MD Magazine (7/14, Walter) reports, “While all signs point to esketamine as an effective medication for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression, the cost might be too high to really make a dent in this patient population,” investigators concluded in a study that “estimated the cost-effectiveness of esketamine to treat patients with treatment-resistant depression.” The modeling study revealed that “ultimately, it is unlikely that esketamine ends up as a cost-effective option to treat patients with treatment-resistant depression in the US unless prices for esketamine decrease by more than 40%.” The findings were published online July 7 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Esketamine Effective and Costly Treating Treatment-Resistant Depression, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, July 14, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (7/13, Smith, Subscription Publication) reports that mental-health professionals say that, among some Black Americans, perceptions of therapy are beginning to change, particularly for those in younger generations. Former APA deputy medical director Annelle Primm is quoted by the Journal.

Related Links:

— “For Some Black Americans, Therapy Is Gradually Losing Its Stigma, “Ray A. Smith, The Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2020

MedPage Today (7/13, George) reports, “Delirium was linked to long-term cognitive decline in both” hospitalized “surgical and nonsurgical patients,” investigators concluded. The 23-study meta-analysis revealed that “patients who experienced an episode of delirium were more than twice as likely to show long-term cognitive decline than patients without delirium.” The findings were published online July 13 in JAMA Neurology.

Psychiatric News (7/13) reports, “The circumstances of the delirium (following anesthesia, trauma, infection, and so on) did not affect the odds of future cognitive decline,” thereby suggesting that “the underlying mechanisms of delirium may be similar and possibly associated with inflammatory processes common to both surgical and nonsurgical contexts, the investigators noted.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (7/13, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports, “Although patients with bipolar disorder commonly experience depressive symptoms, clinicians should be very cautious about treating them with antidepressants, especially as monotherapy, experts asserted in a recent debate on the topic” that took place during the virtual European Psychiatric Association 2020 Congress. During the Congress, “psychiatric experts said that clinicians should also screen patients for mixed symptoms that are better treated with mood stabilizers.” In addition, “these same experts…raised concerns over long-term antidepressant use, recommending continued use only in patients who relapse after stopping antidepressants.”

Related Links:

— “Caution Urged for Antidepressant Use in Bipolar Depression, “Liam Davenport, Medscape, July 13, 2020

Healio (7/10, Schaffer) reported, “A cohort of French women currently taking any antidepressant medication were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes [T2D] during six years of follow-up compared with nonusers, independent of severe depressive symptoms,” investigators found after analyzing “data from 63,999 women without type 2 diabetes at baseline.” The findings were published online June 16 in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants elevate risk for type 2 diabetes, “Regina Schaffer, Healio, July 10, 2020