wießner, Muna Irfan et al.
15 citations
Sleep is increasingly understood as a local brain phenomenon, not just a whole-brain process, with different states of consciousness—wakefulness, sleep onset, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep—able to occur simultaneously, leading to dissociative states. These are classified as physiological (daydreaming, lucid dreaming, false awakenings), pathological (sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, REM sleep behavior disorder), and altered (hypnosis, anesthesia, psychedelics). The article reviews the neurophysiology and phenomenology of these states, concluding that their study is important for understanding consciousness and treating neuropsychiatric diseases.
Journal of clinical medicine
May 12, 2023
Severin Ableidinger, Brigitte Holzinger
13 citations
Sleep paralysis and lucid dreams are both connected to REM sleep but differ in emotional tone and perceived controllability. A review of 10 studies, mostly surveys plus a case study, a randomized trial, and an EEG study, found positive and significant correlations between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming in most of the studies, indicating a connection between the two states. Research remains limited and methodologically diverse, and future work should develop standardized methods for examining both phenomena.
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.
Journal of clinical medicine
June 3, 2024
Malvika Godara, Tania Singer
5 citations
Two brief online mental interventions—attention-focused mindfulness and socio-emotional partner-based practice—were compared over 10 weeks in 253 participants. Both interventions led to week-to-week reductions in rumination and increases in psychological flexibility. Only attention-based practice reduced worry over time, and only the partner-based practice increased affective control. Mediation analyses found no significant indirect effects, but exploratory moderation showed that reductions in depression and anxiety and increases in resilience were predicted by weekly increases in acceptance and affective control in the partner-based group, and by weekly reductions in rumination and worry in the mindfulness group. The findings suggest distinct active ingredients for each practice.
Journal of clinical medicine
May 31, 2023
Karin Matko, Meike Burzynski, Maximilian Pilhatsch et al.
5 citations
An 8-week yoga-based mind-body intervention, Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), reduced pain intensity and improved quality of life and pain self-efficacy in most of 17 women with chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, or migraines. The largest improvement was in pain self-efficacy, followed by average pain intensity and quality of life, with a smaller effect on most severe pain. Responses varied among participants, suggesting the intervention helps many but not all. The authors call for larger controlled trials and further exploration of yoga's ethical and philosophical aspects.
Journal of clinical medicine
December 19, 2023
Hayley Smithers-Sheedy, Emma Waight, Katherine L Swinburn et al.
4 citations
A modified telehealth Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for adults with cerebral palsy who had elevated anxiety or emotion regulation difficulties did not produce a statistically significant between-group difference in mindfulness scores compared with a wait-list group. However, within the MBSR group, participants showed improvements in depression, stress, and emotion regulation that were maintained eight weeks after the program ended. The program was successfully adapted for this population. The trial included 31 participants with no or mild intellectual impairment who attended 90-minute weekly sessions for nine weeks.
Journal of clinical medicine
June 16, 2025
Gisèle Pickering, Marion Voute, Marc Sorel et al.
2 citations
A one-year observational study of 585 chronic pain patients found no sex or age differences in how well ketamine relieved pain, anxiety, or depression. Women reported more adverse events than men (19% vs. 13%). Among 329 patients who received two or more doses, no sex or age differences appeared. A single ketamine dose may be more effective for men than women, particularly younger men.
Journal of clinical medicine
January 3, 2025
Adam Saloň, Karin Schmid-Zalaudek, Bianca Steuber et al.
2 citations
A pilot study of cardiac patients after heart surgery compared standard exercise therapy with groups that added 20 minutes of yoga or transcendental meditation twice daily during four weeks of rehabilitation. Retinal microcirculation—measured as central retinal artery equivalent, central retinal vein equivalent, and artery-to-vein ratio from non-mydriatic retinal images—showed no significant differences among the three groups over the course of rehabilitation. The authors conclude that neither yoga nor meditation produced measurable changes in retinal microcirculation in this setting, but suggest the findings provide preliminary information for future research on these underutilized approaches in cardiac rehabilitation.
Journal of clinical medicine
December 18, 2024
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
2 citations
Several innovative, mostly non-invasive treatments for depression during pregnancy and postpartum are emerging. Integrative approaches such as vitamin D, infant massage, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, acupuncture, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation show promise for perinatal women without medication side effects, and can be used alongside standard care. Two new medications, brexanolone and esketamine, quickly treat severe depression by targeting GABA and glutamate receptors rather than serotonin or norepinephrine, though their effectiveness diminishes after 30 days and they can be combined with SSRIs. Pregnant and postpartum women now have more options beyond psychotherapy and antidepressants.
Journal of clinical medicine
January 28, 2024
Gniewko Więckiewicz, Iga Florczyk, Maciej Stokłosa et al.
1 citation
Among 703 users of illegal psychoactive substances surveyed online, intensity of substance use correlated positively with the risk and severity of prodromal psychosis symptoms. Early exposure to psychoactive substances increased the risk of heavy use in adulthood and more frequent prodromal states. The most popular drugs were tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products, MDMA, amphetamines, and LSD. 39.8% of respondents had been treated by a psychiatrist. A significant correlation was found between the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test and the Prodromal Questionnaire Brief Version scores.
Journal of clinical medicine
October 24, 2025
Adriano Dos-Santos, Lucas Porto Fernandes Dos Santos, Gabriela Da Silva-Santos et al.
Chronic ketamine exposure in rats elevates systolic blood pressure and impairs baroreflex sensitivity and heart rate variability. Six weeks of treadmill-based aerobic training, performed three times per week alongside ketamine administration (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), attenuated these cardiovascular impairments. Trained rats receiving ketamine showed improved baroreflex sensitivity (bradycardic reflex: -1.3 ± 0.1) and preserved heart rate variability (total power: 38.9 ± 8.4) compared to sedentary ketamine-treated rats (bradycardic reflex: -0.7 ± 0.1; total power: 18.3 ± 2.1). The findings suggest aerobic exercise may serve as a non-pharmacological strategy to counteract ketamine-induced cardiotoxicity.