Clinical Research on Mood Disorders: Opportunities and Challenges

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 3385

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychiatry & Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
Interests: mood disorders; neurocognition; biomarkers; novel treatments for mood disorders; evidence-based mental health; psychiatric epidemiology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychiatry, Dayton Children’s Hospital, Dayton, OH, USA
Interests: mood disorders; bipolar; measurement-based care; neurodevelopmental disorders; biomarkers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the incredible opportunities and challenges in research on mood disorders. Recent research has highlighted the role of glutamatergic and GABAergic pathways in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Novel therapies such as ketamine and GABA-A receptor-positive allosteric modulators as rapid-acting treatment options for depression have shown remarkable promise. With renewed interest in psychedelics for mood disorders, there is cautious optimism in the field. In addition, with a better understanding of brain circuits, novel neuromodulation techniques such as accelerated TMS and DBS are revolutionizing the field. While there have been notable advancements, the neurobiology of mood disorders remains an unsolved challenge. Although various biomarkers and neuroimaging studies have shown promise, inconsistent findings across studies limit the utilization of these advancements in routine clinical practice, highlighting the challenges.

To accomplish the main objectives of this Special Issue, we welcome studies including, but not limited to, original research articles (clinical and pre-clinical), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, case series, perspectives, and case reports on these topics. Additionally, we would like to welcome articles on specific challenges related to the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders in both adolescent and adult populations.

Dr. Balwinder Singh
Dr. Nihit Gupta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • treatment-resistant depression
  • mood disorders
  • bipolar disorders
  • biomarkers
  • neuroimaging
  • challenges
  • opportunities

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

15 pages, 992 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Association between Elevated Anxiety Symptoms and Low Skeletal Muscle Mass among Asymptomatic Adults: A Population-Based Study in Republic of Korea
by Eunsoo Kim, Sra Jung, Mi Yeon Lee, Chul-Hyun Park and Sung Joon Cho
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(5), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14050438 (registering DOI) - 28 Apr 2024
Viewed by 115
Abstract
Individuals with mental health problems are at higher risk of musculoskeletal diseases. However, the association between low muscle mass (LMM) and anxiety symptoms remains uninvestigated. This cross-sectional study enrolled 174,262 adults (73,833 women, 100,429 men), aged 18 to 89, who completed the anxiety [...] Read more.
Individuals with mental health problems are at higher risk of musculoskeletal diseases. However, the association between low muscle mass (LMM) and anxiety symptoms remains uninvestigated. This cross-sectional study enrolled 174,262 adults (73,833 women, 100,429 men), aged 18 to 89, who completed the anxiety scale and body composition analyses. Using bio-electrical impedance analysis, skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated based on appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) (kg)/height (m2). LMM was defined as SMI < 7.0 kg/m2 in men and <5.4 kg/m2 in women. Anxiety symptoms were screened using the Clinical Useful Anxiety Outcome Scale (CUXOS) with cut-off scores of 20, 30, and 40. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. LMM prevalence was 20.17% in women, 3.86% in men (p < 0.001). The prevalence of anxiety symptoms in LMM group decreased from mild (CUXOS > 20: women, 32.74%, men, 21.17%) to moderate (CUXOS > 30: 13.34%, 7.32%), to severe anxiety symptoms (CUXOS > 40: 4.00%, 1.73%). In multivariable-adjusted models, LMM was associated with mild (aOR (95% confidence interval)), women, 1.13 (1.08–1.17); men, 1.17 (1.08–1.27)), moderate (1.17 (1.11–1.24); 1.35 (1.19–1.53) and severe anxiety symptoms (1.18 (1.07–1.3), 1.36 (1.06–1.74)), demonstrating an increased risk of ORs with escalating anxiety severity. LMM was independently associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety symptoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Research on Mood Disorders: Opportunities and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 468 KiB  
Article
Suicidal Ideations in Major Depressed Subjects: Role of the Temporal Dynamics of Anhedonia
by Gil Darquennes, Benjamin Wacquier, Gwenolé Loas and Matthieu Hein
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(7), 1065; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13071065 - 13 Jul 2023
Viewed by 897
Abstract
Given the limited data available in the literature, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role played by the temporal dynamics of anhedonia (lifelong anhedonia and recent changes in anhedonia) in the occurrence of suicidal ideations in major depressed subjects. [...] Read more.
Given the limited data available in the literature, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role played by the temporal dynamics of anhedonia (lifelong anhedonia and recent changes in anhedonia) in the occurrence of suicidal ideations in major depressed subjects. The clinical data of 285 major depressed subjects recruited from the database of the Erasme Hospital Sleep Laboratory were analyzed. A score on item nine of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) ≥1 and/or an identification during the systematic psychiatric assessment were used to determine the presence of suicidal ideations. The association between anhedonia complaints (lifelong anhedonia and recent change in anhedonia) and suicidal ideations in major depressed subjects was assessed by logistic regression analyzes. The prevalence of suicidal ideations was 39.3% in our sample of major depressed subjects. After adjusting for the main confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that unlike lifelong anhedonia, only recent changes in anhedonia were a risk factor for suicidal ideations in major depressed subjects. Given this potential involvement of the recent change in anhedonia in the occurrence of suicidal ideations in major depressed subjects, it seems essential to better identify and adequately manage this specific form of anhedonia in order to open new perspectives for the prevention of suicide in this particular sub-population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Research on Mood Disorders: Opportunities and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

14 pages, 1600 KiB  
Systematic Review
An Update on the Efficacy of Single and Serial Intravenous Ketamine Infusions and Esketamine for Bipolar Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Nicolas A. Nunez, Boney Joseph, Rakesh Kumar, Ioanna Douka, Alessandro Miola, Larry J. Prokop, Brian J. Mickey and Balwinder Singh
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(12), 1672; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13121672 - 02 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1746
Abstract
Ketamine has shown rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) with single and serial intravenous (IV) infusions, but the effectiveness for depressive episodes of bipolar disorder is less clear. We conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to appraise the current [...] Read more.
Ketamine has shown rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) with single and serial intravenous (IV) infusions, but the effectiveness for depressive episodes of bipolar disorder is less clear. We conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to appraise the current evidence on the efficacy and tolerability of ketamine/esketamine in bipolar depression. A search was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies examining single or multiple infusions of ketamine or esketamine treatments. A total of 2657 articles were screened; 11 studies were included in the systematic review of which 7 studies were included in the meta-analysis (five non-randomized, N = 159; two RCTs, N = 33) with a mean age of 42.58 ± 13.1 years and 54.5% females. Pooled analysis from two RCTs showed a significant improvement in depression symptoms measured with MADRS after receiving a single infusion of ketamine (1-day WMD = −11.07; and 2 days WMD = −12.03). Non-randomized studies showed significant response (53%, p < 0.001) and remission rates (38%, p < 0.001) at the study endpoint. The response (54% vs. 55%) and remission (30% vs. 40%) rates for single versus serial ketamine infusion studies were similar. The affective switch rate in the included studies approximated 2.4%. Esketamine data for bipolar depression are limited, based on non-randomized, small sample-sized studies. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to strengthen the evidence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Research on Mood Disorders: Opportunities and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop