Psychiatry

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women. Researchers and clinicians that can work across disciplinary boundaries are needed to effectively understand, prevent, and reduce the burden of CVD. A focus on women and CVD is critical given the multiple sex-specific risk factors for and manifestations of CVD that remain incompletely understood. This renewal application for an NHLBI Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research seeks support for Dr.

Up to two-thirds of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) will not respond to standard pharmacological and psychological interventions and will be considered treatment resistant (TR-MDD). Decreased reactivity to positive stimuli, indexed by low amygdala reactivity to positive autobiographical memory recall, may be a causal mechanism interfering with recovery from TR-MDD.

Chronic pain, which may last for months or even years, can disturb people’s daily lives and their relationships with others. Patient-centered factors, such as patient beliefs and expectations about their pain and how treatments work, can affect how they respond to treatment. Measuring these factors and addressing them in clinic visits can help improve patients’ health.
What was the goal of this implementation project?

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT: The overarching goal of this Pathway to Independence Award is to facilitate the development of César G. Escobar-Viera, PhD, MD, MPH, into an independent researcher, with expertise in advanced quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the role of social media on depression among lesbian, gay, and bisexual U.S. young adults (LGBYA). Ultimately, the PI seeks to leverage evidence-based SM interventions to ameliorate depression among LGBYA, which will ultimately help to reduce mental health disparities for this group.

This proposal requests support for the five-year continuation of our NIMH-funded institutional training grant, “Clinical and Translational Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders” (T32 MH019986), Years 26-30. The primary goal of this two-year post-doctoral fellowship (three years in selected case) is to provide rigorous training in the basic foundations and methodologic tools necessary for successful clinical and translational investigation in geriatric mental health and psychiatry.

Overall Summary/Abstract Our research focuses on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead individuals to develop dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our findings, as well as those from others, indicate that there is a complex interaction of clinical and subclinical cerebral and systemic factors during the pre-clinical phases of AD, some which convey vulnerability and some which convey resilience.

There is substantial evidence that overweight and obesity during late life (� 65 years of age) confers significant risk for type 2 diabetes and co-morbid conditions. Thus, there is growing concern about the public health consequences of increased incidence of type 2 diabetes in an aging U.S. population. Studies with high risk samples have shown that lifestyle interventions significantly reduce diabetes risk and that elders are particularly responsive, showing better weight loss and lower rates of diabetes development in comparison to younger individuals.

Suicide is an outcome of a decision process, but has rarely been investigated as such. Moreover, for many suicide-attempters, there is evidence that suicide is not a well-considered, deliberate, decision, but an impulsive one; many who attempt suicide but fail never try again, and even report great relief to be alive.

This research based training proposal is designed to build expertise in intervention research in schizophrenia (SZ), a common, chronic, disabling disorder that entails severe burden on patients and care givers. Medications, the mainstay of treatment for SZ provide only symptomatic relief and fail in the majority of cases, but pharmaceutical firms have slowed their research efforts due to uncertainty about the pathogenesis of SZ. These problems are magnified in low / middle-income countries (LMIC), where new medications are expensive and trained personnel are scant.

Severe worry, a transdiagnostic symptom particularly pernicious for the health of older adults, is associated with increased risk of conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease, and with increased risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events. Severe worry, defined as intense, uncontrollable worry associated with interruption in functioning and reduced quality of life, is surprisingly prevalent in the community, with 20% of older adults reporting severe worry.