Psychotic depression explained

Psychotic depression
Synonyms:Depressive psychosis
Specialty:Psychiatry
Symptoms:Hallucinations, delusions, anhedonia[1]
Complications:harm to self or other
Onset:20-40 years old
Duration:Days to weeks, sometimes longer
Diagnosis:Clinical interview[2]
Differential:Schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, dissociative disorders
Treatment:Medication, cognitive behavioral therapy
Medication:Anti-depressants, anti-psychotics

Psychotic depression, also known as depressive psychosis, is a major depressive episode that is accompanied by psychotic symptoms.[3] It can occur in the context of bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder.[3] It can be difficult to distinguish from schizoaffective disorder, a diagnosis that requires the presence of psychotic symptoms for at least two weeks without any mood symptoms present.[3] Unipolar psychotic depression requires that psychotic symptoms occur during severe depressive episodes, although residual psychotic symptoms may also be present in between episodes (e.g., during remission, mild depression, etc.).[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Diagnosis using the DSM-5 involves meeting the criteria for a major depressive episode, along with the criteria for "mood-congruent or mood-incongruent psychotic features" specifier.[9]

Signs and symptoms

Individuals with psychotic depression experience the symptoms of a major depressive episode, along with one or more psychotic symptoms, including delusions and/or hallucinations.[3] Delusions can be classified as mood congruent or incongruent, depending on whether or not the nature of the delusions is in keeping with the individual's mood state.[3] Common themes of mood congruent delusions include guilt, persecution, punishment, personal inadequacy, or disease.[10] Half of patients experience more than one kind of delusion.[3] Delusions occur without hallucinations in about one-half to two-thirds of patients with psychotic depression.[3] Hallucinations can be auditory, visual, olfactory (smell), or tactile (touch), and are congruent with delusional material.[3] Affect is sad, not flat. Severe anhedonia, loss of interest, and psychomotor retardation are typically present.[11]

Cause

Psychotic symptoms tend to develop after an individual has already had several episodes of depression without psychosis.[3] However, once psychotic symptoms have emerged, they tend to reappear with each future depressive episode.[3] The prognosis for psychotic depression is not considered to be as poor as for schizoaffective disorders or primary psychotic disorders.[3] Still, those who have experienced a depressive episode with psychotic features have an increased risk of relapse and suicide compared to those without psychotic features, and they tend to have more pronounced sleep abnormalities.[3] [10]

Family members of those who have experienced psychotic depression are at increased risk for both psychotic depression and schizophrenia.[3]

Most patients with psychotic depression report having an initial episode between the ages of 20 and 40. As with other depressive episodes, psychotic depression tends to be episodic, with symptoms lasting for a certain amount of time and then subsiding. While psychotic depression can be chronic (lasting more than 2 years), most depressive episodes last less than 24 months. A study conducted by Kathleen S. Bingham found that patients receiving appropriate treatment for psychotic depression went into "remission". They reported a quality of life similar to that of people without PD.[12]

Pathophysiology

There are a number of biological features that may distinguish psychotic depression from non-psychotic depression. The most significant difference may be the presence of an abnormality in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA). The HPA axis appears to be dysregulated in psychotic depression, with dexamethasone suppression tests demonstrating higher levels of cortisol following dexamethasone administration (i.e. lower cortisol suppression).[3] Those with psychotic depression also have higher ventricular-brain ratios than those with non-psychotic depression.[3]

Diagnosis

Differential diagnosis

See also: Depression (differential diagnoses). Psychotic symptoms are often missed in psychotic depression, either because patients do not think their symptoms are abnormal or they attempt to conceal their symptoms from others.[3] On the other hand, psychotic depression may be confused with schizoaffective disorder.[3] Due to overlapping symptoms, differential diagnosis includes also dissociative disorders.[13]

Treatment

Several treatment guidelines recommend pharmaceutical treatments that include either the combination of a second-generation antidepressant and atypical antipsychotic or tricyclic antidepressant monotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as the first-line treatment for unipolar psychotic depression.[14] [15] [16] [17]

There is no evidence for or against the use of mifepristone.

Combined antidepressant and antipsychotic medications

There is some evidence indicating that combination therapy with an antidepressant plus an antipsychotic is more effective in treating psychotic depression than either antidepressant treatment alone or placebo.[18] In the context of psychotic depression, the following are the most well-studied antidepressant/antipsychotic combinations:

First-generation

Second-generation

Antidepressant medications

There is insufficient evidence to determine if treatment with an antidepressant alone is effective. Tricyclic antidepressants may be particularly dangerous, because overdosing has the potential to cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias.

