Patients discontinuing antidepressant therapy experience insomnia, flu-like symptoms, mood disturbances, dizziness, and paresthesias — among a broad array of adverse effects. Those symptoms can last for days to months. This narrative review describes the array of discontinuation symptoms and their causes and provides practical clinical guidance for discontinuing antidepressants to minimize the risk of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS).

Palliative care (PC) can help reduce emergency department use, hospitalizations, and symptom burden across a spectrum of diseases. To assist clinicians in keeping their expertise current, the authors reviewed and summarized the top PC articles of 2020. The analysis included 28 PC intervention trials for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dementia.

In the phase III trial for zuranolone, 67.4% of patients who received an initial 2-week course at the 30-mg dose level initially achieved a 50% or greater reduction from baseline on the HAMD-17. Over the following year, half of those patients required additional 2-week courses of therapy. Of the group who received the 50-mg dose, only 25% needed subsequent courses.

An estimated 72% of people who need mental heath care don’t have sufficient access to receive it. Psychologists have had limited prescribing rights in several states since the 1990s. Would expanding those privileges to more states help abate the crisis?

In a study of more than 22,000 patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder, 24% also had obsessive-compulsive symptoms; 12% had a diagnosis of OCD. Both co-morbidities were associated with higher rates of aggressive behavior, cognitive problems, and hallucinations or delusions.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued a health advisory on September 25, 2022, encouraging parents to seek medical advice before giving melatonin to children. Although melatonin can be useful in treating certain sleep-wake disorders like jet lag, there is much less evidence it can help healthy children or adults fall asleep faster. Symptoms of melatonin overdose can include headache, dizziness, and irritability.