QAnxiety

06/18/2025

Congratulations, Queen's University!

The university achieves a fifth straight global top 10 ranking and the top spot in Canada for advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

06/13/2025

PGME convocation! Congratulations to all residents and fellows!

06/13/2025

Goodbye Brian Wilson! Thank you for all the advocacy for mental health.

05/16/2025

Ultrasound Brain Therapy Shows Promise Across Mental Health Disorders

A new pilot study led by researchers at UT Austin is showing exciting potential for a non-invasive brain stimulation therapy called transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS). This cutting-edge approach may help treat a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, by directly targeting deep brain structures involved in emotional regulation.

Unlike rTMS which only reaches surface brain areas, tFUS uses precise sound waves to reach the amygdala, a core emotional center of the brain linked to fear, anxiety, and negative mood.

In this study, researchers confirmed that tFUS could safely and effectively reduce amygdala activity in both healthy volunteers and people with psychiatric conditions. Then, in a 3-week trial, 29 participants received daily sessions of tFUS. Results showed significant reductions in emotional distress, with a moderate-to-large improvement in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD — all without major side effects.

These promising results support tFUS as a potential new treatment option for people who don’t respond well to traditional medications or therapy. While larger, controlled trials are still needed, this study opens the door to targeted, drug-free brain modulation for a wide range of mental health conditions.

For more information see the article itself:

Mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders (MATRDs) are highly prevalent and comorbid. A sizable number of patients do not respond to first-line treatments. Non-invasive neuromodulation is a second-line treatment approach, but current methods rely on cortical targets to indirectly modulate subcorti...

05/02/2025

Congratulations to Eknoor and Mariana who had their abstracts accepted to present posters in the Canadian Psychiatric Association Annual Conference 2025!

04/23/2025

New Research Sheds Light on How Childhood Trauma May Influence Mental Health in Female Adolescents

Childhood trauma has long been linked to an elevated risk of depression and anxiety in later life, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. A new longitudinal study led by Dr. Divyangana Rakesh and Dr. Niamh MacSweeney, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, explores the role of pubertal development in shaping this risk.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study examined whether the timing and tempo of puberty influenced the development of internalizing symptoms (such as depression and anxiety), particularly in those exposed to early-life trauma in a sample of 4200 adolescent girls.

The study found that girls who began puberty earlier than their peers were more likely to have experienced childhood trauma, and in turn, were at greater risk of developing internalizing symptoms by early adolescence. Interestingly, it was the timing, not the pace, of puberty that was associated with both trauma exposure and mental health outcomes.

These results highlight the importance of considering individual differences in biological development when assessing mental health risk during adolescence. They also emphasize the need for early, targeted support for youth exposed to trauma, particularly those who show signs of early pubertal onset.

For more information, the full article can be found below:

Background Exposure to trauma in childhood is associated with an increased risk for internalising symptoms. Alterations in pubertal development has been proposed as a potential mechanism underpinnin...

04/04/2025

How psychological trauma can affect your brain, and what you can do about it.

Experiencing trauma can leave a real and lasting impact on your physical and mental health, reshaping how your brain and body operate every day. In her latest blog ADAA member Erin Berenz, PhD shares five ways trauma impacts you in your every day life and how to find the support you need. https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/ways-trauma-changes-your-brain-and-body

04/04/2025

Study shows how good habits may decrease the risk of depression in young adults.

Scientists have found evidence suggesting that “night owls” who prefer to stay active at night may be at a greater risk for depression than "early risers” who are awake more during daylight hours.

12/05/2024

We just published the article Pharmacogenetic Testing in Treatment-resistant Panic Disorder: a Preliminary Analysis!

Congratulations to first author Dr. Marcos Fidry and the research team!

Pharmacogenetics is an important tool in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. There is still much research to be done, but in the future, pharmacogenetics will make personalized treatments possible. Genetic data will inform doctors, making it possible for them to tailor the treatments according to each patient's features.

Full-text in the link below:

PDF | Background Many pharmacological treatments are considered effective in the treatment of panic disorder (PD), however, about 20 to 40% of the... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

12/02/2024

We are still recruiting participants with OCD for new drug trial, but not for long!

