Advocates and users of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have received further scientific backing: a retrospective cohort study has provided further evidence that ECT can prevent suicide among severely depressed patients. The patient cohort comprised 27,231 men and 40,096 women who had been treated as inpatients. The average age was 45.1 years (range: 18-103 years), and 4982 … Read more
This transcript has been edited for clarity. Madhukar Trivedi, MD: Hello. Welcome to the podcast. My name is Madhukar Trivedi. I’m professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and the founding director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care. Today it gives me great pleasure to introduce my colleague and friend, Dr Jonathan Downar, … Read more
In the early 20th century, there were a few psychiatrists ― perhaps intrepid, perhaps deluded ― who, despite no formal surgical training, were impelled to breach their patients’ skulls. Inspired by the surgical innovations of the day, they were curious about the physical nature of the psyche and whether invasive surgical procedures might be a … Read more
Elevated concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) due to air pollution increases the risk of epileptic seizures, a unique new study suggests. The link between daily outdoor CO exposure and seizure risk was particularly evident for subclinical seizures ― those in patients with abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) signals but no clinical symptoms. “Our findings suggest that people … Read more
When benzodiazepines were first introduced, they were greeted with enthusiasm. Librium came first, in 1960, followed by Valium in 1962, and they were seen as an improvement over barbiturates for the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, and seizures. From 1968 to 1982, Valium (diazepam) was the No. 1-selling US pharmaceutical: 2.3 billion tablets of Valium were … Read more