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Center for Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment In The News.....

October 25, 2024

Question 4 would legalize psychedelics

Backers of Question 4 say psychedelics can be a helpful mental health treatment. Opponents disagree with how the question is written.

Even though psychedelics have shown some promise in short-term studies, there is no definitive answer that they will work as medications long-term, and there are also questions about side effects, said Dr. Anthony J. Rothschild, professor of psychiatry at the UMass Chan Medical School and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

For more information:

Massachusetts ballot question 4 would legalize psychedelics - The New Bedford Light

August 25, 2024
Springfield Republican/MassLive 

"Psychedelics Show Promise Treating Mental Health Issues. But Are They Ready for Prime Time?"

Dr. Anthony Rothschild, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, has been researching treatments for mood disorder for 40 years. He is now looking at how psilocybin can be used to address treatment-resistant depression in a Phase III clinical trial sponsored by Compass Pathways.“The preliminary data is encouraging,” he said of psilocybin in the possible treatment of depression. “We don’t yet know what all the side effects might be. Therapists he works with in the study go through 80 hours of training. The idea of somebody doing this at home, it blows my mind. The bottom line is these drugs are understudied.” 

For access to the full article written by Greta Jochem/gjochemerepub.com  
https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2024/08/psychedelics-show-promise-treating-mental-health-issues-but-are-they-ready-for-primetime.html  

March 7, 2024
Boston25 News
psilocybin mushrooms

Supporters believe they’re an effective way to deal with issues like depression, PTSD, and addiction. Dr. Anthony Rothschild, associated with the UMass Chan Medical School, is doing some of that research right on the Worcester Campus.  

January 2, 2024

Anthony Rothschild to lead psilocybin study for treatment-resistant depression at UMass Chan

October 2, 2023

New Psilocybin Study, sponsored by COMPASS  

Read More

November 1, 2021

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? Who is most likely to suffer from SAD? What are the symptoms of SAD?

In this Health Watch segment (link below), UMass Memorial Medical Center Psychiatrist, Anthony Rothschild, MD provides some answers.

January 1, 2021

Wolters Kluwer is honored to announce that Anthony J. Rothschild, MD,
will become an Editor-in-Chief of the
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (JCP) on
January 1, 2021.

September 18, 2019

Trial of SAGE-217 in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Administration of SAGE-217 daily for 14 days resulted in a reduction in depressive symptoms at day 15. Adverse events were more common in the SAGE-217 group than in the placebo group. Further trials are needed to determine the durability and safety of SAGE-217 in major depressive disorder and to compare SAGE-217 with available treatments. (Funded by Sage Therapeutics; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03000530.).

Copyright © 2019 Massachusetts Medical Society

 
August 21, 2019

Continuation of combination drug therapy for psychotic depression reduces relapse risk, JAMA study shows

UMass Chan Medical School depression expert Anthony Rothschild explains findings

By Sarah Willey
UMass Chan Medical School Communications

Anthony Rothschild, MD, is the lead researcher at UMass Chan Medical School and one of four principle investigators on a new JAMA study that analyzes how continuation of a combination drug therapy could help patients who have major depressive disorder with psychotic features, a disabling condition with a high-risk of suicide.

 

 June 27, 2019

Aging baby boomers becoming new face of cannabis

“I have tremendous respect for the brain. I’m not in favor of people putting things in their body that potentially adversely affect the brain,” said Dr. Anthony J. Rothschild, professor of psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School.  For more in formation see link above

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June 17, 2019

Anthony Rothschild, colleagues warn of dangers of marijuana use among public
‘Statement of Concern’ suggests that state’s marijuana policy favors commercial gain over public health

By Sarah Willey

UMass Chan Medical School Communications

June 17, 2019

 Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry, is among six UMass Chan Medical School faculty who joined more than 40 Massachusetts doctors, scientists and researchers expressing concern over the potential dangers of marijuana use among the general public in a letter to Massachusetts lawmakers in early June...

https://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2019/06/anthony-rothschild-colleagues-warn-of-dangers-of-marijuana-use-among-public/

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June 13, 2019

 


CONGRATULATIONS!  The following awards were presented at the 2019 Residency Graduation held on June 13th

Paul F. Briscoli Award for Resident-Faculty Academic Collaboration

  • Anthony Rothschild, MD & Janette Abramowitz, MD

Project:  Extreme Weather Events and the Onset of Psychotic Depression

February 25, 2019

LISTEN: New developments in depression research with Anthony Rothschild: Anthony Rothschild, MD, explains the latest developments into the use of Esketamine for treatment-resistant depression in a new episode of the podcast Voices of UMassMed.

