Somatic Therapy Research Articles

What internet- and mobile-based interventions are currently available for adults with overweight or obesity experiencing symptoms of depression? A systematic review.

Given the high prevalence of overweight and obesity and high comorbidity of depressive symptoms, there is a need for low-threshold, accessible care approaches for people with overweight/obesity aimed at improving mental health. Internet and mobile-based interventions (IMI) represent an innovative complementary treatment option. This review systematically searches for IMI aimed at improving mental health in people with overweight/obesity. We conducted a systematic literature search according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) criteria in the databases MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of IMI for adults with overweight/obesity and comorbid depressive symptoms aiming at improving mental health were screened and extracted. Study quality was assessed with RoB 2 (revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool in RCTs). After excluding duplicates, n = 790 results were included in title and abstract screening. After full-text-screening of n = 26 studies, n = 3 RCT studies were included. All interventions aimed to reduce both weight and depressive symptoms. In two RCTs, a significant reduction in both depressive symptoms and weight was achieved. One RCT indicated a significant reduction in depressive symptoms, but not in weight. Two intervention had a duration of 6 months and were guided by health carers, the third takes 3 months and can be used without professional guidance. There is evidence that IMI are effective in improving mental health for people with overweight/obesity and comorbid depressive symptoms. However, currently there are few interventions aiming at reducing depressive symptoms, all targeting English-speaking people. As IMI for depressive symptoms can be easily integrated in the somatic therapy of obesity as additional option and has high public health potential, target group-adapted and low-threshold accessible interventions in different languages should be developed and implemented for improving mental health in people with overweight/obesity. Prospero registration number: CRD42023361771.

Listening to the conversations of our bodies: Somatic intersubjectivity in psychotherapy

ABSTRACT This article explores the opportunities for client and therapist when somatic therapies and psychotherapy are brought together. Through a case study I illustrate how understandings and interventions from Intersubjective Self Psychology, Somatic Experiencing®, and Integral Somatic Psychology™ all supported the client’s emergence from profoundly somatised childhood traumatic loss, allowing them to restore thwarted developmental processes, rebuild affect tolerance, process their grief, and inhabit their life in new ways. I explicate how a deeply embodied psychotherapeutic relationship, where the conversations between the client and therapist’s bodies are held at the centre of the therapeutic relationship, can support reducing client re-traumatisation in therapy, meet early developmental needs, re-link affective layers allowing somatic and psychological (re)integration. I also explore the impact on, and possibilities for, the therapist of combining somatics and psychotherapeutic principles and techniques.

Trend and geo-availability of somatic therapies for treatment resistant depression in the US

BackgroundHaving failed at least two pharmacotherapies, treatment-resistant depression (TRD) constitutes a major burden to healthcare in the US and globally, affecting close to a third of people diagnosed with depression in the US. Several studies have demonstrated the higher economic burden associated with TRD. This study sought to investigate changes in the availability of TRD somatic treatment options (Electroconvulsive therapy [ECT], Ketamine infusion therapy (KIT), and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation [TMS]) in the US between 2014 and 2020 and the geographic variations in availability of TRD treatment options in the US as of 2020. MethodThis study is a cross-sectional study of US mental health facilities providing TRD treatment options between 2014 and 2020. We used the 2014 to 2020 National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). We estimated service availability per 100,000 US adults, both nationally and regionally, and computed a random-effect logistic regression to calculate the changes in the availability of the services over the study period. ResultOverall, availability of any one of ECT, KIT, or TMS in US mental health facilities declined between 2014 and 2019 (0.23 vs. 0.18 per 100,000 US adults) but increased to 0.24 in 2020. While availability of ECT consistently declined between 2014 and 2020, ketamine and TMS reportedly became available only in 2020. North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah had the highest availability per 100,000 US adults (0.86, 0.67, and 0.65) while Nevada, Oregon and Georgia had the lowest availability (0.04, 0.06, and 0.06) regionally. ConclusionThe US had less than one mental health facility offering somatic treatment options for TRD per 100,000 US adults as of 2020. Also, the observed increase in the availability of somatic treatment options for TRD across the US between 2014 and 2020 did not reflect the increasing need for more treatment options for the treatment of TRD.

