Tag: antipsychotics

Reddit Depression Regimens cont’d

Previous posts on the topic of scraping reddit data from the depressionregiments subreddit:

Reddit Depression Regimens – Topic Modeling

Reddit Depression Regimens – Topic Modeling cont’d

Next we will create some plots with javascript. For example, it would be interesting to see how often specific psychotropic medications and supplements are mentioned in the text data.
Below is a chart with frequencies of the most common antidepressant medications. The counts were performed by combining the frequencies of the brand name and the chemical name (for example Wellbutrin count is wellbutrin (54) + bupropion (27) = 81).

The data was generated using python and exported as a .csv file, with columns ‘term’ and ‘freq’.

HTML part:

<html>
<head>
  https://cdn.plot.ly/plotly-2.0.0.min.js
  https://d3js.org/d3.v5.min.js
  https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js@2.9.3
  http://script1.js
</head>
<body onload="draw()">
chart 1
<div id="jsdiv" style="border:solid 1px red"></div>
chart 2
<canvas id="chart"></canvas>
</body>

JS part:

function makeChart(meds) {
  // meds is an array of objects where each object is something like

  var hist_labels = meds.map(function(d) {
    return d.term;
  });
  var hist_counts = meds.map(function(d) {
    return +d.freq;
  });

  arrayOfObj = hist_labels.map(function(d, i) {
      return {
        label: d,
        data: hist_counts[i] || 0
      };
    });
  sortedArrayOfObj = arrayOfObj.sort(function(a, b) {
      return b.data - a.data;
    });

   newArrayLabel = [];
   newArrayData = [];
   sortedArrayOfObj.forEach(function(d){
      newArrayLabel.push(d.label);
      newArrayData.push(d.data);
    });


  var chart = new Chart('chart', {
    type: "horizontalBar",
    options: {
      maintainAspectRatio: false,
      legend: {
        display: false
      }
    },
    data: {
      labels: newArrayLabel,
      datasets: [
        {
          data: newArrayData,
          backgroundColor: "#33AEEF"
        }]
    },
    options: {
      scales: {
        yAxes: [{
          scaleLabel: {
            display: true,
            labelString: 'med name'
          }
        }],
        xAxes: [{
            scaleLabel: {
                display: true,
                labelString: 'freq'
            }
        }],
      },
      legend: {
          display: false
      },
      title: {
          display: true,
          text: 'Frequencies of common antidepressants'
        }
    }    
  });
}

// Request data using D3
d3
  .csv("med_list_counts_df.csv")
  .then(makeChart);

We can generate charts with other medication/supplement lists using the same code. Below is a plot with frequencies of common antipsychotics. As you can see, antipsychotics are not mentioned that frequently as antidepressants, and a lot of names in the input list were not mentioned at all (such as haldol or thorazine), and therefore they do not show up in the chart.

Other medications and common supplements mentioned:

Beautiful schizophrenia treatment success story

I found Quentin’s successful outcome in this story very hopeful. I don’t have schizophrenia, antipsychotics did not turn out to be useful for me, but it’s great to hear how they do work for many people with schizophrenia and how the outcomes can now be so different in comparison to the times before invention of antipsychotics. My psychosis has also mostly subsided since the treatment of encephalitis with intravenous steroids, prednisone, and intravenous immunoglobulin. I do have issues remaining with depression, but definitely the psychosis is maybe at the 5% level of what is used to be, and many times of the day no psychosis is currently present at all for me. Sometimes I even have thoughts – hey, maybe it wasn’t that bad, was I really that psychotic? Maybe I am exaggerating my story? But then I look back and yes, it was terrible, it was hell.

If you listen to Quentin’s story, I had actually very similar symptoms as he describes – I had persistent thoughts that my boyfriend and my parents were in danger and that only I had to protect them with my thoughts. Then also came the idea that me being anxious about their safety is increasing the danger, so they would be safer if I didn’t exist, because it was my thoughts that were putting them in danger. And these ideas were not occasional, they were persisting every second of the day. It’s easy to realize that it’s not possible to function or have any desire to live that way, especially if you are convinced that by being alive you are putting very close people to you in danger. I don’t really want to imagine what would happen to me if I didn’t figure out that I had encephalitis and wouldn’t get the immunosuppressant treatment, or what would happen to young people like Quentin before the invention of antipsychotics. I’m glad that his treatment story is a very positive one and that currently he is doing really well, studying for his engineering degree, doing an internship at a lab, and finding interest in life.

AFTER WINTER : A Real Life Schizophrenia Treatment Story

 

List of medications and supplements for depression and obsessive thoughts

Here I will list different medications, supplements, and  procedures that are used to treat depression, anxiety, and obsessive/suicidal thoughts. I am not suggesting that you go out and buy a bunch of antidepressants and try them one by one, I just want you to be aware of what exists out there so that you can discuss this with your doctor. Some things, such as a daylight lamp, or omega 3s, don’t require prescription. Since I have been dealing with autoimmune encephalitis for more than three years already,  I have tried most of these treatments in attempts to reduce my depressive symptoms, psychosis, and intrusive thoughts.