 

July 16, 2018

Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute rededicated at UMass Chan

UMass Chan Medical School Communications

The Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute at UMass Chan Medical School, focused on the comprehensive study of the brain and behavior, was recently rededicated after being relocated to the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building. The institute, which opened 18 years ago thanks to the generosity of Betty and the late Irving S. Brudnick, provides scientists with a state-of-the-art laboratory for investigating the nature and causes of mental illnesses. Recently, the Brudnick family helped to establish the Brudnick Translational Fellowship in Mood Disorders to prepare physician-scientists for independent careers in translational neuroscience research. The Brudnick family also endowed the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry held by Anthony Rothschild, MD. Shown here in the new location of the institute are: (front row, from left) Amy Brudnick Cerel and Betty Brudnick; (back row, from left) Terence R. Flotte, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.h. Chan School of Medicine; Sheldon Benjamin, MD, interim chair and professor of psychiatry; Vivian Budnik, PhD, chair and professor of neurobiology ; Andrew Tapper, PhD, professor of neurobiology and director of the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute; Chancellor Michael F. Collins; and Dr. Rothschild, professor of psychiatry.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

May, 26, 2018

U.S. and World News Report

Treating Bipolar – I and II – Disorders
Michael Schroeder staff reporter and
health editor at U.S. News
While there are similarities, the type of bipolar disorder a person has can influence treatment

"Bipolar I disorder is what used to be called classic manic depressive illness," says Dr. Anthony Rothschild, a professor of psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School. Those who have it experience periods of mania – that is, "of increased energy, not needing to sleep…

To ready more on this topic please see https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2018-05-29/treating-bipolar-i-and-ii-disorders

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March 26, 2018

Dr. Anthony J. Rothschild, MD has been appointed Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry.  Dr. Rothschild is a proud Princeton Alumnus who attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was a resident in Psychiatry and Chief Resident in Psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital.  At McLean he went on to become a Research Fellow in Neurochemistry and a CIBA-Geigy Fellow in Affective Disorders as he laid the groundwork for what would become a career-long focus in mood disorders, publishing 5 books and over 140 peer-reviewed papers to date. Dr. Rothschild came to UMass in 1996 and became a tenured professor of Psychiatry and the occupant of the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Endowed Chair of Psychiatry.

Dr. Rothschild is widely known as a leading international expert on psychotic depression.  He is a sought-after mentor who has helped a large number of medical students, residents, and faculty members launch their academic careers. Dr. Rothschild does a spectacular job of providing continuing education to all of us by carefully leading the planning of and curating the grand rounds series.  As Vice Chair for Research, Dr. Rothschild will oversee our department’s research efforts, making sure we are well-represented on medical school research committees, looking for ways to mentor trainees and junior faculty seeking research careers, and helping the department strategically grow its research efforts.

For more information on our departmental faculty, services and related programs, please visit our website at: https://www.umassmed.edu/psychiatry and 

__________________________________

November 3, 2017

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpxHGPha_fA&t=4s

UMass Memorial Health Care

__________________________________

July 31, 2017

Vitamin D supplementation in bipolar depression: A double blind placebo controlled trial
Study conducted by Wendy Marsh, MD, MSc et al., to explore whether vitamin D supplementation reduces bipolar depression, shows there was no significant difference lessening depressive symptoms. Read the summary in MDLinx Journal of Psychiatric Research.

