Dr. Brown’s research focuses on comorbidities of mood disorders, including medical illness, cortisol elevation and substance abuse.
1. Mood disorders associated with general medical conditions
A. Corticosteroid effects on the human brain: Our group recently completed a project examining hippocampal volume, biochemistry and functioning in patients receiving chronic prednisone therapy and controls. We have ongoing projects examining the use of glutamate release inhibitors as neuroprotective agents against stress or corticosteroid-induced hippocampal changes.
B. Depression in asthma patients: We have an ongoing antidepressant trial with caregivers of children with asthma examining whether the effective treatment of depression is associated with improvement in the child?s asthma symptoms.
2. Mood disorders with comorbid substance abuse
Bipolar disorder has high rates of substance abuse. Ongoing studies examine quetiapine in patients with bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence, lamotrigine in patients with bipolar disorder and cocaine dependence, and a nutritional supplement (citicoline) in patients with bipolar disorder or recurrent major depressive disorder and amphetamine.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Effects of corticosteroids on the hippocampus
Depression in asthma patients
Treatment of patients with bipolar disorder and substance abuse
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Mitchell JD, Brown ES, Rush AJ, "Comorbid disorders in patients with bipolar and concomitant substance dependence." Journal of Affective Disorders, 102:281-287, 2007
Brown ES, Vera, E, Frol AB, Woolston, DJ, Johnson, B, "Effects of chronic prednisone therapy on mood and memory" Journal of Affective Disorders, 99:279-283, 2006
54. Brown ES, Gan VN, Jeffress J, Mullen-Gingrich K, Khan DA, Wood, BL, Miller BD, Gruchalla R, Rush AJ:, "Psychiatric symptomatology and disorders in caregivers of children with asthma" Pediatrics, 11:e1715-e1720, 2006
Brown ES, Perantie, DC, Dhanani N, Beard LB, Orsulak P, Rush AJ, "Lamotrigine for bipolar and cocaine dependence: A replication and extension study" Journal of Affective Disorders, 93:219-222, 2006
Brown ES, Beard L, Frol AB, Rush AJ, "Effect of two prednisone exposures on mood and declarative memory" Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 86:28-34, 2006
SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS
Brown ES, Vigil L, Khan DA, Liggin JDM, Carmody T, Rush AJ, "A randomized trial of citalopram versus placebo in outpatients with asthma and major depressive disorder: A proof of concept study" Biological Psychiatry, 58:865-870, 2005
Brown ES, Woolston DJ, Frol A, Bobadilla L, Khan DA, Hanczyc M, Rush AJ, Fleckenstein J, Babcock E, Cullum CM, "Hippocampal volume, spectroscopy, cognition, and mood in patients receiving corticosteroid therapy" Biological Psychiatry, 55:538-545, 2004
Brown ES, Varghese FP, McEwen BS, "Association of depression with medical illness: Does cortisol play a role?" Biological Psychiatry, 55:1-9, 2004
Brown ES, Garza M, Carmody T, "A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of quetiapine in outpatients with bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorders" The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, In Press
Brown ES, Gorman AR, Hynan LS, "A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of citicoline add-on therapy in outpatients with bipolar disorder and cocaine dependence." Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, In Press
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