To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a literature search of the Medline database was conducted from inception to May 2014. The search was not restricted by language. Keywords used in the search were quetiapine and generalized anxiety disorder or anxiety. All studies assessing the use of quetiapine as monotherapy or adjunct therapy for the primary management of GAD in adults 18-65 years of age were included in this review. The nine studies included in this review were three studies evaluating the use of quetiapine extended release (XR) as monotherapy for acute GAD treatment, one study evaluating quetiapine XR monotherapy for maintenance treatment of GAD, and five studies evaluating quetiapine (2 XR, 3 immediate release) as adjunct therapy for acute GAD treatment. Quetiapine displayed both efficacy and tolerability in all monotherapy trials evaluating its use for acute and long-term treatment of GAD. Despite some limitations to and heterogeneity among the five adjunct therapy studies, three studies showed that quetiapine resulted in statistically significant changes in the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale or Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness Scale scores. Although future studies of longer duration with broader inclusion criteria are needed to further evaluate the benefits and risks of quetiapine for GAD, in patients failing to respond to conventional antidepressant therapy, quetiapine may be a potential treatment option. With appropriate monitoring and management of adverse effects, the potential benefits of quetiapine in patients with treatment-refractory GAD may outweigh the risks associated with its use.

No difference was observed in inpatient antipsychotic treatment continuation and 30-day hospital readmission rates in patients treated with either aripiprazole or quetiapine.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are characterized by affective flattening, alogia, avolition, and anhedonia and are often nonresponsive to antipsychotic therapy. Because negative symptoms are predictive of poor occupational and social functioning, as well as poor global outcomes, numerous studies evaluating adjunct therapy to antipsychotics have been conducted. This review focuses on the use of the antidepressant mirtazapine as adjunct therapy to antipsychotics for the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. A literature search of the MEDLINE database (from inception-March 2011) identified eight relevant articles: six were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, and two were open-label trials. Of the six randomized trials reviewed, four studies assessed add-on mirtazapine to second-generation antipsychotics, whereas two studies examined add-on mirtazapine to first-generation antipsychotics. Five of the six randomized trials supported the use of mirtazapine for negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Of the two open-label trials, one naturalistic study demonstrated that mirtazapine add-on therapy to clozapine was not associated with improvements in negative symptoms; however, this study focused primarily on improvements in cognition, not negative symptoms. An open-label extension phase to a randomized controlled trial showed that mirtazapine continued to produce significant improvement in negative symptoms over a longer duration of time, when added to first-generation antipsychotic therapy. Overall, mirtazapine appears to be well tolerated and associated with few drug interactions. Although adjunct mirtazapine to antipsychotics has been shown to be effective at doses of 30 mg/day in most of the trials, limitations of these studies include short study duration and small sample sizes. To improve generalizability, larger multicenter studies with broader inclusion criteria should be conducted. In addition, studies of longer duration that use different mirtazapine dosages are needed to further assess the benefits of mirtazapine for negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with non-scarring alopecia including alopecia areata or female pattern hair loss. It was theorized that hair loss secondary to vitamin D deficiency in patients susceptible to trichotillomania may exacerbate this obsessive-compulsive disorder. Though vitamin D deficiency is common, especially among patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders, its correlation with trichotillomania is not well reported. Two female patients suffering from trichotillomania defined by noticeable hair loss on the scalp through the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale were treated to promote hair growth. Treatment included dietary supplementation with vitamin D3 1000 IU every day. It was found that in both patients treated with vitamin D3, marked improvements occurred over the span of 3 to 4 months. These included a reduction in obsessive compulsive disorder related hair loss as measured using the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale, which correlated to their serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Experimental and clinical evidence is available to explain the underlying physiology and its probable relationship to trichotillomania's pathophysiology.