"Many patients report rapid improvement in mood, anxiety and hedonic function, which is what initially attracted the psychiatric profession to the use of ketamine," said Dr. Joshua Berman.
While there is still plenty of research to be done, Dr. Philip Muskin emphasized that there is enough certainty to know that psychiatric drugs do work – often to great effect.
Dr. Elizabeth Fitelson discusses what we can expect from brexanolone, a drug developed specifically to counteract unique physiologic changes that can induce postpartum depression in vulnerable women.
Optimizing Outcomes of Treatment-Resistant Depression in Older Adults (OPTIMUM) is the largest study ever done on late-life depression. OPTIMUM’s New York site is located at NYSPI/Columbia.
Prescription medication may be enormously helpful, but "just taking a pill is usually not enough" to effectively cope with depression, says Dr. Diana Samuel.
“Part of the problem that we’re faced within the field is that we really need to become better at identifying the factors that lead to the escalation of suicide risk,” says Dr. Randy Auerbach,
Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber has developed a protocol of questions that anyone — not just medical professionals — can ask to identify people who may be at risk of suicide.
“Approval of esketamine is important for patients because other options like transcranial magnetic stimulation work more poorly in medication-resistant depression,” writes Dr. J. John Mann.
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