Book Review: Trauma Practice: A Cognitive Behavioral Somatic Therapy by Baranowsky, Anna and Eric Gentry, J.

Book Review: <i>Trauma Practice: A Cognitive Behavioral Somatic Therapy</i> by Baranowsky, Anna and Eric Gentry, J.

Trauma Practice: A Cognitive Behavioral Somatic Therapy (4th Edition)

Trauma Practice: A Cognitive Behavioral Somatic Therapy (4th Edition)

Recent advances in electroconvulsive therapy in clinical practice and research.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the oldest somatic therapy still in use in psychiatry today, remains one of the most effective therapeutic interventions for a wide variety of psychiatric disorders. In this article, we review some of the recent advances in ECT that are currently being researched and implemented in clinical practice. We explore recent studies that point to the potential therapeutic benefit and safety of ECT in COVID-19-related neuropsychiatric complications and special populations (such as the elderly and pregnant persons) that are generally at higher risk of having adverse effects from psychotropic medications. We highlight studies that performed a head-to-head comparison of ECT and ketamine, which has shown promise for treatment-resistant depression and acute suicidality. Researchers continue to explore different ways of using ECT by modifying the treatment parameters to maintain efficacy and decrease side effects. Neurocognitive side effects remain one of the major drawbacks to its use and contribute to the negative stigma of this highly effective treatment. In this regard, we describe attempts to improve the safety of ECT by modifying dosing parameters, novel electrode placements, and the addition of augmenting agents with the aim of decreasing side effects and improving efficacy. This review identifies some of the recent advances in the last few years in ECT research while also highlighting areas where further research is needed.

Pharmacological and Somatic Treatment Effects on Suicide in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Suicide is a public health crisis. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of psychopharmacologic and somatic therapies on suicide risk. A systematic search of MEDLINE for studies evaluating the effects of pharmacologic (excluding antidepressants) or somatic interventions on suicide risk was conducted. Studies were included if they used a comparison group, reported on suicide death, assessed a psychopharmacological or somatic intervention, and included adults. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Fifty-seven studies were included from 2940 reviewed citations. In bipolar disorder, lithium was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide compared to active controls (odds ratio [OR] = .58, p = .005; k = 12) and compared to placebo/no lithium (OR = .46, p = .009; k = 9). In mixed diagnostic samples, lithium was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide compared to placebo/no lithium (OR = .27, p < .001; k = 12), but not compared to active controls (OR = .89, p = .468; k = 7). In psychotic disorders, clozapine was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide (OR = .46, p = .007; k = 7). Associations between suicide death and electroconvulsive therapy (OR = .77, p = .053; k = 11), non-clozapine antipsychotics in bipolar disorder (OR = .73, p = .090; k = 6) and antipsychotics in psychotic disorders (OR = .39, p = .069; k = 6) were not significant. There was no consistent relationship between antiepileptic mood stabilizers and suicide. There were insufficient studies to meta-analyze associations of suicide risk with vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy, or transcranial direct current stimulation. Lithium and clozapine have consistent data supporting protective effects against suicide in certain clinical contexts.Reprinted from Depress Anxiety 2022; 39:100-112, with permission from John Wiley and Sons. Copyright © 2022.

Caveats of mental healthcare act-2017: Recommendation for amendments.

