PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New treatment for severe depression with far fewer side effects

2015-07-21
(Press-News.org) Electroconvulsive therapy remains one of the most effective treatments for severe depression, but new UNSW research shows ultra-brief pulse stimulation is almost as effective as standard ECT, with far fewer cognitive side effects.

The study, published today in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, is the first systematic review to examine the effectiveness and cognitive effects of standard ECT treatment, brief pulse stimulation, versus the newer treatment, known as ultra-brief pulse right unilateral (RUL) ECT.

It comes after previous trials had shown conflicting results. The latest study reviewed six international ECT studies comprising 689 patients with a median age of 50 years old. It found while standard ECT was slightly more effective for treating depression and required one less treatment, this came at a cost with significantly more cognitive side effects.

"This new treatment, which is slowly coming into clinical practice in Australia, is one of the most significant developments in the clinical treatment of severe depression in the past two decades," according to UNSW Professor of Psychiatry Colleen Loo.

"Our analysis of the existing trial data showed that ultra-brief stimulation significantly lessened the potential for the destruction of memories formed prior to ECT, reduced the difficulty of recalling and learning new information after ECT and was almost as effective as the standard ECT treatment," Professor Loo said.

ECT delivers a finely controlled electric current to the brain's prefrontal cortex, an area that is underactive in people with depression. The current is delivered via electrodes on a patient's scalp while the patient is under general anaesthesia.

Ultra-brief stimulation delivers staccato pulses of electricity, with each pulse on for only a very short time. As the pulses are so short, the stimulation of brain tissue is reduced by a third.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 Australians with severe depression and who have not responded to first line treatments, such as medication, could benefit from the new treatment. Less than half of Australia's hospitals currently offer ultra-brief stimulation.

Professor Loo, who is also director of ECT at Sydney's Wesley Hospital and a researcher with the Black Dog Institute, said she hopes the study will result in an improved uptake of the new treatment for people with severe depression.

"We are still working hard to change the broader medical profession's and general public's perception of ECT, which has struggled to shake off the tarnished image given to it by popular movies such as the 1975 film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'," Professor Loo said.

While the benefits of ultra-brief stimulation are significant, the study authors concluded that standard ECT treatment should still be considered over the new treatment, where urgency of response was paramount.

The study only analysed the short-term effectiveness and side effects of ultra-brief stimulation. Studies into the long-term effects of ECT are ongoing. The study was conducted in partnership with the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

American History 201

American History 201
2015-07-21
Native Americans living in the Amazon bear an unexpected genetic connection to indigenous people in Australasia, suggesting a previously unknown wave of migration to the Americas thousands of years ago, a new study has found. "It's incredibly surprising," said David Reich, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics and senior author of the study. "There's a strong working model in archaeology and genetics, of which I have been a proponent, that most Native Americans today extend from a single pulse of expansion south of the ice sheets--and that's wrong. We missed something ...

The population history of Native Americans

The population history of Native Americans
2015-07-21
There is archaeological evidence of modern humans in the Americas by ca. 15 thousand years ago (KYA). However, there is still debate over exactly when and how many times the ancestors of present-day Native Americans entered the New World from Siberia. A large genome-scale study conducted by an international team headed by the Centre for GeoGenetics at the University of Copenhagen has now provided answers to these questions. The study reveals that the ancestors of all present-day Native Americans arrived in the Americas as part of a single migration wave, no earlier than ...

Location-based ads need more than closeness to overcome creepiness

2015-07-21
Location-based advertisements may pinpoint customers geographically, but often miss the target because customers may find the ads creepy and intrusive, according to an international team of researchers. To overcome this negativity, the researchers suggest advertisers invite their customers to help tailor ads they might receive. While being physically close to a product or shop improved attitudes about local advertisements on their mobile devices, customers felt significantly better about both the advertisement and location-based advertising when they had a hand in selecting ...

Questionnaire beats blood test in identifying at-risk drinking among ER patients

2015-07-21
Emergency room physicians treating patients with alcohol-related trauma can better identify those at risk of future drinking-related trauma with a 10-point questionnaire rather than the standard blood alcohol content test, according to a study in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA). The questionnaire, known as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), was developed by the World Health Organization to address difficulties in identifying at-risk drinking behavior. It assesses alcohol consumption, drinking behaviors and alcohol-related ...

Genome analysis pins down arrival and spread of first Americans

Genome analysis pins down arrival and spread of first Americans
2015-07-21
The original Americans came from Siberia in a single wave no more than 23,000 years ago, at the height of the last Ice Age, and apparently hung out in the north - perhaps for thousands of years - before spreading in two distinct populations throughout North and South America, according to a new genomic analysis. The findings, which will be reported in the July 24 issue of Science, confirm the most popular theory of the peopling of the Americas, but throws cold water on others, including the notion of an earlier wave of people from East Asia prior to the last glacial maximum, ...

