This slideshow features 3 new studies on MDD.[1-3] Topics include strategies for monitoring depression symptoms and treatment options for pregnant women with MDD. Scroll through the slides for the latest findings and take-home messages.
1. Smartphone App Measures Daily Moods: Twenty-five patients used the Smartphone and Online Usage Based Evaluation for Depression (SOLVD) mobile application to report their daily mood over 8 weeks. The app monitored phone usage patterns, such as times of calls and number of text messages. The smartphone ratings correlated with clinician assessments-more so for those with moderate to severe depression than for those with mild depression.[1]
Take-home message: Smartphone applications hold promise as a useful way to monitor symptoms of depression in a clinically depressed population.
2. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI) Therapy During Pregnancy Affects Newborn Brain Activity: A study of 22 mothers who used SRIs during pregnancy and 62 controls assessed mood and anxiety, newborn neurology, and newborn cortical function. Brain electrical activity exhibited several differences, including less-organized communication between brain hemispheres and weaker synchronization between cortical rhythms. There was no correlation with the scores on maternal depression or anxiety.[2]
Take-home message: Pregnant women with depression or anxiety should receive nonpharmacological therapies as first-line treatment, or a therapeutic intervention without an SRI.
3. Guided Tapering of Antidepressants With Cognitive Therapy During Pregnancy: A new study will include 200 women who have been pregnant for less than 16 weeks, who use SSRIs, and who do not have clinically relevant depressive symptoms. The women will be randomized either to receive preventive cognitive therapy with gradual, guided discontinuation of SSRIs or to continue SSRIs. The primary outcome will be the cumulative incidence of relapse or recurrence of maternal depressive disorder during pregnancy and up to 3 months postpartum.[3]
Clinical significance: If the study shows preventive cognitive therapy with guided tapering of SSRIs compares favorably with continuation of SSRIs, then stopping pharmacological therapy may be the preferred strategy during pregnancy.
