ECNP Virtual Congress Roundup: Data Mining Method Detects Psychosis Risk Early; Electroconvulsive Therapy Cuts Suicide Risk by 84% in Bipolar Disorder; and More

Detecting Psychosis Early via Data Mining Method May Cut Risk in Half

A new data mining method utilizing natural language processing to search through electronic health records appears to effectively detect psychosis risk, according to a new study that included 92,151 patients. The findings were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Virtual Congress.

"Many medical records are fairly unstructured, with information of mental health being hidden in sections which do not allow systematic research. Our data-mining system does a more complete search of the records of people who have been referred to hospital (secondary care), looking for keywords such as weight loss, insomnia, cocaine, guilt, etc,” said study author Paolo Fusar-Poli, MD, PhD, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London, in a press release.¹

Preventing psychosis using methods like the one assessed in the present study “can halve the risk of psychosis developing,” Dr Fusar-Poli added.¹

Maternal Depression and Anxiety May Be Tied to Physiological Stress in Babies

Babies born to mothers with depression or anxiety appear to demonstrate greater signs of physiological stress when administered a stress test compared with those born to mothers without these conditions, according to preliminary findings from a study of 50 mothers and their babies.

"To our knowledge this is one of the first times this physical effect has been seen in [3-month-old] infants. This may feed into other physiological stress systems leading to imprinted psychological problems", said study author Fabio Blanco-Dormond, from the University of Heidelberg, in a press release.²

These findings were highlighted at the ECNP Virtual Congress.

Measuring Brain Waves During REM Sleep May Predict Antidepressant Effectiveness

Measuring brain waves during the rapid eye movement sleep cycle may help predict treatment response to antidepressants, according to new findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 37) discussed at the ECNP Virtual Congress.

“In real terms it means that patients, often in the depths of despair, might not need to wait weeks to see if their therapy is working before modifying their treatment,” said study author Thorsten Mikoteit, MD, from the University of Basel, in a press release.³

“We have been able to show that by predicting the nonresponse to antidepressants we were able to adapt the treatment strategy more or less immediately; this enables us to significantly shorten the average duration between start of antidepressant treatment and response, which is vital especially for seriously depressed patients,” Dr Mikoteit added.³

In Bipolar Disorder, Electroconvulsive Therapy May Significantly Lower Suicide Risk

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was found to reduce risk of suicide by 84% in a large study conducted among patients with bipolar disorder (N = 670). Furthermore, ECT was shown to be an effective treatment among 72% of patients included in the study.

“We have not found this level of acute improvement with any other treatment,” said study author Giulio Emilio Brancati, from the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the University of Pisa, in a press release.⁴ These findings were presented at the ECNP Virtual Congress.

—Christina Vogt

References:

1. Improved early psychosis detection system may halve risk in young people. News release. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. September 13, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020.
2. Baby heartbeat reveals the stress of having a depressed or anxious mother. News release. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. September 13, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020.
3. Measuring brainwaves while sleeping can tell if you should switch antidepressants. News release. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. September 12, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020.
4. Electroconvulsive therapy shown to significantly reduce suicide risk in bipolar patients. News release. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. September 12, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020.