June 26, 2017

UMASS  study of 30 patients  with multiple sclerosis and depression cited (Drs. Anthony Rothschild and Nancy Byatt)

Read full article here:

When Anxiety or Depression Masks a Medical Problem

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June 1, 2016

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

In Defense of Antidepressants
Though recent studies have questioned the drugs’ effectiveness, psychiatrist Peter D. Kramer has seen real benefits

Further testimony comes from a psychiatrist at the University of Massachusetts, Anthony Rothschild—arguably our premier expert on psychotic depression, which includes hallucinations or delusions. In 2014, I asked him if he was seeing classic, immobilizing melancholy—in the absence of psychosis. No, he said. There’s much less of it. His thought was that primary-care doctors nip progressive mood disorders in the bud. People used to move from depression to severe depression to paralyzing melancholy. Since the 1980s, with the advent of easier-to-use antidepressants, often the slide is interrupted.

See http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-defense-of-antidepressants-1464360915  for full article.

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May 16, 2016

  Congratulations to Dr. Anthnoy Rothschild who has been inducted as a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association at the 60th Convocation of Distinguished Fellows at the APA Annual Meeting on May 16, 2016.

________________________________________________________________________
May 13, 2016

May 13, 2016 5:33 PM By Dr. Mallika Marshall

Kristina Deligiannidis MD, a reproductive psychiatrist asks:

Are Hormones Or Genes To Blame For Peripartum Depression?

BOSTON (CBS) — About one in eight women suffer from peripartum depression and it is often passed from mother to daughter to daughter. Local researchers are trying to figure out how a woman’s DNA affects her risk.

___________________________ 

March 24, 2016

UMass Chan taking part in international study on genetics of postpartum depression

Women’s depression expert Kristina Deligiannidis encourages women to participate in PACT for the Cure

By Sandra Gray

UMass Chan Medical School Communications

________________________________

May 14, 2015

Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) 2015 Top Poster Finalist in Clinical/Translational Research for its 70th Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada

Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis' poster abstract entitled “Plasma Neuroactive Steroids and GABA Concentrations in Peripartum Women At-risk for Postpartum Depression” was designated a Top Poster Finalist for the SOBP 70th Annual Meeting.  The poster abstract was 1 of 45 abstracts chosen as a top poster finalist out of a total of 823 scientific poster abstracts, representing the top 5% of all accepted poster abstracts for presentation.  Co-authors on the poster included:  Aimee Kroll-Desrosiers, Shunyan Mo, Hien P. Nguyen, Abby Svenson,Nina Jaitly, Janet Hall, Bruce Barton,Anthony Rothschild and Scott Shaffer.   The study was funded by the CCTS Pilot Program Project grant (KMD) provided by UMass Chan CTSA grant UL1TR000161 (KMD) and NIMH 5K23MH097794 (KMD).
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May 21, 2015

Faculty Scholar Award Winner - May 2015

Wendy Marsh, MD MS is the recipient of the 2015 UMass Chan Medical School Faculty Scholar Award recently selected from a pool of competitive applications. The award will provide funding for her project: "Novel Biomarker for Bipolar Disorder: Sonic Hedgehog Protein."
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December 9, 2014

Dr. Anthony Rothschild has been quoted in the New York Times regarding

Special K, a Hallucinogen, Raises Hopes and Concerns as a Treatment for Depression

By ANDREW POLLACK DEC. 9, 2014

Some see ketamine as an effective drug for some
patients and others see it as a dangerous hallucinogenic that has not been
studied enough.

____________________

July 17, 2014

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) 2014 ACNP Travel Award
After reviewing the nearly 300 submissions, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Education & Training Committee has selected Dr. Kristina M. Deligiannidis as a Travel Awardee for the 2014 ACNP Annual Meeting being held in Phoenix, Arizona from December 7-11, 2014.  The ACNP annually selects distinguished young scientists in the field of neuropsychopharmacology to be a part of their Travel Award program. These awards offer an opportunity to attend an outstanding scientific program in clinical and basic research on brain-behavior-drug interactions; become aware of the most recent, and often unpublished, advances in psychopharmacology; and meet and interact with internationally distinguished researchers and scientists. Each Travel Awardee receives roundtrip coach air fare to attend the ACNP Annual Meeting; up to 5 nights lodging in the meeting hotel; paid Annual Meeting registration fee for recipient and his/her spouse; the opportunity to present a poster at the meeting; an allowance for other expenses; and an invitation to attend and present posters at the next four Annual Meetings.  Congrats!

 

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December 2, 2013      

 

Dr. Wendy Marsh has been promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School.  Congratulations!

