Recurent use of antiobiotics increases risk of depression and anxiety

Recurent use of antiobiotics increases risk of depression and anxiety, most likely though changes in your gut bacteria. The effect is noteworthy. More than 5 lifetime exposures to penicillin, and your risk is up almost 50%!

This is why it is really important to check for good gut health when you are depressed or anxious and have had antibiotic treamtent.

 

Source;

J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 Nov;76(11):1522-8. doi: 10.4088/JCP.15m09961.

Antibiotic exposure and the risk for depression, anxiety, or psychosis: a nested case-control study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Changes in the microbiota (dysbiosis) were suggested to increase the risk of several psychiatric conditions through neurologic, metabolic, and immunologic pathways. Our aim was to assess whether exposure to specific antibiotic groups increases the risk for depression, anxiety, or psychosis.

METHOD:

We conducted 3 nested case-control studies during the years 1995-2013 using a large population-based medical record database from the United Kingdom. The study included 202,974 patients with depression, 14,570 with anxiety, and 2,690 with psychosis and 803,961, 57,862, and 10,644 matched controls, respectively. Cases were defined as individuals aged 15-65 years with any medical Read code for depression, anxiety, or psychosis. Subjects with diagnosis-specific psychotropic prescriptions > 90 days before index date were excluded. For every case, 4 controls were selected using incidence density sampling, matching on age, sex, practice site, calendar time, and duration of follow-up before index date. The primary exposure of interest was therapy with 1 of 7 antibiotic classes > 1 year before index date. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were calculated for the association between each psychiatric disorder and exposure to individual classes of antibiotics using conditional logistic regression analysis. The risk was adjusted for obesity, smoking history, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status, and number of infectious events before diagnosis.

RESULTS:

Treatment with a single antibiotic course was associated with higher risk for depression with all antibiotic groups, with an adjusted OR (AOR) of 1.23 for penicillins (95% CI, 1.18-1.29) and 1.25 (95% CI, 1.15-1.35) for quinolones. The risk increased with recurrent antibiotic exposures to 1.40 (95% CI, 1.35-1.46) and 1.56 (95% CI, 1.46-1.65) for 2-5 and > 5 courses of penicillin, respectively. Similar association was observed for anxiety and was most prominent with exposures to penicillins and sulfonamides, with an AOR of 1.17 (95% CI, 1.01-1.36) for a single course of penicillin and 1.44 (95% CI, 1.18-1.75) for > 5 courses. There was no change in risk for psychosis with any antibiotic group. There was a mild increase in the risk of depression and anxiety with a single course of antifungals; however, there was no increase in risk with repeated exposures.

CONCLUSION:

Recurrent antibiotic exposure is associated with increased risk for depression and anxiety but not for psychosis

New drug for Parkinson-Psychosis

Pimavanserin (Nuplazid (r) ) has been approved for the treatment of Parkinson-related psychosis.

This is new. Hitherto, more or less all effective treatments options blocked
dopamine, which leads to a worsening of Parkinson.

This drug has a new mechanism of action.
I will keep you aupdated, once it becomes available in Europe.

Blood brain barrier: Break through

Source:

http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-breached-the-blood-brain-barrier-for-the-first-time-to-treat-a-brain-tumour

 

This new technology to deliver drugs exactly at a specific brain region, although in this caser used for treating brain tumors, might be pivotal and provide a completely new approach to drugs targeted at various psychiatric disorders which are known to be caused by very local (as pposed to global) changes of brain metabolism.

 

 

Increased risk of violent crime in adolescents prescribed SSRIs?

Source:http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001875

Abstract

Background

Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed, associations with violence are uncertain.

Methods and Findings

From Swedish national registers we extracted information on 856,493 individuals who were prescribed SSRIs, and subsequent violent crimes during 2006 through 2009. Weiterlesen

Oxytocin against alcoholism?

Source:

http://theconversation.com/could-research-into-oxytocin-and-alcohol-lead-to-a-sobriety-pill-37855
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/10/3104

Oxytocin is a natural human hormone primarily  known for its significance during pregnancy/birth.

However, many new aspects of its possible additional properties are known today.
New research (from animal studies) suggests that it may help to

– reduce alcohol craving and consumption
– reduce alcohol toxicity
– reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

These new findings might helpt to develop a new koind of „sobriety pill“ eventually.

The battle of the 4-hour clock against the 24-rhythm in psychiatric disorders

Source:: http://elifesciences.org/content/3/e05105
https://twitter.com/DrMMuehlbacher/status/572140865612869632

In mammals, there are different internal clocks. One of them has been know for a longer time and runs a 24-hour cycle. In depression, mania and schiziophrenie, this cycle is often disturbed,

New findingas indicate an ultradian clock with a circle of only 4 hours which operates independently and regulates motolocor acitivity. In healthy subjects. it is synchronized to the 24-hour circadian clock and is governed by rhythmis release of dopamin in the striatum.

Even for lays and at a first glance, a 4 hour rhythm is not completely unknown:

getting up at 8(7) and breakfast
work for 4 hours then break and have lunch
work for four more hours (maaybe snack), then relax and go home
4 hours private time/ family – it is now 8 pm.
slowly begin „evening routine.
4 hrs later at last: fall asleep (at the latest)
4 am: awake early, go back to slepp if possible
8(7) start from the beginning…

 

 

 

 

 

 

This rhythm is synchronized with dopamine release in the striatum and, under healthy conditions, is synchronized to the 24-hour clock.

However, too little or to much of dopamine may change the harmony.

Too much dopamine (as in mania an schizoprenia ) may lead to an increase of the „ultradian“ circle to a 48-hour circle. this phenomenon is well known in some schizophrenic and manic patients.

On the other hand, blocking dopamine (which is what many anipsychotic and antimanic drugs do) shortens the circle.

In addition, psychoeducation focussing on a stabilization of circadian rhythms, may prove to be beneficial this way.

In the future, new medication and other treatments which focus on re-synchronization of ultrdian and circadian rhythms may open a new avenue to treating various psychiatric disorders.

New link between bipolar disorders, anxiety and fat metabolism?

Sources:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288804.php
https://plus.google.com/#103645180143784613186/posts

 
A new link between bipolar disorders, anxiety and fat metabolism?
These findings are very early stage – but a good reminder that neurosciences are really moving on fast! In the long run, new therapies might be a possible outcome.