Objective Insomnia is associated with increased risk for suicide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warnings regarding suicide in the prescribing information of hypnotics. We conducted a review of the evidence for and against hypnotics increasing the risk of suicide. Method This review focused on modern, FDA-approved hypnotics, beginning with the introduction of benzodiazepines, limiting its findings to adults. PubMed and Web of Science were searched, crossing the terms ‘suicide’ and ‘suicidal’ with each of the modern FDA-approved hypnotics. The FDA website was searched for post-marketing safety reviews, and the FDA was contacted to provide detailed case reports for hypnotic-related suicide deaths reported through its Adverse Event Report system. Results The epidemiological studies show that hypnotics are associated with increased risk for suicide. However, none of these studies adequately controlled for depression or other psychiatric disorders that may be linked with insomnia. Suicide deaths have been reported from single-agent hypnotic overdoses. A separate concern is that benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics can cause parasomnias, which in rare cases may lead to suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior in persons who were not known to be previously suicidal. On the other hand, ongoing research is testing whether treatment of insomnia might reduce suicidality in depressed adults. Conclusions This review indicates hypnotic medications are associated with suicidal ideation. Future studies should be designed to assess both types of possible effects: 1) an increase in suicidality due to central nervous system impairments from a given hypnotic medication; and 2) a decrease in suicidality due to improving insomnia.

Background/Aims Suicide is a major public health concern, yet there are very few randomized clinical trials that have been conducted to reduce suicidal ideation in patients at risk for suicide. We describe the rationale and refinements of such a trial that is designed to assess the effect of a hypnotic medication on suicidal ideation in adult outpatients currently experiencing suicidal ideation. Methods “Reducing Suicidal Ideation Through Insomnia Treatment (REST-IT)” is a multi-site randomized clinical trial that includes 3 recruiting sites and one data management site. This 4-year study is in its second year of recruitment. The purpose of the study is to compare hypnotic medication versus placebo as an add-on treatment to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor as a means of reducing suicidal ideation in depressed adult outpatients with insomnia and suicidal ideation. The safety features of the study follow the 2001 NIH guidelines for studies that include patients at risk of suicide. Results Five hundred and eighty-four potential participants have undergone telephone screening; 67% of these failed the phone screen, most often due to an absence of expressed suicidal ideation (26% of the telephone screen fails). One hundred and twelve persons appeared for a face-to-face baseline assessment, and 40 of these had completed a taper of their ineffective psychotropic medications before the baseline assessments. Sixty-four% of those who completed baseline assessments failed to proceed to randomization, most commonly because of no clinically significant suicidal ideation (51% of those excluded at baseline). One participant was offered and accepted voluntary psychiatric hospitalization in lieu of study participation. Thus far, 40 participants have been randomized into the study, 88.7% of scheduled visits have been attended, with 93.8% adherence for the SSRI and 91.6% adherence for the randomized hypnotic versus placebo. None of the randomized participants have required hospitalization or had a suicide attempt. Conclusions By carefully considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria and other safety features, the safe conduct of randomized clinical trials in suicidal adult patients is possible, including the inclusion of participants who have undergone a prescribed tapering of psychotropic medications prior to baseline assessment.

Introduction Patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) referred for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have poorer Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), compared with other patients with MDD, but ECT is associated with significant and durable improvement in HRQOL. However, no prior research has focused exclusively on elderly patients with MDD receiving ECT. Methods HRQOL data from 240 depressed patients over the age of 60 was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36). The SF-36 was measured before and after a course of acute ECT. Predictors of change in HRQOL scores were identified by generalized linear modeling. Results At baseline, participants showed very poor HRQOL. After treatment with ECT, the full sample showed marked and significant improvement across all SF-36 measures, with the largest gains seen in dimensions of mental health. Across all participants, the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score improved by 2.1 standardized points (95% CI, 0.61,3.56), while the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score improved by 12.5 points (95% CI, 7.2,10.8) Compared with non-remitters, remitters showed a trend toward greater improvement in the PCS summary score of 2.7 points (95%CI, −0.45, 5.9), while the improvement in the MCS summary score was significantly greater (8.5 points, 95% CI, 4.6,12.3) in the remitters than non-remitters. Post-ECT SF-36 measurements were consistently and positively related to baseline scores and remitter/non-remitter status or change in depression severity from baseline. Objective measures of cognitive function had no significant relationships to changes in SF-36 scores. Limitations This study’s limitations include that it was an open label study with no comparison group, and generalizability is limited to elderly patients. Discussion ECT providers and elderly patients with MDD treated with ECT can be confident that ECT will result in improved HRQOL in the short-term. Attaining remission is a key factor in the improvement of HRQOL. Acute changes in select cognitive functions were outweighed by improvement in depressive symptoms in determining the short term HRQOL of the participants treated with ECT.

Aging is progressively deteriorating physiological function that leads to increasing risks of illness and death. Increases in life expectancy and the aging of a large segment of the population have made age-related disability and morbidity increasingly important issues. Supplements such as α-lipoic acid may have antiaging effects by positively affecting oxidative stress, cognitive function, and cardiovascular function.

Akathisia and restless legs syndrome (RLS) share some common clinical features and a common relationship with dopamine dysfunction. However, the underlying causes and appropriate treatments for akathisia and RLS are different. Herein we describe a case of RLS that was precipitated by a single dose of asenapine, which is an atypical antipsychotic, and dissect the features that support the contention that this was indeed a case of RLS and not akathisia.