BMC Psychiatry
April 7, 2006
307 citations
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), an 8-week course combining meditation and cognitive theory, was tested with 13 primary care patients experiencing active depression and anxiety. Three months after the course, most patients found the training acceptable and beneficial, though many felt the course was too short and needed follow-up. More than half continued using mindfulness techniques. A minority still had significant distress, especially anxiety. Mean depression scores fell from 35.7 to 17.8, and mean anxiety scores from 32.0 to 20.5. Improvements occurred in 72% of patients for depression and 63% for anxiety. MBCT may help treat active depression and anxiety in primary care.
BMC Psychiatry
July 31, 2018
Timothy I. Michaels, Jennifer Purdon, Alexis Collins et al.
256 citations
Minorities are greatly underrepresented in psychedelic medicine studies, so reported treatment outcomes may not apply to all ethnic and cultural groups. Including minorities in future studies and improving recruitment strategies are necessary to understand how well psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy works for people of color and to ensure equal opportunities for all to participate in this potentially promising treatment.
BMC Psychiatry
October 31, 2021
Nagahide Takahashi, Aya Yamada, Ayako Shiraishi et al.
56 citations
In a Phase 2b randomized controlled trial of Japanese adults with treatment-resistant depression, adding esketamine nasal spray (28, 56, or 84 mg) to a new oral antidepressant did not significantly improve depressive symptoms more than placebo plus antidepressant. At day 28, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores decreased by about 15 points in all groups, including placebo. Common side effects from esketamine included increased blood pressure, dissociation, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, numbness, vertigo, and headache, each occurring more than twice as often as with placebo. The authors conclude that efficacy was not established and further research is needed.
BMC Psychiatry
June 2, 2020
J. Phillips, N. Jaworska, Elizabeth Kamler et al.
22 citations
A multi-centre trial across four Canadian institutions will compare intravenous ketamine infusions with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treating major depressive episodes in 240 patients with major depressive or bipolar disorder. Patients are randomized to either ECT or ketamine three times per week for three to four weeks; non-responders cross over to the other treatment. Responders enter a six-month maintenance phase. The primary outcome is change in depression severity scores assessed by blinded raters. The study aims to identify clinical, molecular, and imaging predictors of response to each treatment.
BMC Psychiatry
October 28, 2019
Rafael G. Dos Santos, José Carlos Bouso, Jaime E. C. Hallak
17 citations
A commentary expands on a prior review of treatments for psychiatric conditions in end-stage cancer patients, noting that evidence for classic hallucinogens like psilocybin and LSD was omitted. It briefly reviews recent placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over clinical trials showing that single or few doses of LSD and psilocybin were associated with rapid and sustained reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with end-stage cancer and other life-threatening diseases, such as Bechterew's, Parkinson's, and Celiac disease. The authors suggest these substances appear well tolerated and produce rapid therapeutic effects with few doses, and call for large-scale, prospective, multi-site studies to better understand their therapeutic potential.
BMC Psychiatry
January 2, 2024
Minna Chang, Mario F Juruena, Allan H Young
16 citations
Ketamine, a promising antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression, can cause ulcerative cystitis—a bladder condition with lower urinary tract symptoms and potential kidney damage seen in over 25% of regular recreational users. This condition, known as ketamine-induced cystitis (KIC), had not been reported in therapeutic use until now. A 28-year-old woman developed KIC symptoms after starting ketamine for depression, confirmed by urine tests. Early diagnosis and stopping ketamine can improve symptoms and prevent further harm. This is the first reported case of KIC in a patient receiving treatment-dose ketamine for depression.
BMC Psychiatry
February 28, 2025
John Perna, Justin Trop, Roman Palitsky et al.
15 citations
A case report describes tensions between legal and underground psychedelic use within therapy training programs, psychiatry, and neo-shamanism. It details how psychiatric interventions like electroconvulsive therapy and energy medicine were used to address prolonged adverse effects from psychedelics. The report urges clinicians to recognize conflicts between psychiatric views of these adverse effects and frameworks in psychedelic communities, which can affect patients' symptoms, decisions, and emotional struggles.
BMC Psychiatry
January 10, 2024
Abhinandan Jain, Vladimir Adrien, Pattie Maes et al.
9 citations
Depression affects over 300 million people globally, and current treatments have limited effectiveness. Aesthetic chills—peak emotional experiences involving shivers or goosebumps—may shift maladaptive beliefs in depression by influencing reward pathways. In a study of 96 people with major depressive disorder, chill-inducing multimedia positively influenced core self-related beliefs, as measured by the Young Positive Schema Questionnaire. The phenomenology of chills resembled altered states from psychedelics like psilocybin. These preliminary results suggest aesthetic chills could become a non-pharmacological intervention for depression, though more research on neurophysiology, practicality, and safety is needed.
BMC Psychiatry
June 20, 2020
6 citations
Mindfulness practice groups are an acceptable therapeutic intervention for patients in psychiatric rehabilitation, most of whom have treatment-resistant psychosis. Around two-thirds of in-patients attended at least one group, and about a third attended regularly. No measurable impact on well-being was detected using the Warwick-Edinburgh well-being scale. Qualitative interviews indicated benefits for individuals and potential to improve the therapeutic culture on wards. The findings suggest that further research into the effectiveness of mindfulness for treatment-resistant psychosis is warranted.
BMC Psychiatry
March 17, 2026
2 citations
In real-world clinical settings, intranasal esketamine shows effectiveness for treatment-resistant depression, with response varying based on patient characteristics. The text describes factors associated with treatment response but does not specify which factors or provide concrete numbers.
BMC Psychiatry
January 4, 2026
Carl D. Marci, Kruti Joshi, Stevan Geoffrey Severtson et al.
2 citations
Among 163 patients with treatment-resistant depression treated with esketamine nasal spray in real-world US settings, depressive symptoms improved significantly over six months. Average PHQ-9 scores dropped by 3.2 points within the first three months and by 4.4 points between three and six months after starting treatment. The proportion of patients with moderately severe or severe depression fell from 55.8% at baseline to 37.1% at three months and 25.0% at six months, while the share with minimal or mild depression increased. These findings suggest esketamine, approved in 2019 for treatment-resistant depression, is effective outside clinical trials.