Antipsychotic medications

There is insufficient evidence to determine if treatment with antipsychotic medications alone is effective. Olanzapine may be an effective monotherapy in psychotic depression,[24] although there is evidence that it is ineffective for depressive symptoms as a monotherapy; and olanzapine/fluoxetine is more effective. Quetiapine monotherapy may be particularly helpful in psychotic depression since it has both antidepressant and antipsychotic effects and a reasonable tolerability profile compared to other atypical antipsychotics.[25] [26] [27] The current drug-based treatments of psychotic depression are reasonably effective but can cause side effects, such as nausea, headaches, dizziness, and weight gain.[28]

Electroconvulsive therapy

In modern practice of ECT a therapeutic clonic seizure is induced by electric current via electrodes placed on a person under general anesthesia. Despite much research the exact mechanism of action of ECT is still not known.[29] ECT carries the risk of temporary cognitive deficits (e.g., confusion, memory problems), in addition to the burden of repeated exposures to general anesthesia.[30]

Research

Efforts are made to find a treatment which targets the proposed specific underlying pathophysiology of psychotic depression. A promising candidate was mifepristone,[31] which by competitively blocking certain neuro-receptors, renders cortisol less able to directly act on the brain and was thought to therefore correct an overactive HPA axis. However, a Phase III clinical trial, which investigated the use of mifepristone in PMD, was terminated early due to lack of efficacy.[32]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is being investigated as an alternative to ECT in the treatment of depression. TMS involves the administration of a focused electromagnetic field to the cortex to stimulate specific nerve pathways.

Research has shown that psychotic depression differs from non-psychotic depression in a number of ways:[33] potential precipitating factors,[34] [35] [36] underlying biology,[37] [38] [39] [40] symptomatology beyond psychotic symptoms,[41] [42] long-term prognosis,[43] [44] and responsiveness to psychopharmacological treatment and ECT.[45]

