Healio (3/11, Demko) reports, “Adults with atopic dermatitis, or eczema, have significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression than those without dermatitis,” researchers concluded after investigating “the connection between atopic dermatitis and anxiety and depression symptoms/diagnosis in 2,893 U.S. adults.” The study also revealed, however, that “these mental health conditions are often not diagnosed in these patients.” The findings were published online in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Related Links:

— “Eczema tied to anxiety, depression, “Savannah Demko, Healio, March 11, 2019

Reuters (3/8, Rapaport) reported, “Social media posts about suicide games may spread for months online before mainstream media reports help alert parents to the potential threat,” researchers concluded after collecting “95,555 social media posts and news articles about the blue whale challenge” across “social media and mainstream news outlets from 2013 to 2017.” The study revealed that “by the time the first U.S. news article about this suicide game appeared, the game had been circulating in English language social media posts for four months and in other languages for nine months.” The findings were published online Feb. 26 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Social Media Posts About Suicide Games May Spread For Months Online Before Mainstream Media Reports Help Alert Parents To The Potential Threat, Study Indicates, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 08, 2019

Reuters (3/6, Rapaport) reports researchers found that “people who suffer from a common chronic sinus disorder may be more likely than those who don’t to develop depression and anxiety.” The findings were published in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. In an accompany commentary, Dr. Edward McCoul, the director of rhinology and sinus surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, wrote that rhinosinusitis may release neurotransmitters that contribute to psychiatric issues.

Related Links:

— “Sinus problems tied to higher risk of depression, anxiety, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 06, 2019

CNN (3/6, Scutti) reports a study found “children born to women who had a severe infection during pregnancy, such as sepsis, flu or pneumonia, show an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder and depression.” The study found elevated risks for autism and depression in minor infections as well, such as urinary tract infection. The population study looked at medical records for almost two million women over 41 years in Sweden. The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

MedPage Today (3/6, Hlavinka) reports “children of mothers hospitalized for any infection during pregnancy had a higher risk for diagnoses of autism by age 7 (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.34-2.40) and depression by age 21 (HR 1.24 95% CI 1.08-1.42) compared to those of mothers with no such infection history.” Moreover, “for autism, the association did not appear to be affected by the severity of maternal infection.” The study received funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Related Links:

— “Exposure to infection in the womb increases risk of autism and depression, study says, “Susan Scutti, CNN, March 06, 2019

The Washington Post (3/6, Johnson, McGinley) reports that the FDA has “approved a novel antidepressant — the first in decades to work in a completely new way in the brain — for people with depression that does not respond to other treatments.” The medication, “a nasal spray called esketamine, has been eagerly anticipated by psychiatrists and patient groups as a powerful new tool to fight intractable depression.” According to the Post, “The spray acts within hours, rather than weeks or months as is typical for current antidepressants.”

Reuters (3/5) reports that “the treatment comes with a boxed warning…flagging the risk for sedation and difficulty with attention, judgment and thinking, abuse and misuse, and suicidal thoughts after administration of the” medication. Meanwhile, the agency, “citing the risk of serious adverse outcomes and the potential for abuse and misuse…said the drug will be available through a restricted distribution system.”

The AP (3/6, Perrone) reports that “the FDA approved” the medication “based on study results that showed patients taking the drug experienced a bigger improvement in their depression levels than patients taking a sham treatment, when measured with a psychiatric questionnaire.” The medication “is designed to be lower-dose and easier to use than ketamine, which is normally given as an intravenous infusion.” According to the AP, “The nasal spray…is a chemical cousin of ketamine, which has been used for decades as a powerful anesthetic to prepare patients for surgery.”

The New York Times (3/5, Carey) reports, “Ketamine was developed more than five decades ago as a safer alternative to the anesthetic phencyclidine, or PCP, and is used worldwide, in operating rooms, on the battlefield and in pediatric clinics.” According to the Times, “By the 1990s, interest turned to the drug’s potential to combat depression.”

HealthDay (3/5, Miller, Mundell) reports that “low, intravenous doses” of ketamine “have been found to boost mood and curb suicidal thoughts, but the FDA has not approved it as a treatment for depression.” According to HealthDay, “the American Psychiatric Association (APA) warns patients about the potential for abuse and the lack of large, long-term studies of its effectiveness.” Former APA President Dr. Alan Schatzberg said, “The lack of information [on ketamine] is really quite dramatic when you look at the proliferation of use in certain communities.”

Related Links:

— “In biggest advance for depression in years, FDA approves novel treatment for hardest cases, “Carolyn Y. Johnson and
Laurie McGinley, The Washington Post, March 05, 2019