Efficacy and safety of oral SOCG in treatment of major depressive disorder: A protocol for a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel-groups, dose finding exploratory study

Testing the bipolar assumption of Singer-Loomis Type Deployment Inventory for Korean adults using classification and multidimensional scaling

In this study, we explored whether the Korean version of Singer Loomis Type Deployment Inventory II (K-SLTDI) captures the opposing tendencies of Jung's theory of psychological type. The types are Extroverted Sensing, Extroverted Intuition, Extroverted Feeling, Extroverted Thinking, Introverted Sensing, Introverted Intuition, Introverted Feeling, and Introverted Thinking. A nationwide online survey was conducted in South Korea. We performed multidimensional scaling and classification analyses based on 521 Korean adult profiles with eight psychological types to test the bipolarity assumption. The results showed that the Procrustes-rotated four-dimensional space successfully represented four types of opposing tendencies. Moreover, the bipolarity assumption in the four dimensions of Jungian typology was tested and compared between lower and higher psychological distress populations via cluster analysis. Lastly, we explored patterns of responses in lower and higher psychological distress populations using intersubject correlation. Both similarity analyses and classification results consistently support the theoretical considerations on the conceptualization of Jung's type in independent order that the types could be derived without bipolar assumption as Singer and Loomis expected in their Type Development Inventory. Limitations in our study include the sample being randomly selected internet users during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite excellence in the use of the internet in the general Korean population.

Efficacy and safety of Gyejibokryeong-hwan (GBH) in major depressive disorder: study protocol for multicentre randomised controlled trial

Background

Gyejibokryeong-hwan (GBH) is an herbal medicine composed of five herbs. It has been widely used to treat gynaecological diseases in traditional East Asian medicine. Recent animal studies suggest antidepressant effects of GBH. In this trial, we explore the efficacy and safety of GBH in patients with major depressive disorder and to identify the optimal dose for the next phase III trial.

Methods

This trial will enrol 126 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder and not treated with antidepressants. Participants will be randomised to receive a high or a low dose of GBH or placebo granules. The study drugs will be administered three times a day, for 8 weeks. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) will be used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms at weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12. The primary efficacy endpoint is the change from baseline in HDRS-17 total score post-treatment at week 8. Analysis of covariance will be based on the baseline HDRS-17 total score and site as the covariates. Safety assessment will be based on the frequency of adverse events. The severity and causality of the study drug will be assessed.

Discussion

This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of GBH granules compared with placebo in patients with major depressive disorder.

Trial registration

Clinical Research Information Service KCT0004417. Registered on November 1, 2019 (prospective registration)

Positive Effects on Emotional Stress and Sleep Quality of Forest Healing Program for Exhausted Medical Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak

This study targeted medical workers, who are currently being subjected to an excessive workload and emotional stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Various treatment programs, such as a relaxation program to relieve stress, a walk in the forest, and woodworking were provided to the participants as forest healing therapies. We enrolled 13 medical workers (11 females, 2 males). Before and after forest healing therapy, stress and sleep-related questionnaires and levels of salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and melatonin were measured and compared. The improvement of the perceived stress scale and the decrease of DHEA-S, a stress index, showed statistically significant results. However, although this study was conducted with a small number of participants and has a limitation in that the therapy occurred over a short period of only 1 night and 2 days, the trend of supporting results remains positive. As such, the authors propose forest healing therapy as one intervention to relieve the job stress for this group of workers