Hospitalary Foundation Barcelona
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Head of Adult Mental Health at Fundació Hospitalàries Barcelona, assistant psychiatrist at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital psychiatry department, and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
Psychiatrist, holder of a Ph.D. in Psychiatry from the University of Barcelona, and community coordinator at the Fundació Hospitalàries Barcelona
The eyes are connected to the brain via the retina, which makes it a potential pathway for brain stimulation. A study published in Cell Reports Physical Science has used contact lenses equipped with a system for transcorneal electrical stimulation to treat depression in animal models of the disorder. Mice fitted with the device showed behavioural improvements, including increased sociability, as well as physiological changes, such as the restoration of altered neural connections. The results were comparable to those obtained with fluoxetine —known commercially as Prozac— administered for three weeks in one of the mouse groups.
The American Psychiatric Association has unveiled the new features of the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in five articles published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Among the highlights are the proposed change of name — it will become the Diagnostic and Scientific Manual — and the intention for it to be more dynamic, incorporating biomarkers for diagnosis and integrating the socioeconomic, cultural and environmental determinants of health. According to the authors, the aim is to enable a more personalised and inclusive clinical practice, aligned with scientific rigour. The most recent update was published in 2022 with the DSM-5-TR, and specialists are currently unaware of the date of the next edition, as they reported during a briefing with journalists.
According to a study published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, the use of the benzodiazepine lorazepam by the character Victoria Ratliff in the series The White Lotus was associated in the United States with an increase in Google searches for this medication, including queries about how to obtain it online. The series generated 1.6 million more searches than usual over a 12-week period. Although the study reflects searches for information and not actual consumption, the abuse of anti-anxiety drugs is a fact: illegal sales of benzodiazepines have increased in the United States, and Spain leads the rankings in terms of consumption.