R W Lam

..We identified several important avenues for future research, including a need for more assessment of QoL in hypo/manic patients, more longitudinal research and the development of a disease-specific measure of QoL for patients with BD...

..Light treatment devices using efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) whose output is relatively concentrated in short wavelengths may enable a more convenient effective therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)...

..The goal of this study was to determine remission rates obtained in RCTs of treatment interventions for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) conducted in primary care settings...

..In this study, we compared the effects of combining citalopram and bupropion-SR versus switching to the other monotherapy in treatment-resistant depression...

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..However, clinical trials for depression have primarily focused on reduction in symptoms, as measured by symptom severity scales such as the HDRS and MADRS or by standard definitions of response and remission...

..To determine the differences between escitalopram and citalopram in the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder across a range of baseline severity of depression using trend analysis...

..This review critically evaluates the evidence for efficacy of combining antidepressants...

..This study compared the effectiveness of light therapy and an antidepressant within a single trial...

..This paper focuses on basic principles and terms used in metaanalysis, so that clinicians can appropriately evaluate and use their results to guide treatment decisions...

..The etiology of winter depression (seasonal affective disorder, or SAD) is not known, but a number of studies have provided support for both photoperiod and neurotransmitter hypotheses...

..Randomized controlled clinical trials conducted in the last 5 years provide very good evidence to show that achieving and sustaining the fully remitted state is an attainable goal in the management of patients with depression...

..This pooled analysis shows that over an 8-week treatment period, escitalopram (10-20 mg/day) is superior in both effectiveness and tolerability compared with duloxetine (60 mg/day)...

..This study seeks to validate the Lam Employment Absence and Productivity Scale (LEAPS), a 10-item self-report questionnaire that takes 3-5 minutes to complete...

..Escitalopram has a prominent role in the treatment of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, and may also prove to be important in the treatment of mixed depressive anxiety disorder...

..None have specifically examined outcomes in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)...

..These properties suggest that agomelatine can be considered a first-line treatment for patients with major depression...

..A revision of these guidelines was undertaken by CANMAT in 2008-2009 to reflect advances in the field...

..These positive features provide a novel approach to the treatment of depression and the attainment of high-quality remission in MDD...

..To assess the clinical and work productivity effects of a brief intervention using telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for clients with depressive symptoms attending an employee assistance program (EAP)...

..These results should be confirmed in prospective randomized clinical trials...

..Our purpose, therefore, was to assess the effects of treatment with desipramine hydrochloride on brain 5-HT2 receptors in depressed patients using positron emission tomography (PET) and fluorine-18 (18F)-labeled setoperone...

..1 +/- 9.5 years; range, 22-60 years) and 20 healthy controls similar in age (37.2 +/- 12.6 years; range, 19-59 years) using positron emission tomography and setoperone labeled with fluorine 18 ([(18)F]setoperone)...

..Given the evidence for serotonergic dysregulation in SAD, we examined the possible role of l-tryptophan as an augmentation strategy for nonresponders and partial responders to light therapy...

..Controlled studies of light therapy in SAD and in bulimia nervosa have shown beneficial effects on mood and binge/purge symptoms. We explored the clinical use of light therapy in women with SAD who also had comorbid bulimia nervosa...

..This retrospective study sought to determine the effects of light therapy on suicidal ideation in patients with SAD...

..In this study, we compare the clinical characteristics of these three seasonal groups and their response to light therapy...

..Platelets share many properties with brain serotonergic neurons such as active 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) transport, 5-HT2 receptors, and mitochondrial monoamine oxidase...

..5%) and females (median, 30.5%). For both sexes, weight changes were not heritable. Sex-by-genotype analyses suggested that the genetic factors influencing female seasonality may not be the same as those influencing male seasonality...

..To determine the rates of antidepressant and antipsychotic use in the treatment of schizophrenia...

..These results suggest that bright light therapy is an effective treatment for LLPDD...

..This study examined ECT use in a university teaching hospital to determine predictors of short-term ECT outcome...

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..The present study investigated the relationship between the five-factor model of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) and SAD...

..AMPT-induced depressive relapse may be a trait marker for SAD, and/or brain catecholamines may play a direct role in the pathogenesis of SAD...

..In the past, chronic depression has been thought to be treatment-resistant, and evidence suggests that it is currently underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and suboptimally treated...

..We report here on results from the Can-SAD trial, which assessed the impact of treatment with either antidepressant medication or light therapy upon QoL in patients diagnosed with SAD...

