mental health

A meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry compared various pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. The authors found that only stimulants and atomoxetine effectively reduce symptoms after 12 weeks, but warn that the drugs are not well tolerated by everyone, that they found no evidence that they improve quality of life and that their long-term effects are unclear.

Unmarried people - whether single, divorced/separated or widowed - have a higher risk of having depressive symptoms than married people, says an international study. The paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, includes data from more than 100,000 adults in China, Indonesia, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, the UK, the USA and the UK.

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.

According to a Lancet Public Health commission on commercial gambling, stricter regulations are needed on a global scale to reduce its impact on health and wellbeing worldwide. The authors argue that the harms caused by gambling are a threat to public health, exacerbated by the rapid expansion and digital transformation of the industry. These harms include physical and mental health problems, increased risk of suicide, gender-based violence and financial problems.

An international team with Spanish participation has analysed which day of the week has the highest risk of suicide mortality, and it is Monday. The research, published in The BMJ, includes more than 1,700,000 suicide cases registered in 26 countries - including Spain - from 1971 to 2019. The data also show a sharp increase in the risk of suicide on New Year's Day in most of the countries analysed. Taking these results into account, the authors propose that they should be used to define plans and awareness-raising campaigns.

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’.

The U.S. FDA has approved a new drug—called Cobenfy—to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. Unlike traditional treatments, which are based on blocking the effects of dopamine, its mechanism of action simulates the effects of another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It is the first drug to be approved with a different mechanism of action in over 70 years.

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.

A study published today in Science Advances suggests that there may be a correlation between having a high body mass index (BMI) in childhood and developing schizophrenia later in life. However, the study also indicates that having a higher BMI in adulthood may be correlated with a lower risk of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Brain maturation is measured by the thickness of the cortex. It is known that stress accelerates cortical thinning, which is associated with a higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders. A study published in PNAS analyzes MRI data collected from 160 adolescents before COVID-19 and from 130 of them after the measures implemented during the pandemic. The comparison of brain structure before and after reveals accelerated cortical thinning which, measured in terms of equivalent years of brain development, was 4.2 years in girls and 1.4 years in boys.brain maturity