Alberto Ortiz Lobo

A meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal concludes that the most effective way to discontinue antidepressant treatment in people with remitting depression is to gradually reduce the dose in combination with psychological therapy. Furthermore, this strategy proved to be just as effective in preventing relapses into depression as continuing medication. The study was based on data from more than 17,000 adults with depression and anxiety in remission, although the evidence for the latter disorder was not as robust. 

A large international study has analyzed genomic data from over one million people with 14 different psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. According to their analysis, five groups of diseases can be identified that share a significant number of genetic variants. Furthermore, common genetic markers were detected among these 14 disorders. The results are published in the journal Nature. 

An oral formulation of risperidone could be administered weekly instead of daily to treat patients with schizophrenia with the same efficacy, according to a phase III clinical trial published in The Lancet Psychiatry. The study included 83 patients in the United States.

The number of adolescents with anxiety problems seems to be increasing, especially in developed countries. An opinion article published in the journal Science proposes that maternal stress, quality of care and environmental conditions in the early years, together with current social and technological changes, may contribute to explaining this trend. 

Large language models—artificial intelligence systems based on deep learning—could be useful in detecting mental health risks such as depression and suicide risk in narrative tests of patients undergoing psychiatric treatment. This is one of the conclusions of research published in JAMA Network Open, which also shows the potential of embeddings — a natural language processing technique that converts human language into mathematical vectors — to achieve the same end.

An international team has carried out a review of studies and a meta-analysis on the cardiovascular safety of the drugs used to treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Their conclusions are that most of them, and not just the stimulants, affect the pulse and blood pressure. According to the authors, who publish the results in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, although the changes are slight, ‘professionals should monitor blood pressure and pulse in patients with ADHD treated with any pharmacological intervention’.

Exposure to cold and heat could affect adolescents' mental health, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. The research, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), was conducted with nearly 5,000 adolescents from the Netherlands (3,934) and Spain (885). The results showed how exposure to environmental temperatures influences psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and attention problems.

A team of researchers from the United Kingdom has conducted a phase 2/3 clinical trial in people with a psychotic disorder to study the efficacy of interaction with a digital avatar in alleviating the discomfort generated by hearing voices. After analyzing it in 345 people, they conclude that it can reduce the frequency of occurrence at 16 and 28 weeks. The discomfort provoked is reduced at 16 weeks, but not at 28 weeks. The team publishes the results in the journal Nature Medicine.

A phase 2 clinical trial has tested the efficacy and safety of a transcranial magnetic stimulation device used at home to treat major depression in 174 patients. After dividing them into two groups, one group received the treatment and the other a placebo procedure. After ten weeks, both groups had improved their symptoms, but the improvement in the active treatment group was 0.4 points greater on the Hamilton depression scale. According to the authors, who publish the results in the journal Nature Medicine, ‘it could potentially serve as a first-line treatment for major depression’.

An international team of researchers has conducted a study in which they conclude that increased activity of the brain amygdala detected by magnetic resonance imaging is associated with an increased risk of developing symptoms of depression in pregnant women. According to the authors, the finding could be used to identify those who are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression. The results of the study, still in prepublication form and not yet peer-reviewed, will be presented at the ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) conference.