 

 

August 20, 2013

 

 
WCVB-TV interviewed post-partum depression study participant Nicole Caligiuri and UMass Chan psychiatrist Kristina Deligiannidis about post-partum depression, and Caligiuri’s participation in Dr. Deligiannidis’ clinical study trying to identify the neurochemical sources of the disorder.  


https://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2016/05/kristina-deligiannidis-talks-to-wbz-tv-about-new-international-peripartum-depression-study/

June 4, 2013



Newsmaker: Rothschild dispels antidepressant myths
Psychiatric News features APA annual meeting highlights

In a special issue rounding up highlights from the recent annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Psychiatric News featured UMass Chan Medical School depression expert Anthony Rothschild, MD. Dr. Rothschild, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry, led a workshop focused on debunking common myths surrounding antidepressants.

Antidepressants “really work” and do not “cause suicide,” said Rothschild. He referred clinicians to his most recent book, The Evidence-based Guide to Antidepressant Medications, for further details on the benefits and risks of antidepressants, including guidelines for prescribing to special populations such as children and adolescents, geriatric patients, and pregnant and lactating women.

Read the full story, “Expert Sets Record Straight on Antidepressant Myths,” in the May 18 issue of Psychiatric News.

May 21, 2013

Women’s Faculty Awards honor outstanding contributions

Early Career Achievement in Science and Health Award
Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Seven women were honored at the 13th Annual Women’s Faculty Awards Luncheon, celebrating excellence in community service, education, science and health, patient care and mentorship. The event was held May 20 at UMass Chan Medical School.

The Women’s Faculty Committee sponsors the awards, which were presented following the keynote presentation “Mentoring and Leadership on the Journey” from Jean King, PhD, professor of psychiatry.

 

Expert Sets Record Straight on Antidepressant Myths

Antidepressants do “really work” and do not “cause suicide,” said Anthony Rothschild, M.D., at APA’s 2013 annual meeting today during a discussion of his second book in the Evidence-Based Guides series, The Evidence-Based Guide to Antidepressant Medications (American Psychiatric Publishing, 2012). Rothschild is the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School.

For more on this please see http://www.psychnews.org/update/report2_AM13_8.html

 

April 19,2013

 

Depression expert calls deep brain stimulation results promising
Rothschild compares unblinded and double-blinded studies for treatment-resistant depression

 

By Sandra Gray April 19, 2013
UMass Chan Medical School Communications

 

The remarkable results of a recent clinical trial for patients with treatment-resistant depression are being met with cautious optimism by experts. UMass Chan Medical School physician-scientist Anthony Rothschild, MD, notes that further research is needed to confirm the outcomes of the pilot study, published in Biological Psychiatry, in which six out of seven patients experienced rapid and dramatic improvement after receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the medial forebrain bundle, one of several areas of the brain associated with mood disorders.

For more information please see http://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2013/04/depression-expert-calls-deep-brain-stimulation-results-promising/

 

 

April 2013

Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director, Depression Specialty Clinic, was recently awarded a prestigious NIH mentored research career development award (K23) from the NIH/NIMH. In 2012 the NIH reviewed 555 K23 career development award applications, of which 35 were awarded by the NIH/NIMH.

The five year award of approx. $1 million will investigate potential neuroendocrine and neuroimaging endophenotypes in postpartum depression. As part of the K23 award, Dr. Deligiannidis will acquire advanced training (Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, NIMH, and Harvard) which will focus on reproductive and behavioral endocrinology and neuroimaging to study interactions of the reproductive endocrine system on neural circuitry in depression.

January 2013

Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director, Depression Specialty Clinic,will present on “Nutriceuticals in the Treatment of Perinatal Depression” at the American Psychiatric Association’s 166th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA on May 18, 2013. Her presentation is part of the Symposium “Non-pharmacological Treatment Interventions for Perinatal Depression” chaired by Dr. Katherine Wisner and whose focus is the safety and efficacy of three commonly available nutriceuticals: omega-3 fatty acids, folate and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe). Other topics to be presented as part of this Symposium include psychotherapy, sleep and wake therapies and acupuncture in the treatment of perinatal depression. Dr. Deligiannidis is a perinatal psychiatrist who conducts translational perinatal depression research in the Center for Psychopharmacologic Research & Treatment (CPRT).