Dear Sir, The rights-based framework in the current Mental Healthcare Act 2017 (MHA-2017) has received a wider acceptance in the minds of policymakers, patients, caregivers, judicial officers, and mental health professionals.[1,2] However, there appears to be a huge gap between acceptance in our minds and implementation at the ground level. Theoretical knowledge of MHA-2017 and the inability to translate it into practice in most of the general hospitals in the country due to systemic issues has created a dilemma in the minds of psychiatry residents. Therefore, it is necessary to have periodic sensitization programs for psychiatry trainees as well as psychiatrists to learn about changing scenarios in mental health legislation in the past five years.[3] The only discipline of Medicine that carries special significance beyond ethical practice involving beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice is psychiatry. This practice and the respect for the rights of a person to bring about optimum mental health outcomes have been legally guided. Forensic psychiatry has started to evolve as a subspecialty of psychiatry.[4] However, are psychiatrists in the country confident in dealing with legal issues evolving in the aftermath of MHA-2017 and imparting this practice to postgraduate trainees? Is clinical practice synchronizing with the legal framework? Are we dealing with the paradox of MHA-2017? Are budding psychiatrists across the country in dilemma with regard to MHA-2017? The response of different states is varied in terms of readiness of infrastructure, the constitution of the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA), the functioning of Mental Health Review Boards (MHRB), and overall dismal application of MHA-2017. Are there hasty translations of Western World rules on the infertile grounds of India? More than four years after passing the act, the current level of functional implementation does not appear to be a healthy indicator for the growth of mental health services in the country. This could provoke lawmakers to bring out the amendments to MHA-2017 to best suit the mental health services and practices of the country. In the absence of functional MHRBs, the practical caveats that may require amendments may include providing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to children and use of hospital beds for day-care procedures in psychiatry that include but are not limited to the somatic therapies in psychiatry such as administration of electroconvulsive therapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). It also includes short-term observation for a few hours in a general hospital following administration of long-acting injectables (LAI) antipsychotics and assessment for the appearance of acute side effects such as post-injection delirium sedation syndrome, and acute dystonia and oculogyric crisis. The other concerns requiring immediate attention for the functioning of MHRB include notifying advance directives, continuing admission under special circumstances, and provision of separate wards for children and women under psychiatry in a general hospital. These amendments could also add the role of MHRBs for adolescents involved in juvenile delinquency, child custody, termination of parental rights, and other related issues.[5] The protection of the rights of a person with mental illness should not be viewed as safeguarding oneself from the practice of psychiatry in the absence of full-fledged implementation of MHA-2017. This could be important for making a provision for the psychiatrist witnessing nonsexual or sexual boundary violation to notify the MHRB in advance, a point not placed in MHA-2017. The spirit of the MHA-2017 also does not clarify the role of the Consultation Liaison Psychiatrist and its effective practice in different departments under general hospital units. Further, the role of the psychiatrist in cases requiring cognizance of other specified acts such as the Prevention of Child Sexual Offense (POCSO) Act, Narcotics and Psychoactive Substances (NDPS) Act, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, Right To Information (RTI) Act, etc. should also be viewed in parallel with MHA-2017. Authors emphasize the opportunity of teaching programs to highlight the gaps in training and implementation of MHA-2017.[6] The absence of functional implementation of MHA-2017 requires the churning of thoughts of stakeholders to amend a few provisions such as the formation of the transitional local hospital review board till formal MHRBs are functional.[7] This letter encourages clinicians and researchers to assess the compliance status of Indian states with MHA-2017 and to provide feasible solutions through systematic scientific research. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Modern approaches to the development of artistic actions in opera and vocal performance

Purpose of the article. To reveal the specifics of physicality as an important component of artistic skill and to determine promising approaches to the development of artistic actions at the present stage of professional training of opera singers. The research methodology consists of the use of typological, structural-typological, and comparative methods to study modern approaches to the development of artistic actions in opera and vocal performance, the relationship between body movement and sound movement, and six types of intellectual skills that an opera singer should have are analyzed. Research novelty. The specificity of opera and vocal performance in the context of the development of artistic corporality as an important component of professional skill and the definition of the latest methods and approaches in the stage creativity of an opera singer is considered. Conclusions. Based on the study of the process of the development of the bodily expression of an opera singer, it was found that the problem lies in the disharmony between vocal performance and physical movements in the process of solo singing. It is noted that the relationship between different fields of art - dance, music, theater, and somatic therapy should complement each other in favor of a common goal - training that unites voice, body, lyrics, and music. Modern curricula for the preparation of opera singers should include exercises developed from theatrical technique, somatic therapy, and dance practice, taking into account the latest research in neurobiology. In our opinion, they will help a better understanding of the body and the relationship between body and sound, and expand the artistic and expressive abilities of the future opera artist.&#x0D; Key words: opera and vocal performance, artistic actions, professional training, corporality, neurobiology, muscles.

