Science News about Clinical Research and Trials

Co-occurring Anxiety Complicates Treatment Response for Those with Major Depression

Science Update • February 25, 2008

People with major depression accompanied by high levels of anxiety are significantly less likely to benefit from antidepressant medication than those without anxiety, according to a study based on data from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study. The study was published online ahead of print in January 2008, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Genetic Variation May Influence Response to Depression Treatment

Science Update • February 20, 2008

Variations in a gene known as TREK1 may explain some forms of treatment-resistant major depression, according to a new study analyzing genetic data from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial. The study was published online February 20, 2008, in Neuropsychopharmacology.

Team Care for Depressed Older Adults Cuts Overall Medical Costs

Science Update • February 14, 2008

A team approach to depression treatment for older adults, already shown to be effective, is also less expensive than usual care, according to an NIMH-funded study published February 2008 in the American Journal of Managed Care.

Family-Centered Intervention Effectively Reduces Risky Behavior Among Hispanic Youth

Science Update • December 20, 2007

Science Update December 20, 2007 Family-centered Intervention Effectively Reduces Risky Behavior Among Hispanic Youth A family-centered program that improves parent-child dynamics and family functioning is more effective at discouraging Hispanic youth from engaging in risky behavior than programs that target specific behaviors, according to a study published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Behavioral Therapy Effectively Treats Children with Social Phobia

Science Update • December 17, 2007

A behavioral therapy designed to treat children diagnosed with social phobia helped them overcome more of their symptoms than the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac).

Behavioral Program May Stabilize Stress Hormone Patterns in Foster Children

Science Update • November 30, 2007

An intervention designed to enhance family interaction and improve foster parenting skills may benefit young foster children who had experienced extreme neglect or maltreatment in early life.

Depressed Adolescents Respond Best to Combination Treatment

Press Release • October 01, 2007

A combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication appears to be the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder—more than medication alone or psychotherapy alone, according to results from a major clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Family Involvement and Focused Intervention May be Key to Helping Teens with Bulimia

Science Update • September 17, 2007

Family-based treatment for adolescent bulimia nervosa (FBT-BN) is more effective than an individual-based therapy called supportive psychotherapy (SPT) in helping teens overcome bulimia according to an NIMH-funded study.

Studies Refine Understanding of Treatments for Bipolar Disorder

Science Update • September 01, 2007

Two new studies provide additional details on best practices for treating people with bipolar disorder, a sometimes debilitating illness marked by severe mood swings between depression and mania.

Bipolar Youth Show Distinct Pattern of Brain Development

Science Update • August 28, 2007

The first picturess of the brain changing before-and-after the onset of pediatric bipolar disorder reveal a distinct pattern of development, when compared to that seen in healthy youth or in childhood onset schizophrenia.

Suspect Schizophrenia Genes Act Together to Thwart Working Memory

Science Update • August 28, 2007

Two gene variants implicated in schizophrenia interact to degrade the brain's ability to process information, NIMH researchers have discovered.

Unpleasant Words Trigger Strong Startle Response in People with Borderline Personality Disorder

Science Update • August 22, 2007

Adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) showed excessive emotional reactions when looking at words with unpleasant meanings compared to healthy people during an emotionally stimulating task, according to NIMH-funded researchers

Behavioral Interventions Effective for Preschoolers with ADHD

Science Update • August 15, 2007

Two types of early interventions designed to reduce symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers may be effective alternatives or additions to medication treatment, according to a recent NIMH-funded study.

Half of Children With Autism May be Diagnosable Soon After Their First Birthday

Science Update • August 10, 2007

About half of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can be diagnosed soon after their first birthday; others with the disorder may appear to develop normally until that age and then falter or regress during their second year, NIMH-funded researchers have discovered.

Parents' Diagnoses Help to Distinguish Childhood Bipolar Disorder from Severe Mood Dysregulation

Science Update • August 06, 2007

The parents of children who have bipolar disorder are more likely to have bipolar disorder themselves than the parents of children who have severe mood dysregulation (SMD).

