Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

4 papers

Treatment‐resistant depression: definition, prevalence, detection, management, and investigational interventions

Roger S. McIntyre, Mohammad Alsuwaidan, Bernhard T. Baune, Michael Berk, Koen Demyttenaere, Joseph F. Goldberg, et al.
World Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2023 586 citations

Treatment-resistant depression means depression that does not get better after usual treatments. Scientists do not all agree on one clear definition, which makes it hard to know exactly how common it is or which treatments work best. Using the definition that regulators often use, about 30% of people with depression…

Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies Treatment of Major Depression Ketamine

Management of Treatment-Resistant Depression: Challenges and Strategies

Daphne Voineskos, Zafiris J. Daskalakis, Daniel M. Blumberger

This paper is a careful review of research about treatment-resistant depression. The authors looked through medical studies to see how doctors define this kind of depression, what makes it hard to assess, and which treatments have been tried. They describe drug strategies like adding lithium or thyroid hormone, switching antidepressant…

Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders Ketamine Psilocybin

Pharmacodynamic Interactions Between Ketamine and Psychiatric Medications Used in the Treatment of Depression: A Systematic Review

Jolien K. E. Veraart, Sanne Y. Smith-Apeldoorn, Iris M Bakker, Berber A E Visser, Jeanine Kamphuis, Robert A. Schoevers, et al.

Current literature shows that benzodiazepines and probably lamotrigine reduce ketamine's treatment outcome, which should be taken into account when considering ketamine treatment. There is evidence for an interaction between ketamine and clozapine, haloperidol, and risperidone. Due to small sample sizes, different subject groups and various outcome parameters, the evidence is…

Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Real-world clinical predictors of manic/hypomanic episodes among outpatients with bipolar disorder

Keita Tokumitsu, Yasui-Furukori Norio, Naoto Adachi, Yukihisa Kubota, Yoichiro Watanabe, Kazuhira Miki, et al.
journals.plos.org Summary & key facts 2021 12 citations

This Japanese study looked at 2,231 outpatients with bipolar disorder and found that 29.1% had a manic or hypomanic episode within one year. Lower functioning (lower GAF score), rapid cycling, a coexisting personality disorder, bipolar I diagnosis, substance abuse, and being in a manic or mixed mood at the start…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies Schizophrenia research and treatment
Summaries and links are for general information and education only. They are not a substitute for reading the original publication or for professional medical, legal, or other advice. Always refer to the linked source for the full study.