Early antiretroviral therapy prevents non-AIDS outcomes in HIV-infected people, study

2015-07-21
Starting antiretroviral therapy early not only prevents serious AIDS-related diseases, but also prevents the onset of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other non-AIDS-related diseases in HIV-infected people, according to a new analysis of data from the Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment (START) study, the first large-scale randomized clinical trial to establish that earlier antiretroviral treatment benefits all HIV-infected individuals. Rates of both serious AIDS-related events and serious non-AIDS-related events were significantly reduced with early therapy. The ...

NYU nursing and medical students learn teamwork with virtual teammates

2015-07-21
The Institute of Medicine has identified interprofessional education (IPE) as a key innovation for achieving the triple aim of better care, better outcomes and reduced health care costs. Yet, a shortage of qualified faculty and difficulty with aligning learners' schedules often prevent sustainable and scalable IPE. Now, a team of New York University researchers from both the College of Nursing (CoN) and NYU School of Medicine (SoM), are addressing the barriers to wide-spread adoption of IPE. Led by Maja Djukic, PhD, RN, assistant professor at the CoN, and Marc Triola, ...

Shallow fracking raises questions for water, new Stanford research shows

2015-07-21
The United States now produces about as much crude oil as Saudi Arabia does, and enough natural gas to export in large quantities. That's thanks to hydraulic fracturing, a mining practice that involves a rock-cracking pressurized mix of water, sand and chemicals. Ongoing research by Stanford environmental scientist Rob Jackson attempts to minimize the risks of "fracking" to underground drinking water sources. The most recent such study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, finds that at least 6,900 oil and gas wells in the U.S. were fracked less than a mile ...

Words jump-start vision, psychologist's study shows

2015-07-21
MADISON, Wis. -- Cognitive scientists have come to view the brain as a prediction machine, constantly comparing what is happening around us to expectations based on experience -- and considering what should happen next. "These predictions, most of them unconscious, include predicting what we're about to see," says Gary Lupyan, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor. Work in Lupyan's lab has demonstrated the predictive process through manipulating the connection between language and vision in the brain. A study published recently in The Journal of Neuroscience ...

Fertile corals discovered in deeper waters off US Virgin Islands

Fertile corals discovered in deeper waters off US Virgin Islands
2015-07-21
MIAMI - Researchers discovered a threatened coral species that lives in deeper waters off the U.S. Virgin Islands is more fertile than its shallow-water counterparts. The new study showed that mountainous star corals (Orbicella faveolata) located at nearly 140 feet (43 meters) deep may produce one trillion more eggs per square kilometer (247 acres) than those on shallow reefs. The findings from scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the University of the Virgin Islands have important implications for the future ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Canadian health data security is critical in changing political climate

Helping Canada lead in health innovation

Virtual care network for rural and First Nations communities

Dementia takes 3.5 years to diagnose after symptoms begin

Robotic space rovers keep getting stuck. UW engineers have figured out why

New research shows how immigration status can become a death sentence during public health crisis

University of Toronto Engineering researchers develop safer alternative non-stick coating

Good vibrations: Scientists use imaging technology to visualize heat

More ecological diversity means better nutritional resources in Fiji’s agroforests

New global study shows freshwater is disappearing at alarming rates

Scientists create an artificial cell capable of navigating its environment using chemistry alone

A little salt is good for battery health

Deep-sea fish confirmed as a significant source of ocean carbonate

How to keep kids with eating disorders home after hospital stay? Therapy

Sex differences affect efficacy of opioid overdose treatment

Aligning AI with Human Values and Well-Being

Engineering the next generation of experimental physics

The scuba diving industry is funding marine ecosystem conservation and employing locals

BATMAN brings TCR therapy out of the shadows

Surrogates more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness, study finds

Columbia Engineering researchers turn dairy byproduct into tissue repair gel

Global estimates of lives and life-years saved by COVID-19 vaccination during 2020-2024

Potential trade-offs of proposed cuts to the NIH

New research simulates cancer cell behavior

COVID, over 2.5 million deaths prevented worldwide thanks to vaccines. One life saved for every 5,400 doses administered

Scuba diving generates up to $20 billion annually

Scientists advance efforts to create ‘virtual cell lab’ as testing ground for future research with live cells

How DNA packaging controls the “genome’s guardian”

Simplified models, deeper insights: Coarse-grained models unlock new potential for ionic liquid simulations

Gorillas’ personal circumstances shape their aggression towards groupmates

[Press-News.org] New treatment for severe depression with far fewer side effects