October 2012

Dr Kristina Deligiannidis was recently invited to join the trainee advisory board (junior editorial board) of the Scandinavian peer-reviewed Journal, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Her three-year term will begin January 1, 2013. As a member of this internationally-based board she will participate in editorial training activities and participate in the annual Editorial Board meeting in Denmark.

October 2, 2012


Dr. Anthony Rothschild has been invited to join the Editorial Board of Comprehensive Psychiatry .  Dr.Rothschild is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Depression and Anxiety and Current Psychiatry as well as a reviewer for 26 jounals.

August 17, 2012 

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Grant
awarded to Wendy Marsh, MD for her continued research in Bipolar Disorder.
Former name of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Can Vitamin D help chase away depression?

Wendy K. Marsh, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Health Care, is trying to find out.

Marsh is among an elite group of researchers chosen to receive prestigious 2012 Young Investigator Grants from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. The grants are said to be among the most competitive in biomedical research: Marsh’s was one of only 202 awarded from some 1,030 applications this year. Funding for the grants totals $11.9 million.

Marsh will use her award for a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial to examine the effect of Vitamin D supplementation on bipolar depression. She believes there is a link; that Vitamin D may help to safely reduce depression symptoms in bipolar disorders.

Trial participants with bipolar depression and low Vitamin D levels will receive either Vitamin D or a placebo and see if an increase in their Vitamin D levels can be associated with improved mood and, in particular, less depression.

Marsh’s research interests include mood and reproductive phases as well as alternative treatments for depression. She sees patients with a focus on mood disorders in relation to reproductive phases.

August 16, 2012 -

Visiting Professor

Dr. Søren Dinesen Østergaard, a visiting professor from the Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital and Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, recently spoke to a UMass Chan Psychiatry audience about the evolving study of psychotic depression and the diagnoses and treatment of the disorder.

Østergaard, who is working on a clinical study to construct a rating scale for all of the symptoms of psychotic depression, said there is evidence that severe depression has “specific heritability” – meaning that it is passed down through generations of families.

Østergaard spoke at the Biological Psychiatry Seminar Aug. 16 at the invitation of Dr. Anthony Rothschild, whom Østergaard described as, “one of the most famous researchers in the field.” Rothschild, who holds the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Endowed Chair of Psychiatry at UMass Chan, directs the UMass Chan Depression Center. He also serves as Program Director for the Mood Disorders Comprehensive Consultation Clinic at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and directs the Center for Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment.

August 1, 2012

 

American Psychiatric Publishing www.appi.org

Featured Publications!

 

 

          

 
 

 

 ALSO AVAILABLE @ APPI!

Clinical Manual for Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychotic Depression

"Anthony J. Rothschild, M.D."
2009
207 pages
ISBN 978-1-58562-292-4
Paperback
Item #62292 

July 2012

 

Grand Rounds, Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield, MA

Kristina M. Deligiannidis, M.D. was invited as Grand Rounds Speaker for Baystate Health in Western Massachusetts on Evidence Based Practice for Postpartum Depression and Anxiety: Assessment, Triage and Treatment.
In attendance were physicians, nurses, midwives, mental health providers and other professionals working with women and families in the perinatal period.

May 28, 2012

Kristina M. Deligiannidis, M.D. was elected to the national Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) and installed at the 52nd Annual NCDEU meeting. The ASCP was founded in 1992 to advance the science and practice of clinical psychopharmacology. Its nearly 800 members are physicians who study and practice psychopharmacology, as well as doctoral level investigators of clinical psychopharmacology or of pharmacology. ASCP members are advocates for clinical psychopharmacology and for clinical research. She serves on the Model Curriculum Committee which develops psychopharmacology curricula for use in psychiatry residency training programs in the US and internationally.



May 6, 2012

Antidepressants

Do Not Increase Risk of Suicide, Says Expert

Antidepressants do “really work” and do not “cause suicide,” said Anthony Rothschild, M.D., at APA’s 2012 annual meeting today during a discussion of his second book in the American Psychiatric Publishing’s Evidence-Based Guides series, The Evidence-Based Guide to Antidepressant Medications

Rothschild said that although clinicians have successfully used antidepressants to treat millions of patients suffering from depression for 50 years, Kirsch et al. published a paper in 2008 claiming that although antidepressants are statistically superior to placebo, the magnitude of the drug-placebo difference is small, and that these differences were clinically relevant only in patients with severe depression. The paper received considerable attention in the popular press, including radio, front-page newspaper coverage, and a recent story on “60 Minutes.” 

