The most common treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) is antidepressant medication (ADM). Results are reported on frequency of ADM use, reasons for use, and perceived effectiveness of use in general population surveys across 20 countries.

Face-to-face interviews with community samples totaling n = 49 919 respondents in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys asked about ADM use anytime in the prior 12 months in conjunction with validated fully structured diagnostic interviews. Treatment questions were administered independently of diagnoses and asked of all respondents.

3.1% of respondents reported ADM use within the past 12 months. In high-income countries (HICs), depression (49.2%) and anxiety (36.4%) were the most common reasons for use. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), depression (38.4%) and sleep problems (31.9%) were the most common reasons for use. Prevalence of use was 2–4 times as high in HICs as LMICs across all examined diagnoses. Newer ADMs were proportionally used more often in HICs than LMICs. Across all conditions, ADMs were reported as very effective by 58.8% of users and somewhat effective by an additional 28.3% of users, with both proportions higher in LMICs than HICs. Neither ADM class nor reason for use was a significant predictor of perceived effectiveness.

ADMs are in widespread use and for a variety of conditions including but going beyond depression and anxiety. In a general population sample from multiple LMICs and HICs, ADMs were widely perceived to be either very or somewhat effective by the people who use them.

There is a substantial proportion of patients who drop out of treatment before they receive minimally adequate care. They tend to have worse health outcomes than those who complete treatment. Our main goal is to describe the frequency and determinants of dropout from treatment for mental disorders in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Respondents from 13 low- or middle-income countries (N = 60 224) and 15 in high-income countries (N = 77 303) were screened for mental and substance use disorders. Cross-tabulations were used to examine the distribution of treatment and dropout rates for those who screened positive. The timing of dropout was examined using Kaplan–Meier curves. Predictors of dropout were examined with survival analysis using a logistic link function.

Dropout rates are high, both in high-income (30%) and low/middle-income (45%) countries. Dropout mostly occurs during the first two visits. It is higher in general medical rather than in specialist settings (nearly 60% v. 20% in lower income settings). It is also higher for mild and moderate than for severe presentations. The lack of financial protection for mental health services is associated with overall increased dropout from care.

Extending financial protection and coverage for mental disorders may reduce dropout. Efficiency can be improved by managing the milder clinical presentations at the entry point to the mental health system, providing adequate training, support and specialist supervision for non-specialists, and streamlining referral to psychiatrists for more severe cases.

Genetic testing in psychiatry promises to improve patient care through advances in personalised medicine. However, there are few clinically relevant examples.

To determine whether patients with a well-established genetic subtype of schizophrenia show a different response profile to the antipsychotic clozapine than those with idiopathic schizophrenia.

We retrospectively studied the long-term safety and efficacy of clozapine in 40 adults with schizophrenia, half with a 22q11.2 deletion (22q11.2DS group) and half matched for age and clinical severity but molecularly confirmed to have no pathogenic copy number variant (idiopathic group).

Both groups showed similar clinical improvement and significant reductions in hospitalisations, achieved at a lower median dose for those in the 22q11.2DS group. Most common side-effects were similarly prevalent between the two groups, however, half of the 22q11.2DS group experienced at least one rare serious adverse event compared with none of the idiopathic group. Many were successfully retried on clozapine.

Individuals with 22q11.2DS-schizophrenia respond as well to clozapine treatment as those with other forms of schizophrenia, but may represent a disproportionate number of those with serious adverse events, primarily seizures. Lower doses and prophylactic (for example anticonvulsant) management strategies can help ameliorate side-effect risks. This first systematic evaluation of antipsychotic response in a genetic subtype of schizophrenia provides a proof-of-principle for personalised medicine and supports the utility of clinical genetic testing in schizophrenia.

Patients with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) are at a seven fold increased risk of developing seizures. However, only a fraction of these patients exhibit structural abnormalities such as polymicrogyria (PMG) and periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) that are known to cause seizures and to be associated with 22q11DS. In this study we used a dedicated seizure imaging protocol to look for additional structural abnormalities in these individuals that may explain the elevated risk of seizure disorder in this patient group.

Nineteen consecutive adult subjects with 22q11DS underwent a 3 Tesla MRI with a dedicated high-resolution seizure protocol. Neurological exam was performed in all patients. Genome-wide analysis excluded the presence of other pathogenic microdeletions or duplications.

Structural abnormalities were found in 11 of 14 subjects with sufficient image quality. These included three patients with PNH, one of whom had associated PMG. In addition, there was a surprisingly high prevalence of unilateral hippocampal malrotation (HIMAL), observed in 9 of 14 cases (64%). EEG findings showed interictal epileptiform discharges with focal distribution in four patients and generalized discharges in one patient.

The results suggest that, in addition to other known structural abnormalities, 22q11DS is associated with HIMAL. It has been suggested that this developmental abnormality of the hippocampus may predispose or otherwise contribute to epileptogenesis. However in this study we observed HIMAL in a large proportion of patients, with and without epilepsy. Therefore, other as yet unknown factors may contribute to the high prevalence of epilepsy in this population.