Antidepressants - Articles - Page 4

How to Select an SSRI

November 12, 2020

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of TCPR. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Aiken has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

After digging through 3 decades of research, we can tell you this: There is no such thing as “the best” SSRI. But there are some important differences between them, and this article will show you how to find the right one for your patient.

EXPERT Q&A

Duty to Warn? Debating Antidepressant Suicidality

October 30, 2020

Martha J. Ignaszewski, MD and Glen Spielmans, PhD

Martha J. Ignaszewski, MD
Fellow, University of California, San Francisco

Glen Spielmans, PhD
Professor of Psychology, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN

Dr. Ignaszewski and Dr. Spielmans have disclosed that they have no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

For 16 years, since the FDA black box warning about suicidality with antidepressants, our community has been quoting data that downplays this concern. We were wrong. We were deceived. Antidepressants can be lifesaving, but there really is a duty to warn. Drs. Martha Ignazewski and Glen Speilmans talk with us about what went on and how to talk about it with our families.

Which Medications Have the Lowest Risk of Side Effects?

October 30, 2020

Pavan Madan, MD.

Pavan Madan, MD. Dr. Madan has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

When we choose medications, we typically think that we are paying attention to risks and benefits. But what happens when we just look through the lens of side effects? An entirely different picture emerges of what medications might be the better picks. You will be surprised and intrigued by this review of a very helpful study that will probably change your prescribing patterns.

Keeping Up With Trintellix

October 6, 2020

Michael Posternak, MD.

Michael Posternak, MD. Psychiatrist in private practice, Boston, MA. Dr. Posternak has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Not satisfied with its claim to improve cognitive features of depression, Trintellix has ventured into new therapeutic arenas. Sometimes with success, sometimes with failure, we review where this novel antidepressant stands in schizophrenia, anxiety, cognitive decline, ADHD, sexual dysfunction, and binge eating disorder.

Mood and Menopause

October 6, 2020

Ruta Nonacs, MD, PhD

Ruta Nonacs, MD, PhD
Ruta Nonacs practices psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Clinical Research Program. She has published original research on peripartum mood disorders and is the author of A Deeper Shade of Blue: A Woman’s Guide to Recognizing and Treating Depression in Her Childbearing Years (Simon & Schuster). Dr. Nonacs has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Ruta Nonacs names the antidepressants that work best for menopausal depression and when to move to hormonal therapies. And for adolescents and young adults, she tells us which birth control pills are least likely to worsen mood.

Antidepressants in Bipolar [60 Sec Psych]

May 28, 2020

Do they help? Do they harm? And can mood stabilizers protect patients who take them? A review of Bahji A, Ermacora D, Stephenson C, Hawken ER, Vazquez G. Comparative efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological treatments for the treatment of acute bipolar depression: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Affect...

Trazodone: The Forgotten Antidepressant

May 7, 2020

Eugene Rubin, MD

Eugene Rubin, MD Private practice, Bingham Farms, MI. Dr. Rubin has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Trazodone is rarely used as an antidepressant, and that’s a missed opportunity. It lacks the weight gain, sleep disruption, and sexual side effects that so many antidepressants cause. In this article are two important dosing tips that can make it work better.

How to Dose an Antidepressant

April 3, 2020

Some antidepressants get better as the dose goes higher, while others just fizzle. For older patients, the side effects stack up as the benefits plateau. We review 3 new meta-analyses on antidepressant dosing, and bring you 4 updates on how the coronavirus is changing practice regulation.Date Published: 3/30/2020Duration: 27 minutes,...

The Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project

March 30, 2020

David Osser, MD

David Osser, MD

General Editor of the Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project at the Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University. Dr. Osser has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Dr. Osser set out to develop a psychopharmacology algorithm that actually changes practice. He speaks to us on antidepressants in bipolar, psychoses that don’t need antipsychotics, and his top picks for bipolar mania, bipolar depression, and unipolar depression.

Optimal Antidepressant Doses in Major Depression

March 9, 2020

Kristen Gardner, PharmD.

Kristen Gardner, PharmD. Dr. Gardner has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

More is not necessarily better in psychopharmacology. Some medications have plateau effect, while others follow a “U-shaped curve,” causing more problems as the dose goes too high. This metaanalysis looked at 77 dose-response trials with antidepressants to quantify their optimal therapeutic window.