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The Carlat Psychiatry Report

Antidepressant Roundup, 2004 (January) | 2004

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The First ECT

January 1, 2004

The first ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), was performed by an Italian psychiatrist, Ugo Cerletti, who had initially assessed the safety of the treatment with dogs. He performed the first treatment on a human on April 18, 1938. Read More

Dr. John O’Reardon on Antidepressant Augmentation

January 1, 2004

John O'Reardon, MD

Dr. O'Reardon, you had mentioned at the end of our last interview (see TCR, Vol. 1, No. 1) some of the augmentation and combination strategies that you like to use in your clinic but we didn't have time to get into the actual specifics of these. To begin with, how do you decide when to augment? What kinds of drug failures do you try to establish? Read More

Antidepressant Updates

January 1, 2004

Daniel Carlat, MD

Sorry, no earthshaking developments in the antidepressant world in 2003, but here are some developments that you’ll find useful in your practice. Read More

ECT: The Very Latest

January 1, 2004

Daniel Carlat, MD

Whether you do ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) or not, and research indicates that less than 8% of you actually perform it (Hermann et al, Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155:889-894), you need to know about it, because you will have to decide when to refer your treatment-resistant patients for it, and you will have to know what to say to them about it as they pepper you with a multitude of questions, as they always do (and should). Read More

Cymbalta: Dual the Reuptake, Triple the Hype

January 1, 2004

Daniel Carlat, MD

We have some good news and we have some bad news. First, the good news: Cymbalta (generic name: duloxetine) is an effective dual reuptake antidepressant with a good safety profile. Now, the bad news: it appears to have no advantages over existing antidepressants. Read More