Functional Assessment of Patients With Acute Bipolar Depression After 8 Months of Follow-up
Bipolar DisorderBipolar DepressionThis study aims to study prospectively for 8 months a sample of bipolar patients with acute depressive episode in order to identify that factors associated with functional impairment, with especial attention to the presence of subsyndromal symptoms beyond the acute phase.
Identification and Treatment of Depression
CancerThe goal of this research study is to learn how well a telephone system works for improving the management of emotional distress, sadness, and/or depression in patients who are being treated for cancer.
Duke Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Depression in Late Life
Major DepressionThe proposed Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience of Depression will focus on understanding the neurobiological mechanism of depression. A total of 5 projects are proposed. The center is focused on a single hypothesis. The first project examines localization of lesions, structural changes in critical regions subserving the circuit, alterations in the white matter tracts relevant to the circuit and changes in glutamate. The second project uses post mortem cell counting and cellular localization in serotonin receptors and assessment of the type of cell loss in the orbitofrontal cortex. The third project uses cognitive paradigms and functional MRI to probe the circuit and the role of brain lesions and serotonin on the functioning of this circuit. The fourth project uses transgenic and knockout mice to examine to role of norepinephrine and serotonin as it relates to the circuit. The final project is designed to assess in these transgenic mice using multielectrode array of single neuron recordings of the firing pattern of the circuit neurons in various states and tasks and the role of monoamines in modulating this circuit.
Mapping Mood in the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Parkinson's DiseaseDepression1 moreThe goal of this study is to determine the vulnerability of mood-related neurocircuitry in Parkinson Disease (PD) using deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS).
Regulation of Intracerebral Pressure During Electroconvulsive Therapy
DepressionIntracranial PressureThe purpose of this study is to determine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has an influence on pressure within the human brain before, during and after ECT.
Serum Markers as a Bioassay for Unipolar Depression
Major DepressionThe goal of the study is to validate a biomarker assay for unipolar depression based on serum proteins involved in inflammation, metabolism, and stress response. The study will compare patients with a current major depressive episode to individuals with no history of depression. The hypothesis is that the assay can serve as a diagnostic tool that would be more objective than standard diagnostic questionnaires.
Assessment of Sexual Dysfunction, Depression and Anxiety in Underserved, Minority Gynecologic Cancers...
Gynecologic CancerObjectives: Assess the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety in underserved and minority women seen in the gynecologic oncology clinic at Lyndon Baines Johnson General Hospital. Assess the prevalence and severity of sexual dysfunction in this patient population.
Taboo Perception of Incontinence, Depression and Cancer
Urinary Incontinence AwarenessGender DifferencesObjective/study hypothesis To evaluate how much of a taboo UI is and how it compares to other medical conditions that may also pose a taboo issue like depression and cancer. Background Urinary incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent condition with more than 200 million people worldwide being affected. While physical health does not necessarily have to be impaired much, restriction of social activities leads to isolation, a significant reduction in quality of life and will often bring about subsequent morbidity. Despite its prevalence, many patients suffering from UI go undiagnosed and untreated. Patients often hesitate to report the problem, and health care professionals often do not ask about it. In a study Minassian (2003) estimated that just one in four patients actively seeks medical attention. The reason for this may lie in the shame, embarrassment, and stigma associated with this condition, which in turn pose significant barriers to seeking professional treatment. Although mentioned by many narrative reviews and included in some epidemiological papers on UI, surprisingly we found no data addressing the taboo of UI exclusively. The aim of our study therefore was Methods/Design A 13-question self-administered questionnaire was developed and face validity tested by 2 of the authors (KH, EH). The anonymous questionnaire contained simple questions on gender and age and then asked yes/no questions on whether test persons knew people with UI, or suspected other people to be incontinent, if they would address this issue with the suspected person, and if they thought that UI was a taboo issue in the society. On a scale from 0 - 10 they were then asked to grade the amount of embarrassment and anxiety if they themselves were incontinent, compared to depression or cancer. A few questions on knowledge of the condition of UI and to whom test persons would turn to in case of UI concluded the short questionnaire, which took about 5 minutes to fill in. A convenience sample of 150 test persons from waiting areas of a teaching hospital and in private practices of general practitioners in Austria agreed to take part in the study, with an additional 10 persons (6.2%) declining after being informed about the subject. Data were analysed with the SPSS 10.0.5 software package using the U-test, Chi-square-test, Yates-correction, Fisher's exact test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test where appropriate.
Vocal Acoustic Biomarkers in Depression
DepressionThis Phase II SBIR study will replicate pilot study methods establishing computer-automated methods for assessing depression severity using interactive voice response system technology and demonstrating feasibility of obtaining measures of depression severity and treatment response through vocal acoustic analysis of speech samples obtained over the telephone. The study will automate vocal acoustic analysis methods, evaluate applicability to other patient populations (non-English speakers, children/young adult, and geriatric), and further develop multivariate acoustic models to enhance biomarker sensitivity to treatment response and prediction of the response likelihood for individual patients.
Personality Type as a Predictor to Develop Depression and Reduction in Quality of Life Among Stroke...
StrokeDepression2 morePersonality type as a predictor to develop depression and reduction in quality of life among stroke survivals.