José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, Walter Freeman, and Psychosurgery: A Study in Contrasts

History has conflated the legacies of José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado and Walter Freeman, midcentury proponents of somatic therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions. Both gained notoriety: Delgado after he appeared on the front page of the New York Times having used his stimoceiver to stop a charging bull in Spain; Freeman as the proponent of lobotomy. Both were the object of critique by the antipsychiatry movement and those who felt that their methods and objectives posed a threat to personal liberty. Using archival sources, we demonstrate that this conflation is a misrepresentation of the historical record and that their methods, objectives, ethics, and philosophical commitments differed widely. Accurate knowledge about historical antecedents is a predicate for ethical analysis and becomes especially relevant information as neuroscience develops circuit-based treatments for conditions such as Parkinson disease, depression, and brain injury. Part of that corrective is to counter the conflation of Delgado’s and Freeman’s life and work. Appreciating their distinctive legacies can help guide neuropsychiatric research done today that might yet haunt future generations.

Abstract- Poster

Background: The OCD clinic, NIMHANS has catered to individuals with OCD and related disorders since its inception in 1997. It functions as a specialised clinic with both a walk-in and referral service. Patients are evaluated and offered pharmacological, psychological and somatic therapies on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The initial evaluation includes a detailed clinical history, structured diagnostic questionnaires, and OCD severity rating using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) by trained clinicians.Aim: To describe demographic and clinical characteristics at first visit, of individuals seeking treatment at the OCD clinic between 1997 and 2020.Results: Baseline information was available for a total of 2269 patients. Mean age at presentation was 29.9±10.76 years (range=10-72), 62.1% were male. More than half (52.5%) hailed from states all over India other than Karnataka. The mean duration of illness at presentation was 8.21±7.54 years, and 41.3% had a juvenile-onset. The average YBOCS score at baseline was 23.27±8.26. Most common comorbidities were major depression (19.5%), anxiety disorders (8%), psychosis (6%) and bipolar disorder (3%). 19% of patients were drug-naive at presentation. 27.7% had already received ≥2 adequate SRI trials before presentation, and 10.6% had received CBT.Conclusions: Unlike that of most other OCD specialty centres in the world (e.g., Brazilian OCD Research Consortium), our profile is unique in that it represents both patients with severe or resistant illness, as well as those who are treatment-naive, with mild/moderate illness. It is important to understand the overall profile of the well-characterized cohort from the clinic, in the context of several research studies that have looked at various clinical, social and biological aspects in OCD.

Sexual disorders in chronic salpingo-oophoritis as a variant of the biopsychosocial model

Background. Modern gynecology uses all the latest achievements of other medical, basic natural sciences and medical technologies. However, sexopathology in women with gynecological diseases, due to the complexity of etiopathogenesis, remains poorly understood.&#x0D; Aim. Development of a diagnostic algorithm and identification of the structure of sexual disorders (SD) in chronic salpingo-oophoritis (CSO).&#x0D; Materials and methods. We examined 100 gynecological patients aged 1838 (on average 27.31.2) years with a diagnosis of CSO (N70.1 according to ICD-10), 67% of whom had sexual dysfunctions. Research methods: clinical-psychopathological, psychometric, experimental-psychological, sexological, gynecological, statistical.&#x0D; Results. SD which are present in 67% of women with CSO, are more often (40.3%) of a mixed nature. Neurotic disorders are represented by somatoform (F45) 29.9%; anxiety-phobic (F40) 22.4%; conversion (F44) 14.9% disorders and neurasthenia (F48.0) 7.5%.&#x0D; Conclusion. The severity of the course of CSO does not always correspond to the level of manifestations of sexual dysfunction; the predominant sexual dysfunction is dyspareunia (54%). Somatogenic asthenia, which according to ICD-10 refers to mental disorders, is reduced by purely somatic (gynecological) therapy. The tactics of gynecologists to identify sexual dysfunctions in women with gynecological diseases have been determined. An in-depth analysis of SD in CSO has been carried out in two main directions (sexo gyneco) in the domain of science (logy) as a variant of the modern biopsychosocial model proposed in ICD-11.