 

For more of this article please see:  http://www.psychnews.org/update/report5_AM2.html

 

March 2012


Child Psychiatry Interdisciplinary Annual Conference, Baystate Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine, Springfield, MA

Kristina M. Deligiannidis, M.D.
gave a presentation for Baystate Health in Western Massachusetts on: -Perinatal Depression: Addressing the needs of mother and child.In attendance were physicians, nurses, midwives, mental health providers and other professionals working with women and families in the perinatal period.

March 12, 2012

Expert's Corner: Anthony Rothschild on depression

 By Lisa M. Larson and Bryan Goodchild
UMass Chan Medical School Communications

Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry, has been studying the pathophysiology and treatment of depression for approximately 30 years. In this Expert’s Corner video, Dr. Rothschild outlines the symptoms of a major depressive episode. He also explains different types of depression and talks about current research.

See: http://umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2013/06/rothschild-dispels-antidepressant-myths/

March 2, 2012


At UMass Chan, brain ‘pacemaker’ targets depression

By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Broadmann Area 25. 

It sounds like deep space, but actually it’s a deep section of the human brain thought to be responsible for bad moods. If that mood never goes away, even with treatment, it’s called chronic or clinical depression. Research using modern imaging studies a few years ago found that the area functions differently — it becomes overactive — in people who are chronically depressed and have tried everything from medication to electroshock therapy.

Dr. Rothschild described research done in the last 10 years by PET imaging pinpointing various areas of the brain as exciting and promising. For more information please see http://www.telegram.com/article/20120302/NEWS/103029642/1116

 

February 17, 2012

Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and director, Depression Specialty Clinic, will be giving a webinar about depression treatment in primary care settings, Wednesday, February 22, 12:20 to 12:50 pm. This monthly webinar series of Prime Time Conversations is presented by the Center for the Advancement of Primary Care (CAPC) for primary care physicians. Dr. Deligiannidis presents “When First-step Treatments for Depression Fail: Tips for Depression Treatment in the Primary Care Setting.” Understand how to treat the patient whose depression has failed to respond to an antidepressant trial and learn about the Depression Specialty Clinic. All Prime Time Conversations webinars are archived on the CAPC website.

February 3, 2012

New hope for treatment-resistant depression
Small pulses sent deep within the brain show great promise

 By Sandra Gray
UMass Chan Medical School Communications 

 Dr. Rothschild is now leading a clinical trial at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Medical Center for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a state-of-the-art approach that has shown great promise in previous small studies of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression.  January 19, 2012

Antidepressant expert creates user-friendly book
Rothschild editor of ‘The Evidence-Based Guide to Antidepressant Medications’

 By Sandra Gray
UMass Chan Medical School Communications 

Internationally renowned depression expert Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry, has created a user-friendly text that digests the current research into best practices with antidepressants...

for more information please see http://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2012/01/antidepressant-expert-creates-user-friendly-book

November 23, 2011

From the experts...

Do Antidepressants Cause Suicide?

Anthony J. Rothschild

In this article, I provide a brief outline of the discussion of two timely topics: whether antidepressants "really work" and whether antidepressants "can cause suicide".

>>read more

Reuters Health

October 4, 2011

Wendy Marsh MD MS and her co-authors awarded a top 2011 Poster Prize at the 22nd Annual North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Meeting in Washington DC, Sep. 24. Using the SWAN (Study of Women's health Across the Nation) database, Dr. Marsh and colleagues' study found that a longer duration of estradiol exposure, measured by years from menarche to menopause, prior to entering the menopausal transition was protective against depression during the menopausal transition. Read what Dr. Marsh says in the Reuters Health article, Oct. 4.

August 2011

Efforts to fight depression earn national recognition
Center of Excellence advances collaborative work in prevention, treatment and advocacy 

UMass Chan Medical School and clinical partner UMass Memorial Health Care have been invited to join the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) as a Center of Excellence.