Prognosis

The long-term outcome for psychotic depression is generally poorer than for non-psychotic depression.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Psychotic Depression. WebMD.
  2. Psychotic Depression: Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Treatment . 33166960 . 10.1159/000511348 . Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics . 2021 . 90 . 3 . 160–177 . Dubovsky . Steven L. . Ghosh . Biswarup M. . Serotte . Jordan C. . Cranwell . Victoria . 226296398 . free .
  3. Hales E and Yudofsky JA, eds, The American Psychiatric Press Textbook of Psychiatry, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2003
  4. Kupfer, D. J., Frank, E., & Phillips, M. L. (2012). Major depressive disorder: New clinical, neurobiological, and treatment perspectives. Lancet, 379(9820), 1045-1055
  5. Roca et al. (2014). Frequency and predictors of psychotic symptoms in a general population sample. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 129(4), 286-295
  6. García-Álvarez et al. (2013). Residual psychotic symptoms in depression: Prevalence and relationship to mood symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and treatment response. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 128(5), 375-382
  7. Lennox et al. (2010). Residual psychotic and depressive symptoms in a clinical trial for psychotic depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 127(1-3), 243-248
  8. Web site: ICD-10 Version:2019 .
  9. Book: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). 2013. American Psychiatric Association. Washington DC. 9780890425558. registration.
  10. Book: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423387.654001 . Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder . 3rd . APA Practice Guidelines . American Psychiatric Association . April 6, 2013 . 2010 . 978-0-89042-338-7 .
  11. Rothschild, A.J., 2009. Clinical Manual for Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychotic Depression. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Washington DC, USA
  12. Bingham. Kathleen. 2019. Health-related quality of life in remitted psychotic depression. Journal of Affective Disorders. 256. 373–379. 10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.068. 31207561. 6822164.
  13. Shibayama M . 2011 . Differential diagnosis between dissociative disorders and schizophrenia . Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica . 113 . 9. 906–911 . 22117396 .
  14. Web site: Somatic Treatment of an Acute Episode of Unipolar Psychotic Depression . WebMD LLC . 2013 . 4 October 2013.
  15. Book: Taylor . David . Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry . Patron . Carol . Kapur . Shitij . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. . 2012 . 9780470979693 . 11th . West Sussex . 233–234.
  16. 16648526. 2006. Wijkstra. J. Lijmer. J. Balk. FJ. Geddes. JR. Nolen. WA . Pharmacological treatment for unipolar psychotic depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis . 188. 410–5. 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.010470. British Journal of Psychiatry. 5. free.
  17. 10.1016/j.jad.2012.07.036. The treatment of psychotic depression: Is there consensus among guidelines and psychiatrists?. 2013. Leadholm. Anne Katrine K.. Rothschild. Anthony J.. Nolen. Willem A.. Bech. Per. Munk-Jørgensen. Povl. Ostergaard. Søren Dinesen. Journal of Affective Disorders. 145. 2. 214–20. 23021823. 53678168 .
  18. Kruizinga . Jacolien . Liemburg . Edith . Burger . Huibert . Cipriani . Andrea . Geddes . John . Robertson . Lindsay . Vogelaar . Beatrix . Nolen . Willem A. . 2021-12-07 . Pharmacological treatment for psychotic depression . The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2021 . 12 . CD004044 . 10.1002/14651858.CD004044.pub5 . 1469-493X . 8651069 . 34875106.
  19. The pharmacological treatment of delusional depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1985. 142. 4. 430–436. 3883815. Spiker. DG. Weiss. JC. Dealy. RS. Griffin. SJ. Hanin. I. Neil. JF. Perel. JM. Rossi. AJ. Soloff. PH. 10.1176/ajp.142.4.430.
  20. Risperidone versus haloperidol and amitriptyline in the treatment of patients with a combined psychotic and depressive syndrome. The Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 1998. 18. 2. 111–120. 9555596. 10.1097/00004714-199804000-00003. Muller-Siecheneder. Florian. Muller. Matthias J.. Hillert. Andreas. Szegedi. Armin. Wetzel. Hermann. Benkert. Otto.
  21. A double-blind, randomized study of olanzapine and olanzapine/fluoxetine combination for major depression with psychotic features. The Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2004. 24. 2. 365–373. 15232326. 10.1097/01.jcp.0000130557.08996.7a. Rothschild. Anthony J.. Williamson. Douglas J.. Tohen. Mauricio F.. Schatzberg. Alan. Andersen. Scott W.. Van Campen. Luann E.. Sanger. Todd M.. Tollefson. Gary D.. 36295165.
  22. A double-blind, randomized study of olanzapine and olanzapine/fluoxetine combination for major depression with psychotic features. The Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. August 2004. 24. 4. 365–373. 15232326. 10.1097/01.jcp.0000130557.08996.7a. Rothschild. Anthony J.. Williamson. Douglas J.. Tohen. Mauricio F.. Schatzberg. Alan. Andersen. Scott W.. Van Campen. Luann E.. Sanger. Todd M.. Tollefson. Gary D.. 36295165.
  23. A double-blind randomized controlled trial of olanzapine plus sertraline vs olanzapine plus placebo for psychotic depression: the study of pharmacotherapy of psychotic depression (STOP-PD). Archives of General Psychiatry. August 2009. 66. 8. 838–847. 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.79. 19652123. 2840400. Meyers. BS. Flint. AJ. Rothschild. AJ. Mulsant. BH. Whyte. EM. Peasley-Miklus. C. Papademetriou. E. Leon. AC. Heo. M. Stop-Pd. Group.