Neuromodulation Strategies for the Treatment of Depression

For many decades, psychiatric treatment has been primarily guided by two major paradigms of psychopathology: a neurochemical paradigm leading to the development of medications and a psychological paradigm resulting in the development of psychotherapies. A third paradigm positing that psychiatric dysfunction results from abnormal communication within a network of brain regions that regulate mood, thought, and behavior has gained increased attention over the past several years and underlies the development of multiple neuromodulation and neurostimulation therapies. This neural circuit paradigm is not new. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a common way of understanding psychiatric illness and led to several of our earliest somatic therapies. However, with the rise of effective medications and evidence-based psychotherapies, this paradigm went mostly dormant. Its recent reemergence resulted from a growing recognition that medications and psychotherapy leave many patients inadequately treated, along with technological advances that have revolutionized our ability to understand and modulate the neural circuitry involved in psychiatric disorders. In this overview, the authors review the history and current state of neuromodulation for psychiatric illness and specifically focus on these approaches as a treatment for depression, as this has been the primary indication for these interventions over time.

Pharmacological and somatic treatment effects on suicide in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Suicide is a public health crisis. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of psychopharmacologic and somatic therapies on suicide risk. A systematic search of MEDLINE for studies evaluating the effects of pharmacologic (excluding antidepressants) or somatic interventions on suicide risk was conducted. Studies were included if they used a comparison group, reported on suicide death, assessed a psychopharmacological or somatic intervention, and included adults. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Fifty-seven studies were included from 2940 reviewed citations. In bipolar disorder, lithium was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide compared to active controls (odds ratio [OR] = .58, p = .005; k = 12) and compared to placebo/no lithium (OR = .46, p = .009; k = 9). In mixed diagnostic samples, lithium was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide compared to placebo/no lithium (OR = .27, p < .001; k = 12), but not compared to active controls (OR = .89, p = .468; k = 7). In psychotic disorders, clozapine was associated with a reduction in the odds of suicide (OR = .46, p = .007; k = 7). Associations between suicide death and electroconvulsive therapy(OR = .77, p = .053; k = 11), non-clozapine antipsychotics in bipolar disorder (OR = .73, p = .090; k = 6) and antipsychotics in psychotic disorders (OR = .39, p = .069; k = 6) were not significant. There was no consistent relationship between antiepileptic mood stabilizers and suicide. There were insufficient studies to meta-analyze associations of suicide risk with vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy, or transcranial direct current stimulation. Lithium and clozapine have consistent data supporting protective effects against suicide in certain clinical contexts.

Major depressive disorder: Validated treatments and future challenges.

Depression is a prevalent psychiatric disorder that often leads to poor quality of life and impaired functioning. Treatment during the acute phase of a major depressive episode aims to help the patient reach a remission state and eventually return to their baseline level of functioning. Pharmacotherapy, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressants, remains the most frequent option for treating depression during the acute phase, while other promising pharmacological options are still competing for the attention of practitioners. Depression-focused psychotherapy is the second most common option for helping patients overcome the acute phase, maintain remission, and prevent relapses. Electroconvulsive therapy is the most effective somatic therapy for depression in some specific situations; meanwhile, other methods have limits, and their specific indications are still being studied. Combining medications, psychotherapy, and somatic therapies remains the most effective way to manage resistant forms of depression.

Geosocialities, Flow and Renewal in Microbial Rivers

This article draws on interview data and insights from environmental studies and somatic therapy to argue for the significance of thinking ‘with rivers’ in order to reaffirm human and nonhuman entanglements in the current challenges presented by anthropogenic devastation. River microbial communities are unintelligible and complex entities due to their unclear origin and continuous flow downstream. The account of one environmental scientist is presented to consider how the metaphors of movement used in the riverine context assist in exploring the complicated dynamics of fluid communities facing constantly changing environments I call ‘microbial rivers’. A pollution incident affecting a UK river, where microbial communities responded by growing in number and activity, further illustrates the intersection of communities and ecosystems in their adaptation to troubling human interventions. Engaging with somatic understandings of trauma, this article proposes thinking with flow as a possibility to reimagine the capacity for renewal when experiencing debilitating adversities, thus countering apocalyptic responses of immobility in the face of environmental destruction and inviting novel opportunities for growth for human and nonhuman communities.