490 participants were included in this study globally, the target is to include 500 participants. Participants receive troriluzole as an add-on to their usual treatment for OCD in this clinical trial.

For more info:
https://qanxiety.ca/active-studies/

11/25/2024

Could tDCS be an effective, inexpensive, accessible treatment for PTSD and depression?

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that is less powerful than the current standard, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). It is done by sending a weak direct current to the scalp through electrodes that can be worn in a cap or attached with rubber headbands. Both studies highlighted below used 2 milliamperes. Although tDCS does not cause firing or inhibition of nerve cells it is thought to impact excitability of brain cells just beneath the scalp. Two recent clinical trials using this treatment are reporting promising results.

A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted by two Brown University researchers, Noah S. Philip, M.D., and Mascha van ’t Wout-Frank, Ph.D, and their team. They utilized tDCS for the treatment of warzone-related PTSD in fifty-four U.S. military veterans. Participants' average age was mid forties and most individuals suffered from an additional psychiatric illness. While receiving tDCS all participants experienced a standardized virtual reality exposure simulation. Results showed that active tDCS used with the exposure simulation lead to a “significantly meaningful” reduction of PTSD symptoms, with continued symptom improvement over time, and enhanced psychophysiological habituation to VR warzone cues. This may suggest that the treatment helps aid individuals in anticipating fears as well as learning to manage them. Three months after beginning treatment individuals showed improvements in social and occupational functioning. Thanks to the inexpensive nature of tDCS the team has hopes that if these results could be replicated in larger groups this treatment could be successfully put into practice.

A second clinical trial used home-based tDCS treatment for individuals with major depressive disorder. Lead by Cynthia H. Y. Fu, M.D., Ph.D., Allan H. Young, M.D., Ph.D., and Jair Soares, M.D., Ph.D this phase two, randomized, placebo-based study was completely remote and included ten weeks of home-based tDCS. There were a total of 174 participants, who on average were in their late thirties. Approximately one third were not receiving any treatment prior to the study, while two thirds were on an antidepressant and fifteen percent were receiving psychotherapy. Those receiving active tDCS followed a schedule of five self-administered tDCS treatments a week for three weeks followed by three sessions weekly for seven weeks, with sessions lasting thirty minutes. During treatment the individuals would be supervised through videoconferencing, additionally they had the ability to contact the team at any hour of the day during the trial. The team observed a “significant improvement” in depression symptoms. Prior to the trial participants had a moderate score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) but following treatment scores decreased by an average of 9.4 points with forty-five percent of individuals having a remission after ten weeks.

Results of two recently published clinical trials demonstrate the versatility and potential effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in reducing symptoms of psychiatric illness, specifically, in PTSD and major depressive disorder. BBRF grantees co-led both trials, which were e...

11/13/2024

Is a more effective way to treat depression on the horizon? While using medication to treat depression can be effective, it is often a long process to find the right treatment for an individual. In most cases it takes multiple rounds of trial and error with different drugs to find which one works, causing individuals to be stuck in a cycle that leaves them feeling defeated. David Walt and Diego Pizzagalli are two scientists and Harvard professors driving research to make this process more effective and less exhausting. This research is backed by the nonprofit Wellcome Leap. Walt is a professor of pathology and bioinspired engineering. His research focuses on observing specific proteins in four major cell types and comparing the results between individuals with and without major depression. Understanding what cell types are being affected could allow for the development of drugs best equipped to target such cells. Additionally, he and his team are working on identifying the biomarkers that would allow them to know if a drug is working based on a blood test. Pizzagalli, a professor of psychiatry, is building on a previous study in which neuroimaging was used to identify biomarkers that could indicate if an individual would respond positively to a specific antidepressant. He and his lab are using MRI to observe the link between areas of the brain’s reward system, the strength of which could indicate if an individual would respond better to an SSRI or a non-SSRI.

Both researchers stress that despite the obstacles, personalized treatment for depression is possible, and making it accessible would change lives. They hope their work helps to reclaim time for both patients and families struggling due to depression.

Backed by a major grant, two Harvard scientists are focused on reducing the distance between diagnosis and recovery.