..19. These results provide evidence that the observed correlations between these seasonality and personality dimensions are attributable to common genetic factors and that environmental influences are domain specific...

..The mechanism by which rapid tryptophan depletion (RTD) paradigm induces depressive relapse in recently remitted patients with depression is unknown...

..The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of cognitive functioning on longitudinal 6-month functional and clinical outcome in recently diagnosed clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder...

..Recent progress in defining the molecular mechanisms of the human circadian clock and retinal phototransduction of light will provide important new directions for future studies of the etiology and pathophysiology of SAD...

..To describe clinical characteristics, course, and outcome during a 1-year period after the first manic episode in patients with bipolar disorder (BD)...

..It also describes a novel antidepressant, agomelatine, which improves symptoms of depression and rapidly relieves sleep complaints without sedative effects...

..Chronobiological treatments such as bright light therapy may be combined with pharmacotherapy to enhance therapeutic effects, reduce adverse side effects, and optimize treatment in patients with seasonal and nonseasonal bipolar disorder...

..Further controlled studies are required to demonstrate the efficacy of mirtazapine in treatment-resistant depression...

..Future research is required to determine whether perceived QoL is improved by treatment interventions for seasonal depression such as light therapy or antidepressant medication...

..This study aimed to compare baseline levels of negative life events (NLEs) and perceived social support (SS) in patients with seasonal and nonseasonal depression...

..atypical antipsychotics are an excellent choice as add-on therapy to mood stabilizers for the treatment of patients with mania...

..Future research studies should routinely measure and evaluate adherence with light therapy and evidence-based techniques for maximising treatment adherence should be incorporated into routine clinical practice...

..Studies in first-episode (FE) manic patients have the potential to provide answers to these questions...

..The current study evaluates 3 weeks of open treatment with light therapy in SAD and subsyndromal SAD patients...

..We speculate that these data may reflect the vestigial expression of a seasonal thrifty phenotype that contributed to the positive selection of the 7R allele over the past 40,000 years...

..To compare perceived quality of life (QoL) in patients diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter and summer months...

..9 vs 8.8%, respectively, p=0.008). These data offer further evidence that season of birth interacts with the 7R allele of DRD4 to influence body weight regulation in female overeating populations...

..In this study, we examined whether binge eating behavior mediated this putative association...

..We conclude that there is evidence to support the hypothesis that exercise alleviates MDD and that several mechanisms exist that could mediate this effect through adult neurogenesis...

..We report here on a series of in-depth qualitative interviews we conducted as part of the item generation phase for a disease-specific scale to assess QoL in BD...

..The risk of antidepressant-associated mood elevations (AAME) in bipolar II disorder relative to bipolar I disorder and MDD is unknown...

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..Positron emission tomography (PET) studies in individuals with depression confirmed that antidepressant medications reduce brain 5-HT(2) receptors, but the effects of ECT on these receptors in individuals with depression are unknown...

..CONCLUSION: OXC was effective and well-tolerated in refractory BD and schizoaffective disorder. These preliminary data are promising but controlled studies are needed to confirm its efficacy in refractory BD...

..The results demonstrated that the traits associated with seasonal and nonseasonal depression differ in degree, not kind...

..The purpose of this study was to determine whether neuropsychological impairments are present in clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder shortly after resolution of their first manic episode...

..We aimed to assess the impact of a time-limited psychoeducation (PE) group therapy upon perceived QoL among patients with BD...

..With today's therapeutic alternatives, full remission of depression is an attainable goal. For some patients, combination and augmentation strategies earlier in treatment may increase the likelihood of remission...

..To describe the effectiveness and tolerability of reboxetine under Special Access Program conditions in Canada in a group of patients with refractory depressive disorders...

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..Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) consists of recurrent major depressive episodes in the fall/winter with remissions in spring/summer...

..We conducted a meta-analysis of studies in which escitalopram was compared with other antidepressants to assess the relative efficacy of these agents...

..Findings are discussed in terms of the study's limitations and the experimental challenge of parsing independent and interacting contributions of sleep and circadian phase...

..The study therefore provides no evidence that circadian phase advance mediates the therapeutic mechanism in patients with SAD. Findings are discussed in terms of the limitations of the circadian measures employed...

..This review of published data found evidence that only a very few antidepressants are shown to be more effective than others...

..3) Given the urgent need for new strategies to treat patients with residual depressive symptoms, clinical trials of wake therapy and/or adjuvant light therapy, coupled with follow-up studies of long-term recurrence, are a high priority...

..To review new perspectives on diagnosis, clinical features, epidemiology, and treatment of bipolar II and related disorders...