Abby Vogeley, Winner of the 2022 NIMH Three-Minute Talks Competition

Transcript

ABBY VOGELEY: Hi there. My name is Abby Vogeley, and today I'll be presenting on long-term observation of participants with treatment-resistant mood disorders. Treatment-resistant depression, or TRD, is commonly defined as failing at least two antidepressant treatment trials and is thought to afflict between 15 to 30% of those with depression. Despite this prevalence, there seems to be a lack of data regarding predictors of treatment-resistant depression, as well as longitudinal studies observing this population.

Over the last 20 years, my lab has had the opportunity to accrue a wealth of biological, clinical neuroimaging, and sleep data on a treatment-resistant sample. And we're able to determine the current treatment utilization and symptom severity. However, because we only have one-time point, we're unable to understand the trajectory of their treatment-resistant depression. Because of this, my lab chose to implement a follow-up study allowing us to utilize that earlier data as a baseline point within a longitudinal study. And our hope is that we'll be able to better understand the trajectory of a treatment-resistant sample.

The follow-up study is composed of two parts, a virtual portion and a telephone phase; this is so that our participants with depression can participate within the convenience and comfort of their own homes. There are many assessments including the back depressive inventory scale, a treatment utilization form, and other assessments gauging symptom severity and suicide risk. Since starting the follow-up study, we've been able to accrue data from 75 participants who have completed the virtual phase with 70 of those participants also completing the telephone portion. We've been able to report that on average, our participants have felt depressed about 50% of the time since last seen at the NIH, with about 80% having been prescribed at least one additional antidepressant. Because many of our studies utilize ketamine, I found it really intriguing that about 30% ever our participants have sought out ketamine treatment within the community. And because we work with a sample at high risk for suicide, I find it important to note that about 12% have attempted since last seen.

So what do these metrics show? To me, this shows that we're able to continue to study a sample that has the chronicity and severity represented within a treatment-resistant population, and my hope is that we'll be able to utilize the follow-up data to better understand treatment-resistant depression, predictors of depression, suicide risk, and what might be effective treatments for this population. Thank you.