Evaluation of vilazodone for the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders

Introduction: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) significantly contribute to the global burden of disease. Vilazodone, a combined serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A partial agonist, is an approved therapy for the treatment of MDD and which has been further investigated for GAD.

Areas covered: This article covers the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vilazodone and provides an evaluation of the clinical usefulness of vilazodone for the treatment of MDD and anxiety disorders. A literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library.

Expert opinion: Studies have shown that vilazodone is significantly superior to placebo. However, vilazodone cannot as yet be recommended as a first-line treatment option for MDD as it is unclear whether the drug’s dual mechanism of action provides greater efficacy than prevailing treatment options. Moreover, more phase IV studies are needed to establish its efficacy and long-term safety in larger and more diverse populations. Although vilazodone may have an additional advantage for the treatment of anxiety symptoms in MDD, here also additional studies are required to confirm its efficacy over and above SSRI alternatives and other antidepressant treatments. Therefore, presently, vilazodone should be considered as a second- or third-line treatment option for MDD and GAD.     

Tyrosinemia type 1 in pediatric nephrology: Not always straightforward

The main clinical features of tyrosinemia type 1 usually appear in the first months of life, including fever, diarrhea, vomiting, liver involvement, growth failure, and renal proximal tubulopathy with subsequent hypophosphatemic rickets. An early diagnosis is crucial in order to provide specific management and to prevent complications. Here, we report on two cases referred primarily to pediatric nephrologists for the diagnosis of “neonatal tubulopathy” and management of “X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH),” respectively. Our aim is to emphasize that (1) even a mixed tubulopathy can reveal tyrosinemia, and (2) tyrosinemia is a classic differential diagnosis of XLH that should not be forgotten, especially in the era of the anti-FGF23 burosumab.     

Peyronie’s disease: Contemporary evaluation and management

Peyronie’s disease is a common yet poorly understood condition characterized by penile pain, curvature, sexual dysfunction and psychological bother. Peyronie’s disease represents a penile wound healing disorder, and is thought to arise from exuberant scarring in response to penile trauma in genetically predisposed men. In the absence of active treatment, the majority of men experience stable or worsening symptoms, with few reporting spontaneous resolution in penile curvature or other deformity. In contrast, penile pain improves or resolves in the majority of men. Treatment options vary based on symptom severity and stability. Several oral therapies are commonly prescribed, although to date there are no strong data to support any oral agents as monotherapy for Peyronie’s disease. Other options including penile traction therapy and intralesional injections result in modest improvements for many patients, particularly when used early after symptom onset. Penile straightening through approaches, such as penile plication and plaque incision or partial excision and grafting, represent the most rapid and reliable approach to correct penile curvature once the symptoms have stabilized. Side-effects vary based on the type of surgery carried out, and include penile shortening, sensation changes and erectile dysfunction in the minority of men. In patients with drug refractory erectile dysfunction and Peyronie’s disease, placement of a penile prosthesis will address both issues, and is associated with high levels of patient satisfaction. The current review provides a practical approach to the modern evaluation and management of patients presenting with Peyronie’s disease.     

Le dilemme du réfugié

The experiences of trauma, displacement, and forced migration faced by refugees raise profound questions about the relationship of self and community. This article explores some ways in which the intrapsychic dynamics of refugees' suffering and remembering interact with the larger social dynamics of refugee communities and host societies. The narrative construction of the self constitutes the pivot between the realms of the social and the psychological and rests on cultural meta-narratives. In Euro-American folk psychology two of the meta-narratives or concepts of the self can be compared in terms of their root metaphors: the adamantine self, characterized by its integrity, coherence, autonomy, self-definition, self-determination and self-control; and the transactional self, characterized by its fluidity, sensitivity to context, deference to authority, multivocality, deference and yielding to or accommodating others. These two accounts of the self shape how we view people who have suffered wrenching transformations of their worlds through violence, dislocation and loss. The changes produced through the therapeutic process can be understood as the development of a form of dialogue that is at once, within and without, personal and transcendental, rooted in communal tradition and in the open confrontation of the face of the other. The ethics of storytelling has its necessary counterpart in the ethics of listening, of witnessing and taking part in the creation of community through copresence.     

Mechanical Testing of Seven Fixation Methods for Generation of Compression Across a Midtarsal Osteotomy: A Comparison of Internal and External Fixation Devices

The purpose of this study was to assess 7 methods of fixation for a midtarsal osteotomy. Polyurethane foam models (N = 6) and cadaver specimens (N = 4-7) were used to examine the force generated by the different constructs of fixation. A midtarsal osteotomy was performed on each specimen in the test groups. The osteotomies were fixated either with 2 parallel 0.062-in Kirschner wires and 40-mm-long, 4-mm partially threaded, cancellous, cannulated titanium screws, an external ring fixator (frame), a frame with wires tensioned (tension), a frame with wires tensioned and compressed toward the osteotomy (tension and compression), a frame with tension, compression, and parallel Kirschner wires, or a frame with tension, compression, and two 4.0 cannulated parallel screws, respectively. Each model was fixated, and the force generated by the construct across the osteotomy was recorded via the use of pressure-sensitive film. Statistical analysis of the data in the polyurethane foam group determined that the use of frame with tension, compression, and two 4.0 parallel cannulated screws was statistically superior to 1) frame, 2) frame with tension, 3) 2 parallel Kirschner wires, 4) two 4.0 cannulated parallel screws, and 5) frame with tension and compression. A cadaver study determined that the frame with tension, compression, and 2 parallel Kirschner wires was statistically superior to 1) frame and 2) two parallel Kirschner wires. These findings suggest that there is a difference in the force generated by the type of fixation construct across a midtarsal osteotomy.