  24. 12625801. New approaches to managing psychotic depression. 2003. Schatzberg. AF. 64. 19–23. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Suppl 1 .
  25. 19668121. 2009. Weisler. R. Joyce. M. McGill. L. Lazarus. A. Szamosi. J. Eriksson. H. Moonstone Study. Group. Extended release quetiapine fumarate monotherapy for major depressive disorder: Results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. 14. 6. 299–313. CNS Spectrums. 10.1017/S1092852900020307. 29260337.
  26. 10.1016/j.jad.2010.06.031. Efficacy and tolerability of extended release quetiapine fumarate (quetiapine XR) monotherapy in major depressive disorder: A placebo-controlled, randomized study. 2011. Bortnick. Brian. El-Khalili. Nizar. Banov. Michael. Adson. David. Datto. Catherine. Raines. Shane. Earley. Willie. Eriksson. Hans. Journal of Affective Disorders. 128. 83–94. 20691481. 1–2.
  27. 10.1186/1471-244X-12-160. Quetiapine monotherapy in acute phase for major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials. 2012. Maneeton. Narong. Maneeton. Benchalak. Srisurapanont. Manit. Martin. Stephen D. BMC Psychiatry. 12. 160. 23017200. 3549283 . free .
  28. Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antidepressants/MH00062
  29. Bolwig. T.. How does electroconvulsive therapy work? Theories on its mechanism. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011. 56. 1. 13–18. 21324238. 10.1177/070674371105600104. free.
  30. Web site: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): Risks . MayoClinic.com . 2012-10-25 . 2013-10-04.
  31. Rapid reversal of psychotic depression using mifepristone . Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology . 21 . 5 . 516–21 . October 2001 . 11593077 . 10.1097/00004714-200110000-00009 . Belanoff . Joseph K. . Flores . Benjamin H. . Kalezhan . Michelle . Sund . Brenda . Schatzberg . Alan F. . 3067889 .
  32. [Mifepristone#cite ref-20]
  33. 22398817. 2012. Ostergaard. SD. Rothschild. AJ. Uggerby. P. Munk-Jørgensen. P. Bech. P. Mors. O. Considerations on the ICD-11 classification of psychotic depression. 81. 3. 135–44. 10.1159/000334487. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. free.
  34. 10.1159/000337746. The Association between Physical Morbidity and Subtypes of Severe Depression. 2013. Østergaard. Søren Dinesen. Petrides. Georgios. Dinesen. Peter Thisted. Skadhede. Søren. Bech. Per. Munk-Jørgensen. Povl. Nielsen. Jimmi. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 82. 45–52. 23147239. 1. 29557858.
  35. 10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.009. Environmental and familial risk factors for psychotic and non-psychotic severe depression. 2013. Østergaard. Søren Dinesen. Waltoft. Berit Lindum. Mortensen. Preben Bo. Mors. Ole. Journal of Affective Disorders. 147. 232–40. 23228568. 1–3.
  36. 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.09.014. Dysbindin (DTNBP1) – A role in psychotic depression?. 2011. Domschke. Katharina. Lawford. Bruce. Young. Ross. Voisey. Joanne. Morris. C. Phillip. Roehrs. Tilmann. Hohoff. Christa. Birosova. Eva. Arolt. Volker. Baune. Bernhard T.. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 45. 5. 588–95. 20951386.
  37. 9356556. 1997. Nelson. JC. Davis. JM. DST studies in psychotic depression: A meta-analysis. 154. 11. 1497–503. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 10.1176/ajp.154.11.1497.
  38. 10920463. 2000. Posener. JA. Debattista. C. Williams. GH. Chmura Kraemer. H. Kalehzan. BM. Schatzberg. AF. 24-Hour monitoring of cortisol and corticotropin secretion in psychotic and nonpsychotic major depression. 57. 8. 755–60. Archives of General Psychiatry. 10.1001/archpsyc.57.8.755.
  39. 11904129. 2002. Cubells. JF. Price. LH. Meyers. BS. Anderson. GM. Zabetian. CP. Alexopoulos. GS. Nelson. JC. Gerard Sanacora. Sanacora. G. Kirwin. P. Carpenter. L. Malison. RT. Gelernter. J. Genotype-controlled analysis of plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity in psychotic unipolar major depression. 51. 5. 358–64. Biological Psychiatry. 10.1016/S0006-3223(01)01349-X. 23371102.
  40. 10071716. 1999. Meyers. BS. Alexopoulos. GS. Kakuma. T. Tirumalasetti. F. Gabriele. M. Alpert. S. Bowden. C. Meltzer. HY. Decreased dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity in unipolar geriatric delusional depression. 45. 4. 448–52. Biological Psychiatry. 10.1016/S0006-3223(98)00085-7. 19469775.
  41. 17915981. 2007. Maj. M. Pirozzi. R. Magliano. L. Fiorillo. A. Bartoli. L. Phenomenology and prognostic significance of delusions in major depressive disorder: A 10-year prospective follow-up study. 68. 9. 1411–7. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 10.4088/JCP.v68n0913.
  42. 22381953. 2012. Østergaard. SD. Bille. J. Søltoft-Jensen. H. Lauge. N. Bech. P. The validity of the severity-psychosis hypothesis in depression. 140. 1. 48–56. 10.1016/j.jad.2012.01.039. Journal of Affective Disorders.
  43. 8599395. 1996. Coryell. W. Leon. A. Winokur. G. Endicott. J. Keller. M. Akiskal. H. Solomon. D. Importance of psychotic features to long-term course in major depressive disorder. 153. 4. 483–9. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 10.1176/ajp.153.4.483.
  44. 23122529. 2013. Ostergaard. SD. Bertelsen. A. Nielsen. J. Mors. O. Petrides. G. The association between psychotic mania, psychotic depression and mixed affective episodes among 14,529 patients with bipolar disorder. 147. 1–3. 44–50. 10.1016/j.jad.2012.10.005. Journal of Affective Disorders.
  45. 12706521. 2003. Birkenhäger. TK. Pluijms. EM. Lucius. SA. ECT response in delusional versus non-delusional depressed inpatients. 74. 2. 191–5. Journal of Affective Disorders. 10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00005-8.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Psychotic depression".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.