Double-Blinding and Bias in Medication and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Trials for Major Depressive Disorder

Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) as a treatment for tinnitus-related insomnia: a randomised controlled trial

Insomnia is a significant difficulty and is reported by large proportion of people with tinnitus. Although cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) might be an effective treatment, no controlled studies had been conducted to date. This randomised controlled trial evaluated the benefits of CBTi on a sample of 102 people with tinnitus-related insomnia. Participants were randomised to 1) CBTi, 2) Audiology-Based Care (ABC) or 3) Sleep Support Group (SSG). Primary outcomes included insomnia, sleep efficiency and total sleep time. Secondary outcomes measured sleep onset latency, sleep quality, tinnitus distress, psychological distress, functioning and quality of life. CBTi was superior at reducing insomnia and increasing sleep efficiency compared to ABC post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up. ABC was superior at reducing insomnia and increasing sleep efficiency compared to SSG. Both CBTi and ABC reported increased total sleep time compared to SSG at 6-month follow. More than 80% of participants in the CBTi group reported clinically meaningful improvements compared to 47% in ABC and 20% for those receiving social support. CBTi was more effective in reducing tinnitus distress and improving sleep quality, functioning and some aspects of mental health. CBTi and ABC offer effective treatments for tinnitus-related sleep disorder but CBTi offers a sizeable benefit.

ONLINE-TICS: Internet-Delivered Behavioral Treatment for Patients with Chronic Tic Disorders

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is considered a first-line therapy for tics. However, availability of CBIT is extremely limited due to a lack of qualified therapists. This study is a multicenter (n = 5), randomized, controlled, observer-blind trial including 161 adult patients with chronic tic disorders (CTD) to provide data on efficacy and safety of an internet-delivered, completely therapist-independent CBIT intervention (iCBIT Minddistrict^®) in the treatment of tics compared to placebo and face-to-face (f2f) CBIT. Using a linear mixed model with the change to baseline of Yale Global Tic Severity Scale-Total Tic Score (YGTSS-TTS) as a dependent variable, we found a clear trend towards significance for superiority of iCBIT (n = 67) over placebo (n = 70) (−1.28 (−2.58; 0.01); p = 0.053). In addition, the difference in tic reduction between iCBIT and placebo increased, resulting in a significant difference 3 (−2.25 (−3.75; −0.75), p = 0.003) and 6 months (−2.71 (−4.27; −1.16), p < 0.001) after the end of treatment. Key secondary analysis indicated non-inferiority of iCBIT in comparison to f2f CBIT (n = 24). No safety signals were detected. Although the primary endpoint was narrowly missed, it is strongly suggested that iCBIT is superior compared to placebo. Remarkably, treatment effects of iCBIT even increased over time.

Sound Therapy for Tinnitus: Options for Audiologists

Purpose

Sound therapy to reduce the emotional and functional effects of tinnitus has been used by audiologists since the 1970s when Jack Vernon introduced the masking method to provide a sense of relief from tinnitus distress. Our group renamed masking sound as “soothing” sound and distinguished it from “interesting” and “background” sound, each of which has a different purpose for tinnitus sound therapy. Other methods of sound therapy have the potential to reduce the “sensation” of tinnitus, including notched noise, matched noise, desynchronization, and residual inhibition. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the different sound therapy approaches to serve as a resource for audiologists who often provide sound therapy to their patients with tinnitus.

Conclusion

Although, according to systematic reviews, sound therapy does not have strong evidence for treatment of tinnitus, it is nonetheless well evidenced both through abundant research and clinical utilization mostly by audiologists. It is unknown if any one form of sound therapy is superior to any other.

Illness burden and physical outcomes associated with collaborative care in patients with comorbid depressive disorder in chronic medical conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Collaborative care (CC) improves depressive symptoms in people with comorbid depressive disorder in chronic medical conditions, but its effect on physical symptoms has not yet systematically been reviewed. This study aims to do so.

METHODS

Systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the European and US Clinical Trial Registers. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CC compared to care as usual (CAU), in primary care and general hospital setting, reporting on physical and depressive symptoms as outcomes. Overall treatment effects were estimated for illness burden, physical outcomes and depression, respectively.

RESULTS

Twenty RCTs were included, with N=4774 patients. The overall effect size of CC versus CAU for illness burden was OR 1.64 (95%CI 1.47;1.83), d=0.27 (95%CI 0.21;0.33). Best physical outcomes in CC were found for hypertension with comorbiddepression. Overall, depression outcomes were better for CC than for CAU. Moderator analyses did not yield statistically significant differences.

CONCLUSIONS

CC is more effective than CAU in terms of illness burden, physical outcomes and depression, in patients with comorbid depression in chronic medical conditions. More research covering multiple medical conditions is needed.

PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER

The protocol for this systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on February 19th 2016: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/DisplayPDF.php?ID=CRD42016035553.