Major Depressive Disorder

As patients increasingly turn to ChatGPT for mental health support, psychiatrists and ethicists weigh the clinical risks, ethical concerns, and what clinicians should do next.

Study shows microglia-driven hippocampal remodeling may connect chronic pain to depression, highlighting the importance of timing for behavioral interventions.

National cohort study finds semaglutide tied to reduced depression, anxiety, and self-harm risk in patients with diabetes and comorbid mental illness.

Study reveals chronic pain reshapes hippocampus, driving depression risk. Microglia may be a therapeutic target, says Xiao.

Accelerated rTMS shows comparable efficacy to standard care, with delayed response in some patients and no clear predictors of early benefit.

New study finds GLP-1 RAs are associated with lower anxiety, suicidality, and sick leave in patients with diabetes and mental illness.

Findings suggest psychedelics match antidepressants for symptom relief, with future research needed on real-world use and functional outcomes.

Meta-analysis shows psychedelic-assisted therapy offers similar symptom improvement to open-label antidepressants under equal unblinding conditions.

Accelerated 5×5 rTMS delivers comparable outcomes to standard protocols, offering faster treatment with key tradeoffs in cost, access, and response timing.

BrainsWay’s SWIFT protocol reduced treatment visits from ~36 to 6 while maintaining response and remission rates in a randomized multisite trial.

In Medical Ethics Unpacked, hosts and guest Rose Onyeali, MD, discuss how solitary confinement in prisons may accelerate physical decline and worsen cognitive health.

The FDA approval of milsaperidone and a pair of positive trials in depression signal a month of progress in psychiatry.

Levine discusses 24-hour adverse event resolution, retreatment questions, and scalability of supervised psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression.

Levine breaks down Compass Pathways’ phase 3 data on COMP360, highlighting next-day onset and sustained symptom improvement through 26 weeks.

A phase 2a randomized, placebo-controlled study shows –7.35 MADRS difference at 2 weeks with SPL026 compared with placebo. However, the study is not advancing.

Phase 3 COMP006 shows significant MADRS reduction at week 6, signaling potential benefit in treatment-resistant depression.

A prospective study finds adolescents with MDD show faster response, fewer cognitive effects, and better tolerability with magnetic seizure therapy than adults.

New study shows baseline impulsivity links to residual symptoms but not relapse, highlighting the need for individualized, clinician-guided decisions.

Delay discounting links to residual depression symptoms but does not predict relapse after stopping antidepressant treatment in patients with remitted MDD.

FDA approvals, priority review decisions, and new data on treatment response and mechanisms highlight a month of progress in MDD and ADHD.

Although patients with remitted MDD showed greater impulsivity than controls, a study found no link between delay discounting and relapse risk after stopping antidepressants.

Meta-analysis links longer preparation therapy and follow-up duration to depressive symptom change in psilocybin- and LSD-assisted treatment.

New data suggest asthma-related depression may be biologically distinct from MDD, with greater serum BDNF tied to worse disease severity and lower physical activity.

Greater exposure to preparation therapy before psychedelic dosing was linked to larger reductions in depressive symptoms, a new study found.

Adjunctive lumateperone 42 mg improves remission, relieves anxiety and sleep symptoms, and shows sustained safety in patients with treatment-resistant MDD.