Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 8, Issue 3, 2012

Major depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide since it is often accompanied by high rates of resistance to treatment. Up to 40% of patients do not remit after two adequate pharmacological tryouts (as indicated by STAR*D study). Poor efficacy of drugs for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has prompted investigation of alternative treatment strategies. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) involves the hig Read More

Objective: To review studies assessing Expressed Emotion among parents/relatives of patients with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Method: A systematic computerized search was performed in Medline complemented by a manual search of the literature for all studies published between 1981 and 2011. A total of 27 papers in English were reviewed for their methods, instruments used and results. Results: Comparisons wer Read More

Catatonia has undergone many changes since it was first described by Kahlbaum in 1874 (“madness of rigidity”). Nowadays, we can distinguish many different ethiologies for this syndrome: Organic catatonia (the most common); affective (the next one); schizophrenic; and drug-induced. In recent reviews, there was no psychiatric disorder in 76% of cases of catatonia. The unitary pathophysiological conception of catatonia (“ Read More

There are important similarities and differences between the clinical presentation and prognosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and late-life depression (LLD). However, very little is known about the shared and distinct pathophysiological mechanisms between both conditions, even thought their frequent co-occurrence suggests a close association. In this research synthesis, we examined the extent of hippoca Read More

Depression covers a substantial part of mental health problems worldwide. Currently, the occurrence of symptoms listed in DSM-IV is based on its diagnosis. However, there are also additional behavioral features distinguishing between depressed and healthy individuals that do not yet have the official status of symptoms. This article aims to provide a comprehensive literature overview of the distinctive characteristics of verbal a Read More

The development of Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a recognised iatrogenic complication associated with the use of dopamine agonists. The prevalence of ICDs has been reported to be as high as 14% in studies conducted in Europe and North America. Early case reports and recent large-scale studies have shown that clinical features associated with the development of PD-related ICDs include nov Read More

Women are at a higher risk than men to develop mood disorders and depression. The increased risk is associated with fluctuating estrogen levels that occur during reproductive cycle events, particularly during the menopausal transition, a time characterized by drastic fluctuations in estrogen levels and increases in new onset and recurrent depression. Conversely, recent data show that hormone therapy, particularly transderm Read More