Neural Activation by Milnacipran and Memory Extinction

International audienc

A study of remitted and treatment-resistant depression using MMPI and including pessimism and optimism scales.

The psychological aspects of treatment-resistant and remitted depression are not well documented.We administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to patients with treatment-resistant depression (n = 34), remitted depression (n = 25), acute depression (n = 21), and healthy controls (n = 64). Pessimism and optimism were also evaluated by MMPI.ANOVA and post-hoc tests demonstrated that patients with treatment-resistant and acute depression showed similarly high scores for frequent scale (F), hypochondriasis, depression, conversion hysteria, psychopathic device, paranoia, psychasthenia and schizophrenia on the MMPI compared with normal controls. Patients with treatment-resistant depression, but not acute depression registered high on the scale for cannot say answer. Using Student's t-test, patients with remitted depression registered higher on depression and social introversion scales, compared with normal controls. For pessimism and optimism, patients with treatment-resistant depression demonstrated similar changes to acutely depressed patients. Remitted depression patients showed lower optimism than normal controls by Student's t-test, even though these patients were deemed recovered from depression using HAM-D.The patients with remitted depression and treatment-resistant depression showed subtle alterations on the MMPI, which may explain the hidden psychological features in these cohorts

Personality traits as risk factors for treatment-resistant depression.

BACKGROUND: The clinical outcome of antidepressant treatment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) is thought to be associated with personality traits. A number of studies suggest that depressed patients show high harm avoidance, low self-directedness and cooperativeness, as measured on the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). However, the psychology of these patients is not well documented. METHODS: Psychological evaluation using Cloninger's TCI, was performed on treatment-resistant MDD patients (n = 35), remission MDD patients (n = 31), and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 174). RESULTS: Treatment-resistant patients demonstrated high scores for harm avoidance, and low scores for reward dependence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness using the TCI, compared with healthy controls and remission patients. Interestingly, patients in remission continued to show significantly high scores for harm avoidance, but not other traits in the TCI compared with controls. Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between reward dependence and harm avoidance in the treatment-resistant depression cohort, which was absent in the control and remitted depression groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that low reward dependence and to a lesser extent, low cooperativeness in the TCI may be risk factors for treatment-resistant depression

Low openness on the revised NEO personality inventory as a risk factor for treatment-resistant depression.

BackgroundRecently, we reported that low reward dependence, and to a lesser extent, low cooperativeness in the Temperature and Character Inventory (TCI) may be risk factors for treatment-resistant depression. Here, we analyzed additional psychological traits in these patients.MethodsWe administered Costa and McCrae's five-factor model personality inventory, NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), to antidepressant-treatment resistant depressed patients (n=35), remitted depressed patients (n=27), and healthy controls (n=66). We also evaluated the relationships between scores on NEO and TCI, using the same cohort of patients with treatment-resistant depression, as our previous study.ResultsPatients with treatment-resistant depression showed high scores for neuroticism, low scores for extraversion, openness and conscientiousness, without changes in agreeableness, on the NEO. However, patients in remitted depression showed no significant scores on NEO. Patients with treatment-resistant depression and low openness on NEO showed positive relationships with reward dependence and cooperativeness on the TCI.ConclusionsMany studies have reported that depressed patients show high neuroticism, low extraversion and low conscientiousness on the NEO. Our study highlights low openness on the NEO, as a risk mediator in treatment-resistant depression. This newly identified trait should be included as a risk factor in treatment-resistant depression

Add-on Lamotrigine Treatment for Subsyndromal Depression after Manic or Mixed States in Bipolar Disorder Improved the Quality of Life

Two cases of patients experienced subsyndromal depression after manic or mixed hypomanic and depressive episodes due to bipolar I (case 1) and II (case 2) disorders prior to the use of lamotrigine. Case 1 showed episodes of mood switching induced by antidepressants and seasonal mood instability. Case 2 showed hippocampal atrophy and a persistent dull headache that preceded the use of lamotrigine. Both were successfully treated with add-on lamotrigine therapy, and the dull headache was effectively treated with olanzapine. Both patients improved in social activity and work performance after these add-on treatments. Thus, add-on treatment with lamotrigine alone or in combination with olanzapine was an effective strategy to improve the quality of life in bipolar depression. Subsyndromal depression that present after the disappearance of the manic or mixed state was suggested to be practical indication for the use of lamotrigine

Demographic information for subjects.

<p>Data are shown as mean ± SD.</p><p>HAM-D: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression</p>a<p>P<0.001 as compared to the remitted group.</p>b<p>p<0.01 as compared to the acute depression group.</p><p>Parenthesis denotes the range.</p><p>Demographic information for subjects.</p