Depression and Anxiety
April 17, 2013
Anthony P. King, Thane M. Erickson, Nicholas D. Giardino et al.
258 citations
Group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) adapted for combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is feasible, acceptable, and associated with clinically meaningful reductions in PTSD symptom severity, particularly avoidance and numbing symptoms, and trauma-related cognitions such as self-blame. In an outpatient VA clinic, veterans with chronic PTSD who completed an 8-week MBCT group showed significant improvement on clinician-rated PTSD symptoms, whereas those in brief treatment-as-usual did not. Homework compliance was good, and drop-out rates were modest. The findings suggest MBCT as a brief adjunctive therapy for combat PTSD, but randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm efficacy.
Depression and Anxiety
August 1, 2016
S. Sassano-Higgins, D. Baron, Grace Juarez et al.
200 citations
Ketamine, discovered in the 1960s and released in 1970, is used clinically for analgesia and sedation, and more recently for pain, asthma, and depression. It causes dissociation and emergence delirium, leading to recreational abuse. While death from direct pharmacological effects is rare, disinhibition and altered perceptions increase risk of environmental harm and nonconsensual sexual intercourse. Chronic use may impair memory and cause persistent dissociative, depressive, and delusional thinking, as well as lower urinary tract symptoms, cystitis, and gastric and hepatic pathology including abnormal liver function tests and bile duct dilations. S-ketamine shows hepatotoxicity in vitro. Abstinence is the mainstay treatment; specialized urine testing may be needed for detection.
Depression and Anxiety
March 7, 2007
Heather Durdle, Leslie H. Lundahl, Chris‐ellyn Johanson et al.
34 citations
Among 226 MDMA users, 11.5% met lifetime criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. No association was found between the number of MDMA uses and major depression. However, those with lifetime major depression had higher rates of lifetime cannabis use disorder (adjusted odds ratio 2.40). Logistic regression indicated that lifetime cannabis use disorder, but not MDMA use, was significantly associated with lifetime Major Depressive Disorder. For females, a lifetime cannabis use disorder was strongly associated with major depression (adjusted odds ratio 4.99), while for males, neither drug use variable was associated with major depression.
Depression and Anxiety
August 19, 2023
Anna J. Harvey, Stevan Nikolin, Nicholas Chand et al.
4 citations
A single dose of ketamine, compared to an active control (midazolam), did not produce significant changes in most measures of emotional or cognitive processing in people with treatment-resistant depression one day after treatment. However, participants who received ketamine showed a significant improvement on a test of negative processing bias, though this improvement was not significantly linked to changes in depressive symptoms. The study was small and exploratory, and larger trials are needed to confirm the finding.