Dementia is a group of symptoms, characterised by a loss of cognition that interferes with everyday tasks, difficulty focusing, planning, problem solving, and behavioural changes, such as apathy, anxiety, or depression. The leading cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, but vascular dementia or mild cognitive impairment are also frequently occurring. There are six drugs legislated in Europe for use in the treatment of dementia. There are unmet clinical needs to find more effective, better tolerated or complementary therapeutic options. The aim of this study is to comprehensively analyse the results of clinical trials and other human studies regarding the efficacy and safety of herbal interventions used in patients with dementia.

We enrolled a total of 48 studies for this systematic review, of which 27 were included into the statistical analysis of effect size (Cohen’s d).

We found significant improvements mainly after administration of Ginkgo biloba, Crocus sativus, Salvia officinalis, and Melissa officinalis. It should be emphasised that some herbs and herbal formulations demonstrated efficacy comparable to that of donepezil, a widely used and approved medication, suggesting potential for phytopharmaceutical therapies as complementary approaches. In some studies, the observed effects were similar to those reported for conventional treatments, indicating promising directions for further research in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

In light of the evidence, phytopharmaceuticals have a promising role as a co-therapeutic option or alternative for patients with dementia who do not tolerate or have contraindications to standard medications. However, further research is necessary to translate these initial promising results into clinical practice.

Depressive disorder (DD) is a widespread mental illness that lacks objective diagnostic biomarkers, complicating early detection and personalised treatment. This study investigated the diagnostic value of serum interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), nerve growth factor (NGF), and their ratio, alongside thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), in patients with DD compared to healthy controls.

A total of 238 participants (118 with DD and 120 controls) were enrolled. Depression severity was assessed using DSM-5 and HAM-D criteria. Serum biomarkers were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess diagnostic performance.

DD patients exhibited significantly lower IFN-γ and higher NGF levels than controls (both p < 0.001), resulting in a markedly reduced IFN-γ/NGF ratio. The IFN-γ/NGF ratio achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.858, sensitivity = 82.20%, specificity = 77.50%), outperforming IFN-γ (AUC = 0.766) and NGF (AUC = 0.848) alone. TPOAb and GFAP levels did not differ significantly between groups.

The IFN-γ/NGF ratio is a promising biomarker for depressive disorder, offering superior diagnostic accuracy over individual immune or neurotrophic markers. This composite index may support more objective and biologically informed diagnosis in clinical psychiatry.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are complex illnesses influenced by genetic, biological and psycho-social factors, necessitating large clinical deep-phenotyped cohorts. Here, we describe the Region Midt Schizophrenia (RMS) Cohort, which aims to establish such a large, representative cohort with long-term follow-up, enabling large-scale studies on SSD aetiology and prognosis.

The RMS cohort includes patients aged ≥15 years diagnosed with a first-episode SSD recruiting at 6 Danish psychiatric hospitals. Baseline and follow-up assessments at 1, 2, 3 and 12 months and 2, 3, 5 and 10 years cover sociodemographic measures, psychotic and negative symptoms, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), level of functioning, sleep, actigraphy, cognition, side effects and medication adherence. Blood is collected at baseline and months 3 and 12 and at years 2, 3, 5 and 10 enabling comprehensive molecular analyses, for example, genetics and omics. Age-and sex-matched healthy controls will complete a baseline assessment including blood draw. Participants give informed consent for linkage with Danish nationwide register-based data.

By February 23rd, 2026, a total of 131 participants with SSD have been recruited (109 with schizophrenia, median age 25 years (IQR 8), 54% females). Retention rates at 1, 2, 3 and 12 months are 86%, 80%, 78% and 75%, respectively. Our vision is continuous recruitment of 100 participants/year, establishing a large, deep-phenotyped and representative clinical cohort with long-term follow-up. The RMS cohort will serve as the basis for several studies on aetiological and prognostic factors and is designed to match with similar international cohorts enabling further collaborations.

Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder. Recently, psychedelics have become of interest regarding developing treatment options for ADHD. The aim of this systematic review is to find all studies from the APA PsychInfo and MEDLINE databases, where psychedelics have been used for ADHD and assess whether further clinical studies are warranted.

APA PsychInfo and MEDLINE were searched on the 20th of August 2025 for studies discussing ADHD and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin or dimethyltryptamine (DMT) or mescaline or phencyclidine or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or ketamine. Primary research articles in English where the effects of the psychedelics mentioned on ADHD in humans were included.

N = 1023 results were identified. Six studies were included – one randomised controlled trial (RCT) finding no statistically important difference compared to placebo, three cross-sectional studies where respondents reported positive effect of psychedelics and one where the statistically important improvement was measured by the Child Bipolar Questionnaire. In addition, one case study, where both, depressive symptoms and functioning improved with ketamine.

There is not sufficient evidence to give recommendations on psychedelic use for ADHD. In addition, it is not known whether patients, whose depressive symptoms have responded positively to ketamine, have also had ADHD. Also, no research was found on how psychedelics affect patient subgroups with different etiopathology causing their symptoms. Although only six studies filled the inclusion criteria, they bring out valuable implications for further research.