Many people do get better with antidepressants. I have to note though, that in my case, the most useful treatment was high-dose intravenous steroids (IV Solu-Medrol) for five days. I did have severe psychotic depression with suicidal tendencies, my neurologist and psychiatrist propose that this was due to autoimmune encephalitis (Hashimoto’s encephalitis) – brain inflammation. Many people have milder depression and do well after antidepressant treatment. My state has improved but it is not without moments of intrusive thoughts and for this reason I continue trying different methods.

Medication

Antidepressants

Capture
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How does your psychiatrist determine which antidepressant to try? It seems that in general this is not based on any specific medical tests, but is based on the discussion with you about your symptoms. I did get a genetic test done on my saliva. This was part of CAMH Impact Study in Toronto, the provided report is called GeneSight Psychotropic Test. The company states that their test “analyzes how your genes affect your response to psychotropic medications commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and other behavioral health conditions. There are dozens of medications used to treat depression and other mental illnesses and selecting the right antidepressant medication or other medication can be a challenging and frustrating process. GeneSight Psychotropic’s genetic testing enables your clinician to identify and avoid depression, anxiety and/or other medications that are unlikely to work or may cause side effects.” This test was provided to me for free by CAMH in Toronto.

GeneSight Psychotropic Test link

New antidepressants: 

There are three new antidepressants that have become recently available in US and Canada – vortioxetine, levomilnacipran extended-release (ER), and vilazodone. Vortioxetine – may enhance serotogenic activity via reuptake inhibition of serotonin receptors. Levomilnacipran is a a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Vilazodone is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and partial serotonergic 5-HT1A receptor agonist.

The role of new antidepressants in clinical practice in Canada: a brief review of vortioxetine, levomilnacipran ER, and vilazodone

Antipsychotics

Sometimes antipsychotics are added to antidepressants during treatment. Usually antipsychotics are used to treat schizophrenia, why are they given to depressed patients? I think the reason is that many patients don’t achieve remission with antidepressants, so other medications/methods must be tried. In the large National Institute of Mental Health Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial, only about 30% of patients achieved remission (virtual absence of depressive symptoms) after up to 12 weeks of first-line treatment with citalopram. Evidence of the usefulness of atypical antipsychotics in treating MDD goes back more than 7 years (statement from 2009). A controlled trial found that the combination of olanzapine and fluoxetine was more helpful in treating patients with MDD (without psychosis) than fluoxetine or olanzapine alone.2 The group that received combination therapy did significantly better than the others. In November 2007, the FDA approved aripiprazole as the first atypical antipsychotic to treat MDD. It is specifically for adjunctive treatment, along with an antidepressant, for the treatment of refractory MDD.

Atypical Antipsychotics for Treating Major Depression

Aripiprazole (Abilify) – was approved by FDA for major depressive disorder in 2007, for patients who had inadequate response to antidepressants. Aripiprazole is a partial agonist at dopamine D(2) and D(3) and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors, and is an antagonist at 5-HT(2A) receptors.

Ripseridone – risperidone has actions at several 5-HT (serotonin) receptor subtypes. A study showed that depression symptoms improved modestly but significantly more in the risperidone group compared with the placebo group, as measured by clinician-rated symptom response and patient-rated self-assessment. The 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score improved more in the risperidone group versus the placebo group.

Quetiapine (Seroquel) – quetiapine is a dopamine, serotonin, and adrenergic antagonist, and a potent antihistamine with some anticholinergic properties. Quetiapine binds strongly to serotonin receptors; the drug acts as partial agonist at 5-HT1A receptors. One study involved more than 700 people who had suffered from depression for at least one month but less than one year. Patients were randomly assigned to take one of three doses of Seroquel or a placebo once a day for six weeks. Those taking Seroquel showed greater improvement in depression symptoms than those on placebo.

Supplements

St. John’s Wort  – hypericum perforatum, it is a flowering plant. Sold in health stores/drug stores/online. A 2008 review of 29 international studies suggested that St. John’s wort may be better than a placebo and as effective as different standard prescription antidepressants for major depression of mild to moderate severity. A 2015 meta-analysis review concluded that it has superior efficacy to placebo in treating depression, is as effective as standard antidepressant pharmaceuticals for treating depression, and has fewer adverse effects than other antidepressants.[23] The authors concluded that it is difficult to assign a place for St. John’s wort in the treatment of depression owing to limitations in the available evidence base, including large variations in efficacy seen in trials performed in German-speaking relative to other countries. In Germany, St. John’s wort may be prescribed for mild to moderate depression, especially in children and adolescents.

