Antidepressants - Articles - Page 6

SSRI Withdrawal

July 1, 2019

Withdrawal problems rank among patients’ top concerns with antidepressants. They include insomnia, flu-like symptoms, irritability, distractibility, and unusual sensory experiences such as “brain zaps.” Earlier this year, a study examined clinical and biological research on tapers of serotonergic antidepressants. In this episode we discuss what they found.Publication Date: 7/1/19Runtime: 8...

Treating Sexual Side Effects

May 8, 2019

Adam Strassberg, MD.

Adam Strassberg, MD. Psychiatrist in private practice in Palo Alto, CA. Dr. Strassberg has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Sexual side effects on SSRIs are so common that psychiatrist David Healy once argued these drugs more reliably lower libido than treat depression. Yet the problem isn’t limited to SSRIs, and it’s not unmanageable.

An Antidepressant Diet

May 8, 2019

Felice Jacka, MD

Felice Jacka, MD Professor at Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Director, Food and Mood Centre. Founder and President, International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. Dr. Jacka has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

We have a decade of observational evidence linking the quality of people’s diets to their risk for depression. Those findings were pretty consistent across countries, cultures, and age groups: A healthy diet is associated with an approximately 30% reduction in the risk for depression and a 40% improvement in cognition.

Prescribing Newer Antidepressants

May 3, 2019

Michael Gitlin, MD, director of the Outpatient Mood Disorder Program at UCLA gave The Carlat Psychiatry Report his view on newer antidepressants. He emphasized that these newer medications are no more effective than our standard antidepressants, but that it’s always good to have more options available for patients who may...

Trintellix and Cognition: A Closer Look

February 1, 2019

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.

You may have been hearing a lot of buzz about vortioxetine (Trintellix) and cognition. The FDA recently allowed a labeling change with this antidepressant that mentions specific benefits in cognitive symptoms of depression. Depressed patients tell us all the time how bad their memory is, and their concerns are valid.

Is Ketamine Just Another Opiate?

January 1, 2019

Michael Posternak, MD.

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

Ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects have now been demonstrated in over two dozen double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, but how it works is less clear. For many years, NMDA receptor antagonism was thought responsible, but other NMDA antagonists have not worked well in depression.

Treatment-Resistant Depression: Some Introductory Tips

July 1, 2018

Chris Aiken, MD

Chris Aiken, MD Editor-in-chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report 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.

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has a fairly low barrier of entry. Failure of 2 full antidepressant trials—lasting 6 weeks at a minimally effective dose—is enough to qualify. In this month’s issue of TCPR, we’ll highlight pharmacologic advances that are underutilized and debunk a few that are unlikely to be effective for TRD.

Antidepressant Augmentation Strategies: A Basic Guide

July 1, 2018

Chris Aiken, MD

Chris Aiken, MD Editor-in-chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC.

Here’s a common scenario. You have a patient who has tried three or four antidepressants over the years; all have been somewhat effective at least initially, but eventually that effectiveness waned.

A Look at the Latest Antidepressant Meta-Analysis

June 1, 2018

Adam Strassberg, MD

Adam Strassberg, MD Psychiatrist in private practice in Palo Alto, CA. Contributing writer to the Carlat newsletters. Dr. Strassberg has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

You may have read about the meta-analysis published in Lancet earlier this year on the efficacy evidence for all antidepressants (Cipriani A et al, Lancet 2018;391(10128):1357–1366). It’s a complicated paper, and in this article, we’ll take a closer look at it and give you our take on the bottom line.

Youth, Antidepressant Medications, and Type 2 Diabetes

May 1, 2018

Adam Strassberg, MD.

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

Over the last decade, several published studies have reported an increased risk of type 2 diabetes associated with antidepressant use in adults. But does the same hold true for children and adolescents?