Effect of insomnia treatments on depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is frequently co-morbid with depression, with a bidirectional relationship between these disorders. There is evidence that insomnia-specific interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, may lead to improvements in depression. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine whether treatment of insomnia leads to improved depression outcomes in individuals with both insomnia and depression. METHODS: We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effect of treatment for insomnia disorder on depression in patients with both disorders. RESULTS: Three thousand eight hundred and fifteen studies were reviewed, and 23 studies met inclusion criteria. Although all of the studies suggested a positive clinical effect of insomnia treatment on depression outcomes, most of the results were not statistically significant. Although the interventions and populations were highly variable, the meta-analysis indicates moderate to large effect size (ES) improvement in depression as measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (ES = -1.29, 95%CI [-2.11, -0.47]) and Beck Depression Inventory (ES = -0.68, 95%CI [-1.29, -0.06]). CONCLUSIONS: These results support that treating insomnia in patients with depression has a positive effect on mood. Future trials are needed to identify the subtypes of patients whose depression improves during treatment with insomnia-specific interventions, and to identify the mechanisms by which treating insomnia improves mood.

A Systematic Review of Opioid and Benzodiazepine Misuse in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the prevalence of opioid and benzodiazepine prescription drug misuse in older adults, the risk factors associated with misuse, and age-appropriate interventions. METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, a literature search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE for peer-reviewed journal articles in English through April 2014 with updates through November 2015 was conducted for reports on misuse of prescription benzodiazepines and opioids in older adults. Relevant publications were reviewed that included participants age ≥65 years. Reference lists were manually searched for key identified articles and geriatric journals through April 2016. Information on the study design, sample, intervention, comparators, outcome, time frame, and risk of bias were abstracted for each article. RESULTS: Of 4,932 reviewed reports, 15 were included in this systematic review. Thirteen studies assessed the prevalence of prescription drug misuse and included studies related to opioid shopping behavior, assessment of morbidity and mortality associated with opioid and/or benzodiazepine use, frequency and characteristics of opioid prescribing, frequency of substance use disorders and nonprescription use of pain relievers, and health conditions and experiences of long-term benzodiazepine users. One study identified risk factors for misuse, and one study described the effects of provider education and an electronic support tool as an intervention. CONCLUSION: There is a dearth of high quality research on prescription drug misuse in older adults. Existing studies are heterogeneous, making it difficult to draw broad conclusions. The need for further research specific to prescription drug misuse among older adults is discussed.

Rates of nitric oxide dissociation from hemoglobin.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a major role in human physiology and in many pathological states. Although oxyhemoglobin is known to destroy NO activity, NO activity can, in principle, be conserved through iron nitrosylation at vacant hemes. In order for this NO activity to be delivered, the NO must dissociate from the heme. Despite its study over the past few decades, our understanding of NO dissociation from hemoglobin is incomplete. In principle, there are at least four NO dissociation rates: kR(alpha), kR(beta), kT(alpha), and kT(beta), where the subscript refers to the quaternary state and the superscript to the hemoglobin chain. In the T-state, a proportion of the proximal histidine bonds break forming pentacoordinate alpha-nitrosyl hemoglobin. In vivo, alpha-nitrosyl hemoglobin predominates over beta-nitrosyl hemoglobin. In this study we have used a fast NO trap, Fe(II)-proline-dithiocarbamate, to measure NO dissociation rates from hemoglobin. We have varied solution conditions so the rate of dissociation from pentacoordinate alpha-nitrosyl hemoglobin could be definitively measured for the first time; kT(alpha) = 4.2 +/- 1.5 x 10(-4) s(-1). We have also found that the fastest NO dissociation rate is on the order of 10(-3) s(-1) and that NO dissociation from sickle cell hemoglobin is the same as that from normal adult hemoglobin.

Depression in Older Adults: A Palliative Medicine Perspective.

This article aims to discuss the rapidly growing field of palliative medicine and its unique approach to treating depression in older adults.