Omega – 3 – omega-3 fatty acids are found in oily fish such as salmon. You can also purchase fish oil supplements in health stores/online. In general eating oily fish is considered to be a healthy choice. There is some evidence that omega-3s might help with depression, but this evidence is not very strong. From Cochrane review: “At present, we do not have enough high quality evidence to determine the effects of n-3PUFAs as a treatment for MDD. We found a small-to-modest positive effect of n-3PUFAs compared to placebo, but the size of this effect is unlikely to be meaningful to people with depression, and we considered the evidence to be of low or very low quality, with many differences between studies.“

SAMe – S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) is a compound found naturally in the body. SAMe helps produce and regulate hormones and maintain cell membranes. A synthetic version of SAMe is available as a dietary supplement in the U.S. In Europe, SAMe is a prescription drug.  From Cochrane review: “We included eight studies involving 934 people in this review. There was no strong evidence of a difference in effectiveness between SAMe and imipramine or escitalopram when used alone. It was superior to placebo when used in combination with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants, but this evidence was of low quality. There was no significant difference in terms of effectiveness between SAMe and placebo alone, but again this evidence was of very low quality.“

Folic acid – also known as vitamin B9. Foods that are naturally high in folate include leafy vegetables (such as spinach, broccoli, and lettuce), okra, asparagus, fruits (such as bananas, melons, and lemons) beans, yeast, mushrooms, meat (such as beef liver and kidney), orange juice, and tomato juice.

“The evidence for a link between depression and folate levels comes from various sources. Along with vitamins B6 and B12, folate helps break down the amino acid homocysteine. High blood levels of homocysteine are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and depression, although a cause-and-effect relationship hasn’t been proven. The breakdown of homocysteine generates SAMe, a major constituent of brain cells and, some think, a possible treatment for depression. Low levels of SAMe might explain any connection between folate and depression.”

Folate for depression

Probiotics – there is one combination of two bacterial strains that has shown some promise in treating mental health issues. Bifdobacterium longum R0175 and L. helveticus R0052 have been found to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. In Canada there are two brands with these strains – CalmBiotic and Jamieson Probiotic Sticks.

Clinical Guide to Probiotic Products Available in Canada

Other things to consider

  • Getting tested for hypo/hyperthyroidism – potential need for thyroid hormones

Treating an underactive thyroid gland may improve mood

  • Getting tested for anemia

Sometimes the first symptoms of iron deficiency are neurologic

  • Getting tested for coeliac disease – possible benefit from excluding gluten from diet

The Link between Celiac Disease and Depression

  • Autoimmune disease testing – includes coeliac disease, hashimoto’s thyroiditis, autoimmune encephalitis, lupus, type 1 diabetes, etc.

Infection, autoimmune disease linked to depression

  • Don’t forget to exercise and eat healthy! I really mean it, you just really need to do it, there is no other way…

Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms

Mediterranean diet tied to lower risk of depression

Hashimoto’s Encephalitis – Diagnosis and Treatment

Hashimoto’s Encephalitis (HE) is a diagnosis that is made through exclusions of other causes. There is no one specific test to diagnose HE, but usually the tests that are performed are thyroid antibodies (Anti-Tg and Anti-TPO) blood test, MRI, EEG, and spinal tap. HE is a quite rare disease, therefore it is definitely not something that would be tested for right away. Many healthy people have elevated thyroid antibodies, these antibodies can also be an indicator of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which is not the same as Hashimoto’s Encephalitis. After I continued to not respond well to anti-depressants and anti-psychotics, I consulted with an endocrinologist to discuss whether I had any thyroid issues. My thyroid hormone levels were normal but elevated Anti-Tg and Anti-TPO antibody levels were discovered. At that point the endocrinologist diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and stated that the thyroid antibodies were not something to worry about at the current moment as they were just an indicator that I might develop thyroid disease twenty years from now on. There is still no exact proof that it is these thyroid antibodies that caused my symptoms, but my condition did improve after intra-venous treatment with Solu-Medrol (anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid), and my antibody levels decreased as well. I will not claim causation, but there is correlation here, and my neurologist agrees that I have improved since the steroids treatment.

I am not sure whether the numbers are meaningful, it had been stated that specific values are not correlated with the severity of HE symptoms, but initially in June 2016 my Anti-Tg levels were over 1,000 and my Anti-TPO levels were above 40. This was during the period of time when I lost my job and was on Latuda and Sertraline. I was finding it physically difficult to wake-up, to move, and to talk. My speech was becoming slower and everything was also followed by intense emotional pain. It was sort of a state of grief without cause. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I did go on AIP (autoimmune protocol diet) diet after discovering that I potentially had autoimmune disease, and my symptoms did improve. I was able to go back to full-time work in November 2016 and after awhile tests showed that my Anti-Tg levels decreased to around 500, Anti-TPO levels stayed about the same. Again, this is anecdotal evidence, and I cannot claim that it is specifically the AIP diet that helped me. A gastrointerologist did advise me to try a low-FODMAP diet and AIP overlaps with low-FODMAP. Also I did have a ‘maybe’ result for celiac testing and I went gluten-free. I also stopped taking anti-psychotics and a new diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (at that time), instead of schizophrenia (diagnosis that I received previously), provided me with psychological benefits. Therefore it is not possible to untangle all the changes that I made during the summer and we don’t know which factor improved my condition. Some conditions improve and relapse in cycles as well, therefore changes in symptoms could be not due to the actions of the individual.