Mid-Stage Win for Novel Depression Agent; 'Floordrobe' Disorder; CIA Mind Control

— News and commentary from the psychiatry world

MedpageToday
Illustration of a brain shaped maze.

In the phase II SAVITRI study, once-daily treatment with an investigational, AMPA positive allosteric modulator (NBI-1065845) significantly reduced depression scores by day 28 in people with major depressive disorder who failed at least one antidepressant, Neurocrine Biosciences announced.

The novel PDE4 inhibitor ALTO-101 was safe and tolerable in a phase I study, said Alto Neuroscience. Delivered via a transdermal delivery system instead of an oral route, it's being developed for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

Up to 13 years after a delivery complicated by severe maternal morbidity, postpartum individuals still carried an increased risk of mental health hospitalizations or emergency department visits. (JAMA Network Open)

People with a severe mental illness had more than double the odds of having two or more chronic physical conditions compared with people without severe mental illness. The 82-study meta-analysis found this risk was even higher in younger people (OR 3.99). (Lancet Psychiatry)

Working a highly routine job was linked with 74% and 37% higher risks of mild cognitive impairment and dementia later in life, respectively, the HUNT4 70+ Study reported. (Neurology)

Having a "floordrobe" could be a sign of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (New York Post)

Middle-aged women experienced 33.3% to 56% increases in high-acuity alcohol-related complication episodes in 10 of the 18 COVID-19 pandemic months, a U.S. cohort study found. "We anticipated finding some increase in hospitalizations for alcohol-related complications among women. We didn't realize it would be this stark," said lead author Bryant Shuey, MD, MPH, of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. (JAMA Health Forum)

What can psychiatrists learn from CIA Cold War-era mind-control projects? (STAT)

A few factors were linked with at-risk adolescents being less likely to say they have thoughts of death and self-harm on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 prior to a self-harm event or suicide death -- older age, history of an inpatient mental health encounter, and being screened in primary care. "As the PHQ becomes more widespread in practice, understanding reasons why many at-risk adolescents do not endorse thoughts of death and self-harm should be given high priority," researchers wrote in JAMA Psychiatry.

People with intellectual disability, autism, and mental disorders should be included in groups considered at high-risk for heat exposure, argued authors of a South Korean study of emergency department visits. (Lancet Psychiatry)

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    Kristen Monaco is a senior staff writer, focusing on endocrinology, psychiatry, and nephrology news. Based out of the New York City office, she’s worked at the company since 2015.