Case Report on Paranoid Schizophrenia with Capgras Syndrome

Paranoid is the most common delusion in people living with schizophrenia spectrum disorders which are present in about half of all people seeking treatment for a psychotic disorder. Schizophrenia is a persistent mental illness characterized by a wide range of symptoms, including delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior, and cognitive impairment. Capgras syndrome is a form of the delusional belief in which a person has been replaced by an imposter. It can be seen in mental disorders as well as in central nervous system diseases in the form of neurodegenerative and non- neurodegenerative diseases The Capgras Syndrome is not an unusual condition, but an infrequent one which is possibly often unnoticed. A 48- years- old woman was admitted in female psychiatric ward with known case of paranoid schizophrenia with capgras syndrome. In the present case, the treatment approach was mainly somatic therapy i.e. psychopharmacotherapy, Electro convulsive Therapy (ECT) and psychological therapy. Psychiatric nurses have to play an important role to identify the symptoms and they should think critically, take action immediately to provide care to such type of patients.

A Clinicl Case Report on Black Dog (Depression)

Aim: - The intent of this case report is to define the top practice for a person detected with depressive disorder who has been denoted to a public mental health facility for treatment. To identify the black dog symptoms early to provide treatment and prevent potential complication.&#x0D; Presentation of case: A 45-year-old male patient got admitted in psychiatric ward AVBR Hospital Sawangi Meghe Wardha, Maharashtra, with the complaints of insomnia, low mood, social withdrawal, irritable, lack of interaction, lack of interest, sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, decrease appetite and suicide ideation such as hanging. patient was apparently asymptomatic 10 month ago when his younger brother passes away and his started show above clinical features of depression. patient received antidepressant drug citalopram, Imipramine and two-time Somatic therapy (Electroconvulsive Therapy). symptoms were minimized.&#x0D; Result: The patient was received psychopharmacological treatment antidepressant drug sertraline, citalopram, fluvoxamine along with somatic therapy (ECT) two times and psychosocial therapy, coping strategies, family therapy, yoga, recreation, meditation and symptoms was minimized.&#x0D; Discussion: Millions of people worldwide suffer from depression. it is most common disorder in outpatient clinic. which can result impairment and disability of individual ability to cope up with daily life.&#x0D; Conclusion: A positive outcome gets by the patient not only with the help of therapeutic management but also the family coping and support even. later on, due to proper psychopharmacological treatment, patient shown positive feedback and slowly all the aims are achieved which were planned in period. Finally, the patient got discharged from the hospital and now he is continuing his on follow up.

Perspectives for therapy of treatment-resistant depression.

A high proportion of depressed patients fail to respond to antidepressant drug treatment. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a major challenge for the psychopharmacology of mood disorders. Only in the past decade have novel treatments, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) and ketamine, been discovered that provide rapid and sometimes prolonged relief to a high proportion of TRD sufferers. In this review, we consider the current status of TRD from four perspectives: the challenge of developing an appropriate regulatory framework for novel rapidly acting antidepressants; the efficacy of non-pharmacological somatic therapies; the development of an animal model of TRD and its use to understand the neural basis of antidepressant non-response; and the potential for rapid antidepressant action from targets (such as 5-HT1A receptors) beyond the glutamate receptor. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on New discoveries and perspectives in mental and pain disorders. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v179.17/issuetoc.

Ethics and regulatory considerations for the clinical translation of somatic cell human epigenetic editing.

Altering the human epigenome with gene-editing technology in attempt to treat a variety of diseases and conditions seems scientifically feasible. We explore some of the ethical and regulatory issues related to the clinical translation of human epigenetic editing arguing that such approaches should be considered akin to somatic therapies.