Wednesday, January 10, 2018

AJP Articles Make NEJM Journal Watch Psychiatry, BBRF’s Top 10 for 2017


The American Journal of Psychiatry has once again received recognition from New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Journal Watch Psychiatry and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) for the publication of outstanding research in the past year that advances the clinical practice of psychiatry. Two AJP articles were named “top stories of 2017” by NEJM Journal Watch Psychiatry, and four were listed as representing “top advances and breakthroughs” by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.

One article—“Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial,” by Dorothy K. Sit, M.D., et al.—appeared on both lists. As Sit and colleagues explained in the AJP article, there is a growing interest in nonpharmacological approaches to treat bipolar depression, after many medications used to treat the disorder have proven ineffective and/or produce adverse effects, including mood switching. The researchers discovered that exposing patients with bipolar depression on stable antimanic medications to midday bright white light led to reductions in their depression scores after six weeks compared with those in the control group. Importantly, no hypomania, dramatic mood switching, or serious side effects were observed during the study.

The other study named on NEJM Journal Watch Psychiatry’s Top 10 list was “KINECT 3: A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Valbenazine for Tardive Dyskinesia,” by Robert A. Hauser, M.D., M.B.A., et al. This study found that once-daily treatment with valbenazine at 80 mg/day significantly improved the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia compared with placebo in a population of patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or a mood disorder. The medication was generally well tolerated, even among patients taking concomitant antipsychotics, and the psychiatric status of the patients remained stable throughout the trial.

In addition to the article by Sit and colleagues referenced above, the following studies were selected by BBRF in its list of the top advancements and breakthroughs by Foundation grantees in 2017 (in chronological order):


  • Effect of a Novel NMDA Receptor Modulator, Rapastinel (Formerly GLYX-13), in OCD: Proof of Concept,” by Carolyn I. Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., et al. In this small, open-label trial, Rodriguez and colleagues found that unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder who received a single intravenous dose of rapastinel reported a drop in obsessive-compulsive, depression, and anxiety severity scores within 90 minutes of the infusion. The effects were short-lived, however, with no significant effects on symptoms seen one week later.


To see a list of the AJP articles that were recognized last year, click here.