Twenty eight patients treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors /venlafaxine were randomized to a three-day (short) or 14-day (longer) anti-depressant taper and openly assessed after a five to seven day drug-free washout, and again after seven days treatment with a new anti-depressant of the treating clinician's choice. A 'discontinuation syndrome' ( > or = 3 new symptoms on the Disc...

Canine acral lick dermatitis (ALD) has been suggested as an animal analogue of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A series of dogs with ALD or similar conditions were treated with citalopram, the most selective of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Six of nine (66.7%) dogs showed significant improvement. Given the apparent efficacy of citalopram in the treatment of OCD and related d...

The serotonin (5-HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine) system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). The case for its contribution to the therapeutic efficacy of a wide variety of antidepressant treatments is, however, much stronger. All antidepressant strategies have been shown to enhance 5-HT transmission in the brain of laboratory animals. Catecholamines, norepinephri...

We located a comprehensive sample of studies (1980-1999) on the psychosocial and pharmacological treatment of child and adolescent depression through an extensive literature search. Articles that met the inclusionary criteria were subsequently analyzed. The outcome data from 38 studies were extracted and converted into effect sizes (ESs). Comparisons of main effects, demographic, and quality of...

BACKGROUND Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antidepressants. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness globally and iatrogenic glaucoma has been implicated across disparate medication classes. Available studies that have sought to determine the association between SSRI exposure and glaucoma have provided mixed results. Th...

BACKGROUND In contrast with many studies describing the usual care for major depression in the primary care setting, there are few data on treatment received by primary care patients with panic disorder. METHODS This prospective cohort study describes the self-reported medication use, at 3-month intervals for 1 year, of 58 patients with panic disorder and predictors of the use of appropriate ...

This class of antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may be especially risky early on in a pregnancy, the study suggests. Children who were exposed to the drugs during the first trimester were nearly four times as likely to develop an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with unexposed children, according to the study, which appears in the Archives of Gene...

OBJECTIVES To identify explanatory factors for the association between depression at 3 months after stroke and physical disability at 3 years. METHODS Data from the South London Stroke Register (1998-2013) were used. Patients (n = 3,612) were assessed at stroke onset. Follow-up at 3 months included assessment for depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (scores ≥ 7 = depressi...

INTRODUCTION Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a distressing and impairing condition that affects between 0.25% and 4% of children and adolescents. In 2005, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) introduced guidelines for the management of paediatric OCD in the UK. Based on robust evidence, NICE recommended cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin re...

Although catatonia is a well defined syndrome, the treatment of chronic catatonia remains an unresolved issue. Here, we report a successful treatment of a 30-year-old patient with treatment-resistant catatonic schizophrenia in 10 years by augmentation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).We present a 30-year-old man with treatment-resistant catatonic schizophrenia who failed to re...