An elite network comprising 22 academic medical institutions, the NNDC was founded in 2007 to advance comprehensive, multidisciplinary collaboration and networking of resources on a national scale. “Our acceptance into this network of prestigious institutions is recognition of the collaborative work in the areas of depression treatment, research and advocacy underway at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial,” said Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry.

For more information go to 

nndc.org

July 14, 2011

Research Could Pinpoint Postpartum Depression Risks
By Sera Congi, WBZ-TV

June 22, 2011

Study uses brain imaging to understand postpartum depression
Findings may help identify women who are at high risk 


“Using new methods of imaging and measuring the brain’s chemistry, we can look at specific neurotransmitters in the brain involved in depression and see if there are any differences between women who develop postpartum depression and those who don’t,” said Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and principal investigator on the study.

For the full article and video please see:

http://www.umassmed.edu/news/research/2011/understanding-postpartum-depression.aspx

 

May 11, 2011

66th SOBP Annual Meeting

Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis recently returned from San Francisco where she received a Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 66th SOBP Annual Meeting, President's reception (Helen Mayberg, MD) and an Awards Reception.

Six junior investigators in biological psychiatry research were awarded from the US, and six were awarded internationally to receive this fellowship award.

 

 


Trey Sunderland, MD (SOBP Executive Secretary), Kristina Deligiannidis, MD and Elliott Richelson, MD (SOBP Treasurer).

 

 

May 1, 2011

2010 Pilot Project Program Awardee

Principal Investigator
Kristina Deligiannidis, MD (T1) 

A Neuroendocrine and Neurochemical Biosignature in Late Pregnancy and its Association with the Development of Postpartum Depression in Women 

The World Health Organization reports that depression is the leading cause of disease burden and years loss to disability for women in their childbearing years(1). The perinatal (i.e. antenatal and postpartum) period is a time of elevated risk for depression; approximately 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD) annually. PPD is marked by feelings of hopelessness, suicidal ideation, guilty ruminations, loss of interest and energy, loss of appetite, dysregulated sleep and poor daily functioning.      

April 1, 2011

 

UMass Memorial congratulates its physicians named to the 2011 list of

Best Doctors 2011

Including: Department of Psychiatry's Anthony J. Rothschild MD

Best Doctors®, Inc. continuously surveys specialists worldwide to ask which doctors they would choose for treatment in their own specialty. Less than five percent of U.S. doctors are named to the list. UMass Memorial Health Care is proud that more than 10 percent of our doctors at our five hospitals were named to this prestigious list

March 15, 2011

Be Mentally Well Program

Depression experts offer hope
UMass Chan psychiatrists shed light on pervasive but treatable medical condition

By Sandra Gray 
UMass Chan Medical School Communications

March 23, 2011

Launched last fall, Be Mentally Well is a series of informational lectures that are free and open to the public. At “Understanding and Treating Depression,” UMass Chan psychiatrists Anthony Rothschild, MD, Gary Moak, MD, and Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, clarified the signs and symptoms of depression, discussed the great variety of effective treatments already available and those under development, and explained the exceptional challenges of recognizing and treating depression in the elderly. 

For more on this article please visit:
http://www.umassmed.edu/news/community/2011/hope_for_depression.aspx

To find out when “Understanding and Treating Depression” will be broadcast by Worcester local access cable station WCAA-TV13, visit their website at http://www.wccatv.com/schedule.    

February 2011

EXPERT’S CORNER: Winter’s dark makes some especially SAD

According to Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, while genetic predisposition and preexisting depressive disorders can contribute to SAD, it is widely believed to result from the decrease in natural sunlight that occurs during the winter months, with the greatest incidence in northerly climes like ours.

see video: http://www.umassmed.edu/news/articles/2011/SAD.aspx

October 13, 2010  

Women’s mental health focus of sixth annual Psychiatry Research Day

http://www.umassmed.edu/news/articles/2010/umass_psychiatry_research_day_2010.aspx

     
 Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis discusses her research

into gender differences in mood disorders at the Psychiatry Research Day poster session with

Robert J. Carey Jr., PhD, assistant professor

of psychiatry, while research coordinator,

Chelsea Kosma looks on.

