The number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England has almost doubled in the past decade. This study examined if this growth and seasonal variation in prescribing rates of different antidepressants by general practice are linked.
Electroconvulsive therapy has a negative connotation in many circles, but is it getting a bad rap? Dr Andrade offers thoughtful counterpoints to the criticism.
This commentary discusses a recent article on the use of electroconvulsive therapy for depressed patients with and without borderline personality disorder.
To diagnose insomnia disorder, how do you conduct an effective interview with patients? What assessment tools do you use? Review the evaluation process with an expert.
Psychiatric symptoms in empty sella are uncommon, but empty sella syndrome has been reported to be present along with psychosis. This report presents a case of Wilson’s disease with psychotic presentation and empty sella syndrome in an adolescent.
Even given known risk factors for suicide, predicting suicide is difficult. This study used deep learning of structural magnetic resonance imaging to create an algorithm for detecting suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts.
Levels of several fatty acids (FAs) have been linked to suicidal behavior, though research has mainly focused on individual FAs. This study used latent class cluster analysis to identify groupings of FAs that may affect likelihood of suicidal behavior.
Although the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) may be associated with psychiatric disorders, the risk of this association has not been well documented. This nationwide cohort study investigated the long-term risk of psychiatric disorders in TOF patients.
In this article, Dr Andrade helps readers identify several types of statistical analysis that violate scientific principles and that researchers may knowingly—or unknowingly—engage in.
During the first wave of COVID-19 in Iran, several mental health care delivery problems were observed. In this commentary, the authors provide suggestions to address these challenges, especially given that subsequent waves of COVID-19 are expected.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted delivery of mental health services. This article describes the development and implementation of child and adolescent tele-partial hospitalization programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baclofen, a French Exception, Seriously Harms Alcohol Use Disorder Patients Without Benefit
To the Editor: Dr Andrade’s analysis of the Bacloville trial in a recent Clinical and Practical Psychopharmacology column, in which he concluded that “individualized treatment with high-dose baclofen (30-300 mg/d) may be a useful second-line approach in heavy drinkers” and that “baclofen may be particularly useful in patients with liver disease,” deserves comment.1
First, Andrade failed to recall that the first pivotal trial of baclofen, ALPADIR (NCT01738282; 320 patients, as with Bacloville), was negative (see Braillon et al2).
Second, Dr Andrade should have warned readers that Bacloville’s results are most questionable, lacking robustness. Although he cited us,3 he overlooked the evidence we provided indicating that the Bacloville article4 was published without acknowledging major changes to the initial protocol, affecting the primary outcome. Coincidentally (although as skeptics, we do not believe in coincidence), the initial statistical team was changed when data were sold to the French pharmaceutical company applying for the marketing authorization in France. As Ronald H. Coase warned, “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.”
MY ACCOUNT