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Taking into account five predictive indicators , including severity of depression, hostility level, introversion, sleep problems and unemployment status, University of Pennsylvania researchers Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces and Robert DeRubeis produced a statistical indexing tool that can help identify those most in need of an intensive treatment like cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. The researchers found that, in terms of depression recovery rates approximately two years after treatment, those with worse prognoses, as indicated by their scores on the risk index, saw the strongest results from CBT. Those with better prognoses or fewer risk factors saw no differences between CBT and two less-intensive treatments. "We're used to thinking that someone who meets the criteria for major depression needs the most intense treatment," said Lorenzo-Luaces, a sixth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences, "but there is act...

Concerns have been raised about potential psychiatric adverse effects that may be associated with 5α-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs), which have been used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, enlarged prostate) related to lower urinary tract symptoms in older men and androgenic alopecia (pattern baldness). Little research has assessed the potential risks of suicidality and depression from 5ARI medications. Blayne Welk, M.D., M.Sc., of Western University, Ontario, Canada, and coauthors used linked administrative data to conduct a population-based study of more than 93,000 older men (66 or older) in Canada who started a new prescription for a 5ARI for prostatic enlargement from 2003 through 2013. The men were compared with a similar group of other men not prescribed a 5ARI. The authors assessed risk of suicide, self-harm and depression. The authors report: Use of 5ARIs was not associated with increased risk of suicide. Risk of self-harm increased during the first 18 months ...