This week, we’ve examine the efficacy of ECT, COVID’s impact on health care workers, and a tough marijuana case.
Measuring Effectiveness for Psychotic and Non-Psychotic Depression
A new study out of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto analyzed the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for major depressive disorder (MDD) with and without psychotic symptoms.
Researchers reviewed data from 542 patients treated between June 2010 and September 2021.
Psychotic depression, a severe form of MDD, affects as much as 19 percent of patients with depression. It also comes with a much higher suicide risk. Caregivers typically rely on ECT as a first-line treatment because of its quick and effective results compared to pharmacotherapy. But earlier research has shown conflicting outcomes regarding its effectiveness in psychotic versus non-psychotic depression.
New research – in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry this week – found that individuals with psychotic depression (MD-P) were more likely to experience significant treatment improvement – 41 percent – compared to those with non-psychotic depression – at 27 percent.
However, after adjusting for variables (such as age, symptom severity, and treatment history), researchers found that psychotic symptoms no longer predicted better treatment outcomes.
Both groups demonstrated similar rates of adverse cognitive effects following ECT, with no statistically significant differences. The researchers found that factors such as catatonia and antidepressant use exhibited positive links to treatment success. They deduced that these characteristics might play a more substantial role than psychotic symptoms in predicting ECT outcomes.
IN OTHER PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY NEWS
- The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders reports on the COVID ghosts that still haunt health care workers.
- JCP has new research examining the higher PTSD threat that schizophrenia patients face.
- PCC also features a case report on a man complaining of suspiciousness, irritability, and reduced sleep after giving up marijuana.
- JCP published data that suggest the difference between ketamine and ECT in efficacy for treatment-resistant depression might be smaller than we thought.
- Finally, stay on top of our latest research into Emerging Approaches in Schizophrenia.
