Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2015

Objective: To perform an exploratory review of the association between autonomic function and depressive symptoms/major depressive disorder (MDD) with a particular emphasis on their combined impact on cardiovascular health across the lifespan. Method: A review of computerized databases was performed using PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Google Scholar, and BioMed Central from 1950 – 2013. Articles th Read More

Objective: Anorexia nervosa is a severe pathology often associated with malnutrition. It is known that starvation could result in various anxious and depressive symptoms, often mentioned in eating disorders. Indeed, a lowering of plasma tryptophan through restrictive behaviours could cause a decrease in brain serotonin synthesis and give rise to these symptoms. The aim of this article was to review studies assessing plasma try Read More

Sudden gains are relatively large, quick, stable drops in symptom scores during treatment of depression that may (or may not) signal important therapeutic events. We review what is known and unknown currently about the prevalence, causes, and outcomes of sudden gains. We argue that valid identification of sudden gains (vs. random fluctuations in symptoms and gradual gains) is prerequisite to their understanding. In Mo Read More

This article introduces a systems biology model of the psycho-immune-neuroendocrine (PINE) network. It provides a comprehensive synthesis of the network of biological mechanisms which link major depressive disorder (MDD) with several diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and type 2 diabetes. The first part of this article provides an overview of Read More

Understanding sleep complaints among menopausal women is an emerging area of clinical and research interest. Several recent reviews have focused on mechanisms of menopausal insomnia and symptoms. In this review, we present a discussion on the most relevant and recent publications on the treatment of sleep disorders for menopausal women, with a focus on menopause-related insomnia, insomnia sympt Read More