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[FG] Brühl Annette

Head of Research Unit

Prof. Dr. med. Annette Brühl, Prof. Dr. med.

Projects & Collaborations

4 found

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Subjective and objective sleep measures in patients with insomnia with and without depression

Research Project | 1 Project Members

This research project emerged as a collaboration between UPK Basel and the National Institute of Mental Health in Czech Republic. We analysed the data collected in the Sleep lab of the University Psychiatric Hospital (UPK) in Basel, in order to compare subjective and objective measures of sleep, in different groups of patients (insomnia with or without depression, among others).

The collaboration was succesful and the results were published in "Brain and Behavior"
In the next step, the collected data from Basel and from the Sleep laboratory of the National Institute of Mental Health in Czech Republic (NUDZ Klecany) can be analysed.

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Prädiktoren der Lithiumresponse bei unipolarer Depression

Research Project | 1 Project Members

Verlässliche, nicht-invasive Prädiktoren für ein Ansprechen auf Lithium konnten bisher in der klinischen Praxis nicht etabliert werden und sind das primäre Ziel der vorliegenden Studie, mit einem innovativen Einsatz bekannter, jedoch in der Fragestellung neuartiger, nicht-invasiver Methoden (Polysomnographie).
Die Ergebnisse können die Depressionsbehandlung individualisieren und dadurch deutlich verbessern, indem eine frühzeitige suffiziente Behandlung begonnen werden kann und damit die Prognose in allen Lebensbereichen deutlich verbessert wird.
Das vorliegende Projekt stärkt die bereits etablierte klinische Forschung an den UPK sowie die Rolle des Kompetenzzentrums für Depressionsbehandlung entsprechend den Zielen des «Gertrud Thalmann-Fonds»

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A randomized add-on pilot trial of D-serine for depression

Research Project | 3 Project Members

The glutamate system is emerging as target for the development of novel antidepressant medication, in particular compounds modulating the NMDA receptor. While the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine is an effective option for many treatment-restistan patients, it is also accompanied by dissociative and cognitive effects and also bears the risk to develop addiction, side effects that are significantly restricting its clinical utility. There is now compelling evidence of the antidepressant potential of D-serine, a NMDAR co-agonist. Compared to ketamine, D-serine goes along without any psychotomimetic effects or other side effects and thus might be a promising novel antidepressant. This study represents the first randomized control trial to test the efficacy of D-serine as an adjuvant therapy in patients with depression and thereby adds to recent efforts to establish novel glutamatergic antidepressants.

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Subjective–objective sleep discrepancy

Research Project | 1 Project Members

The goal is a review article to this topic, conducted in the collaboration with the Insomnia and behavioural sleep medicine clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.