It seems that not a week goes by without another research paper drawing attention to the interface between immunology and psychiatry, or about biomarkers to predict response to psychotropic medications. A recent report from researchers at Emory University weighs in on both of these issues.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, was approved by the FDA for treatment of major depression in October 2008. A newly published observational study evaluating the effectiveness of TMS treatment in more than 300 patients at 42 clinical settings across the United States has found that most patients responded well to this intervention, with few adverse effects (Carpenter LL et al, Dep Anx 2012;29(8):587–596).

A major thrust of much psychiatric research is to identify predictors of suicidality, in hopes of intervening earlier to prevent this devastating outcome. In a recent study, a Danish group made a surprising contribution to this endeavor by identifying Toxoplasma gondii infection as a possible precursor to suicidal behavior.

A new study, however, finds that DCS does not improve treatment responses in patients undergoing prolonged exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Augmentation of antidepressants with antipsychotics has become a common practice, and aripiprazole (Abilify) has been FDA-approved at doses from 2 mg/day to 15 mg/day for this purpose. In a recent report, 225 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who had failed one to four antidepressant trials were studied to determine whether low dose Abilify really works.

Do patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) respond better when psychiatrists offer the type of treatment—medication or psychotherapy—that the patient prefers?

No one seems to be without a cell phone these days, so it only makes sense that we should start using these devices to carry out tasks that we used to do in a more “old-fashioned” way.

Psychiatrists have long wondered whether someday we might have an objective way to diagnose depression, in much the same way an internist orders a blood test or X-ray. A recent article suggests that just such a test might be on the horizon. Is it the real deal?

True thyroid dysfunction can present with symptoms as wide-ranging as depression, mania, psychosis, or poor cognition.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has suddenly begun popping up in both the medical journals and the mainstream media as a potential treatment for treatment resistant depression.