Journal of affective disorders
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Simvastatin versus atorvastatin for improving mild to moderate depression in post-coronary artery bypass graft patients: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.
A decreased risk of developing depression has been reported among statin users. Aside from their lipid-lowering effects, statins are considered immunomodulatory agents and have protective effects against oxidative stress and inflammation which are well known for their association with depression. The aim of the present study was to compare the probable antidepressant effects of simvastatin and atorvastatin among post-coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients with high and low potentials for blood-brain-barrier penetration, respectively. ⋯ Treatment with simvastatin seems to be well tolerated with superior antidepressant effects compared to atorvastatin in post-CABG patients. Long-term outcomes of this practice and its probable influence on other psychological aspects are yet to be investigated in future studies.
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Accelerated aging has been proposed as a mechanism explaining the increased prevalence of comorbid general medical illnesses in bipolar disorder. ⋯ Natural causes of death is the most prevalent reason for lost life years already from adolescence and increases substantially during early and mid-adulthood, in this way supporting the hypothesis of accelerated aging. Early intervention in bipolar disorder should not only focus on improving outcome of the bipolar disorder but also on decreasing the risk of comorbid general medical illnesses.
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Depression may be increasing, particularly since the economic recession. Introduction of quality outcomes framework (QOF) performance indicators may have altered GP recording of depression. ⋯ Rates of recorded depression in English general practices were falling prior to the economic recession but increased again subsequently, among men, associated with increased unemployment. GPs responded to the QOF by switching from diagnostic to symptom codes, removing most depressed patients from the denominator for measuring GP performance in assessing depression.
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The 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 1A receptors are considered a potential target for the treatment of mental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Several studies have indicated that 5-HT1A receptor agonists increase hippocampal neurogenesis, which is implicated in the action mechanism of antidepressants. However, these agents have not been applied to humans due to intolerable side effects. We recently showed that chronic administration of tandospirone, a clinically available 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, increased hippocampal neurogenesis dose-dependently. The present study was done to determine if chronic tandospirone treatment has antidepressant potential from the standpoint of hippocampal neurogenesis and behavior. ⋯ Our findings suggest that tandospirone has antidepressant potential through an inhibiting effect on stress-induced changes in hippocampal neurogenesis.
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Previous cross-sectional studies have suggested a comorbid association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and depressive disorder as well as anxiety disorders, but the temporal relationship was not determined. ⋯ AD in both adolescence and adulthood increased the risk of developing major depression, any depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders in later life. Further studies would be required to clarify the possible underlying mechanism between AD and depression as well as anxiety disorders.