 

Among many distinguished guests at the event were Betty Brudnick and Shirley Siff, EdD, who
with their husbands have both endowed chairs
in psychiatry. The Irving S. and Betty Brudnick
Chair in Psychiatry is held by Anthony Rothschild pictured above.

 

 

August 11, 2010

Dr. Rothschild was recently interviewed for articles appearing on:

 

    

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/coping-depression

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/antidepressants

June 17, 2010

WFBR grants fund innovative research

The latest round of Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Science (WFBR) Annual Research Grants, awarded to 13 UMass Chan Medical School investigators, is continuing the tradition of sowing seeds for innovative research across a broad array of disciplines.

WFBR Annual Research Grants allow recipients to produce preliminary data needed to secure grants from the National Institutes of Health. Among the projects funded this year with $35,000 in seed grants are those of Kristina Deligiannidis, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry; Jeffrey Jensen, PhD, assistant professor of bioinformatics & integrated biology and molecular medicine; and Laura Lambert, MD, assistant professor of surgery.

Dr. Deligiannidis’s lab will obtain pilot data to establish a neurochemical biosignature (or marker) to identify pregnant women at risk for developing post-partum depression (PPD), a disorder which afflicts one in eight new mothers, so that a potential screening test may be developed. To investigate emerging pre-clinical and clinical evidence suggesting that dysregulation of neuroactive steroids and interrelated neurochemical systems contribute to the development of PPD, her lab will analyze blood levels of neuroactive steroids during and post pregnancy. In addition, they will measure women’s brain levels of specific neurochemicals that have been implicated in the development of PPD with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a sophisticated neuroimaging technique. A T.H. Chan School of Medicine and UMass Chan psychiatry residency graduate, Deligiannidis recently joined the faculty and is the medical director of the Depression Specialty Clinic at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

May 4, 2010

Senior Scholars Day

Senior Scholars Day 2010 was held Monday, May 3rd in the Faculty Conference Room. Students presented their research posters from 11-12noon. Senior Scholars Day keynote speaker, Dr. Anthony Rothschild, spoke about his career in research following the poster session. Students individually recieved certificates for completing their research project.

2010 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA
Saturday, May 22 – Wednesday, May 26

 

APPI Master Courses 

Psychopharmacologic, ECT, and Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Psychotic (Delusional) Depression
Monday, May 24 1:00pm-5:00pm
Presented by Anthony J. Rothschild, M.D.,with Brandon Guadiano, Ph.D.

This course will focus on how to accurately diagnose and assess patients with psychotic depression, identify the difficult differential diagnoses between psychotic depression and other psychiatric disorders, understand the use of adjunctive psychotherapy in patients with psychotic depression, and treat patients with psychotic depression with somatic therapies including medications or referral to electroconvulsive therapy.
The price includes a copy of Clinical Manual for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychotic Depression. 

Advances in the Use of Antipsychotic Medications
Tuesday, May 25 9:00am-12:00pm
Co-Chairpersons: Anthony J. Rothschild, M.D., Kristina Deligiannidis, M.D.

This session is based, and all the speakers are authors from, the recently published Evidence Based Guide To Antipsychotic Medications. Each speaker will review both FDA-approved and off-label uses of antipsychotic medications (both first generation and second generation) and the evidence base that supports (or does not support) their use. Each of the speakers has taken a large amount of medical literature and synthesized it into a comprehensive and understandable formfor the practicing clinician. This session will focus on the use of antipsychotic medications in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and in the medically ill.

MARCH 22, 2010

KRISTINA DELIGIANNIDIS MD has been selected to participate in the 2010 Career Development Institute (CDI) for Psychiatry, a career enhancement opportunity that provides support around launching and maintaining a career in mental health research. 15-20 participants were chosen nationally to attend the CDI this year.

 UMass Memorial congratulates its physicians named to the 2010 list of

Best Doctors 2010

Including: Department of Psychiatry's Anthony J. Rothschild MD   

Best Doctors®, Inc. continuously surveys specialists worldwide to ask which doctors they would choose for treatment in their own specialty. Less than five percent of U.S. doctors are named to the list. UMass Memorial Health Care is proud that more than 10 percent of our doctors at our five hospitals were named to this prestigious list.