Success or Failure of Antidepressant Citalopram Predicted by Gene Variation

Press Release • August 01, 2007

A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

Faster-Acting Antidepressants Closer to Becoming a Reality

Press Release • July 24, 2007

A new study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work.

Improvement Following ADHD Treatment Sustained in Most Children

Press Release • July 20, 2007

Most children treated in a variety of ways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed sustained improvement after three years in a major follow-up study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Violence in Schizophrenia Patients More Likely Among Those with Childhood Conduct Problems

Press Release • July 02, 2007

Some people with schizophrenia who become violent may do so for reasons unrelated to their current illness, according to a new study analyzing data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

Gene Variants Linked to Suicidal Thoughts in Some Men Starting Antidepressant Treatment

Science Update • June 07, 2007

Some men who experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they first start taking antidepressant medications may be genetically predisposed to do so, according to the latest results from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study

Antipsychotic Medications for Schizophrenia on Equal Footing in Improving Patients’ Thinking Skills

Science Update • June 04, 2007

Patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic medications experience a small improvement in thinking and reasoning skills (neurocognition), but no one medication appears to be better than the others in improving these skills during the first two crucial months of treatment, according to the latest results from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

In Second Try to Treat Depression, Cognitive Therapy Generally As Effective As Medication

Science Update • May 01, 2007

Switching to or adding cognitive therapy (CT) after a first unsuccessful attempt at treating depression with an antidepressant medication is generally as effective as switching to or adding another medication, but remission may take longer to achieve

Intensive Psychotherapy More Effective Than Brief Therapy for Treating Bipolar Depression

Press Release • April 02, 2007

Patients taking medications to treat bipolar disorder are more likely to get well faster and stay well if they receive intensive psychotherapy, according to results from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Study Sheds Light on Medication Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder

Press Release • March 28, 2007

For depressed people with bipolar disorder who are taking a mood stabilizer, adding an antidepressant medication is no more effective than a placebo (sugar pill), according to results published online on March 28, 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

HIV Treatment May Help Reduce Severity of Mental Impairment in Children with HIV Infection

Science Update • March 07, 2007

During the first few years of life, children born with HIV infection are most susceptible to central nervous system (CNS) disease, and can develop impaired cognitive, language, motor and behavioral functioning. However, NIH-funded researchers have found that among children with HIV infection, treatment with a protease inhibitor (PI)- based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) helped protect against cognitive and motor difficulties compared to a control group of age-matched children who were born to HIV-infected mothers but who did not contract the virus themselves (e.g., HIV-exposed).

New Details in Schizophrenia Treatment Trial Emerge

Press Release • March 01, 2007

Two new studies from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) provide more insights into comparing treatment options, and to what extent antipsychotic medications help people with schizophrenia learn social, interpersonal and community living skills.

Landmark Council Session Spotlights “Real World” Trials

Science Update • December 21, 2006

Principal investigators of NIMH's four large-scale clinical trials presented study results and their implications at the National Advisory Mental Health Council meeting on September 15, 2006.

Older Medication May Be More Cost-Effective for Some Patients with Schizophrenia

Press Release • December 01, 2006

A new study analyzing the economic implications of the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) concludes that the older (first generation) antipsychotic medication perphenazine was less expensive and no less effective than the newer (second generation) medications used in the trial during initial treatment, suggesting that older antipsychotics still have a role in treating schizophrenia.

New NIMH Research Strives to Understand How Antidepressants May Be Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Actions

Science Update • November 13, 2006

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding five new research projects that will shed light on antidepressant medications, notably selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and their association with suicidal thoughts and actions.

Odds of Beating Depression Diminish as Additional Treatment Strategies are Needed

Science Update • November 01, 2006

An overall assessment of the nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression suggests that a patient with persistent depression can get well after trying several treatment strategies, but his or her odds of beating the depression diminish as additional treatment strategies are needed.