Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Preliminary Evidence For Medication Effects On Functional Abnormalities In The Amygdala And Anterior Cingulate In Bipolar Disorder, Hilary P. Blumberg, Nelson H. Donegan, Charles A. Sanislow, Susan Collins, Cheryl Lacadie, Pawel Skudlarski, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Robert K. Fulbright, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Gore, John H. Krystal

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

RATIONALE: Abnormal amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional stimuli are implicated in bipolar disorder (BD) and have been proposed as potential treatment targets.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional face stimuli in BD and the influences of mood-stabilizing medications on these responses.

METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while 17 BD participants (5 unmedicated) and 17 healthy comparison (HC) participants viewed faces with happy, sad, fearful, or neutral expressions.

RESULTS: The group by stimulus-condition interaction was significant (p<0.01) for amygdala activation, with the greatest effects in the happy face condition. Relative to HC, amygdala increases were greater in unmedicated BD, but lower in medicated BD. Rostral anterior cingulate (rAC) activation was decreased in unmedicated BD compared to HC; however, BD participants taking medication demonstrated rAC activation similar to HC participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the sample sizes were small, these preliminary results suggest that …

Longitudinal Comparison Of Depressive Personality Disorder And Dysthymic Disorder, John C. Markowitz, Andrew E. Skodol, Eva Petkova, Hui Xie, Jianfeng Cheng, David J. Hellerstein, John G. Gunderson, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the related diagnostic constructs of depressive personality disorder (DPD) and dysthymic disorder (DD). The authors attempted to replicate findings of Klein and Shih in longitudinally followed patients with personality disorder or major depressive disorder (MDD) in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.

METHODS: Subjects (N = 665) were evaluated at baseline and over 2 years (n = 546) by reliably trained clinical interviewers using semistructured interviews and self-report personality questionnaires.

RESULTS: Only 44 subjects (24.6% of 179 DPD and 49.4% of 89 early-onset dysthymic subjects) met criteria for both disorders at baseline. Depressive personality disorder …

Patterns Of Risk Of Depressive Symptoms Among Hiv-Positive Women In The Southeastern United States, Linda Moneyham, Carolyn Murdaugh, Kenneth D. Phillips, Kirby Jackson, Abbas Tavakoli, Mary Boyd, Medha Vyavaharkar

Kenneth D. Phillips

Depressive symptoms are a common response to HIV disease, and women appear to be at particularly high risk. The authors report results from a crosssectional analysis of data collected from 280 rural women with HIV/AIDS in the Southeastern United States aimed at identifying risk factors of depressive symptoms. Stress theory provided a framework for identification of potential risk factors. Descriptive statistics, measures of association, and regression analyses were used to systematically identify patterns of risk. The final regression model included 22 factors that accounted for 69% of the variance in depressive symptoms. The majority of variance in depressive symptoms was …

The Effect Of Depression On Balance Decline In Mature Women, Jennifer Nitz, Nancy Low Choy, Meredith Ogilvie

Nancy Low Choy

Depression has been identified as a risk factor for falls, and a change in balance ability over time has yet to be investigated. This study aimed to identify if, over a 3-year period, balance ability changed in 26 women who were on medication for depression, compared to 26 non-depressed women. The two groups were matched for age, number of co-morbidities, activity level, medications, and height. All participants were simultaneously enrolled in a larger, longitudinal study of ageing. Balance measures included the Functional Reach (FR) test, Lateral Reach (LR) test, Step Test (ST), Timed Up and Go, and the Modified Clinical …