Major Depressive Disorder News and Research

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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia (significant loss of interest or pleasure). The condition affects more than 15.7 million adults and approximately 3 million adolescents (aged 13 to 17 years) in the USA each year.

Functional MRI brain scan may help predict patient’s response to antidepressant therapy

A functional MRI brain scan may help predict which patients will respond positively to antidepressant therapy, according to a new study published in the journal Brain.

25 Jan 2017

Overweight adolescents with bipolar disorder show signs of increased illness severity, study finds

Bipolar disorder is one of the most disabling medical conditions among adolescents worldwide. Similarly, being overweight or obese is common in adolescents and is known to confer risk for cardiovascular disease and other poor health outcomes in adulthood.

1 Dec 2016

Home-based telemental health provides improved quality of life for depressed elderly veterans

Home-based telemental health for depression is well received by patients and delivers as good a quality of life as in-person visits, according to the results of a clinical trial in 241 depressed elderly veterans reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.

23 Nov 2016

Penn study shows breathing-based meditation can help alleviate severe depression

A breathing-based meditation practice known as Sudarshan Kriya yoga helped alleviate severe depression in people who did not fully respond to antidepressant treatments, reports a new study published today in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

22 Nov 2016

Increased sensitivity to uncertain threat common to several anxiety disorders

Several anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias, share a common underlying trait: increased sensitivity to uncertain threat, or fear of the unknown, report researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

18 Nov 2016

Painless tDCS technique could improve life for people with major depression

Small amounts of electricity similar to the output of a common 9-volt battery could improve life for people living with major depression, the most common mood disorder.

16 Nov 2016

Neuroimaging markers may help predict psychotherapy response in patients with depression, anxiety

Brain imaging scans may one day provide useful information on the response to psychotherapy in patients with depression or anxiety, according to a review of current research in the November/December issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, published by Wolters Kluwer.

10 Nov 2016

Pupil dilation in reaction to negative facial expressions predicts risk for MDD recurrence

Pupil dilation in reaction to negative emotional faces predicts risk for depression relapse, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

4 Nov 2016

Study to examine efficacy of orally administered medication in treating stuttering

Stuttering, an interruption in the flow of speech, affects about three million Americans. It begins most often in childhood, affecting four men for every woman. A precise cause of this complex communicative disorder is not known.

8 Oct 2016

Scientists identify new pathway in the brain that can be targeted to alleviate depression

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new pathway in the brain that can be manipulated to alleviate depression. The pathway offers a promising new target for developing a drug that could be effective in individuals for whom other antidepressants have failed.

5 Oct 2016

Alcohol produces same neural and molecular changes as rapid antidepressant drugs

Can having a few drinks help people with clinical depression feel better? Yes. At least in terms of biochemistry.

28 Sep 2016

Researchers find common brain abnormalities shared across multiple emotional disorders

Researchers have long known that emotional disorders have a lot in common. Many often occur together, like depression and social anxiety disorder. Treatments also tend to work across multiple disorders, suggesting shared underlying elements.

28 Sep 2016

New study to examine effectiveness of orally administered drug in treating stuttering

23 Sep 2016

Tendency to feel lonely linked partially to genetic traits

Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity.

20 Sep 2016

UAB researchers find microRNA as potential therapeutic target for MDD

A tiny RNA appears to play a role in producing major depression, the mental disorder that affects as many as 250 million people a year worldwide.

9 Sep 2016

Component of general anesthetic shows improvement in patients with treatment-resistant depression

A new study in Biological Psychiatry reports that esketamine, a component of the general anesthetic ketamine, shows rapid and significant improvement in depressive symptoms in patients who do not respond to currently available therapies.

8 Sep 2016

Study shows adequate sleep may accelerate antidepressant treatment response

Medication is an important part of treatment for many patients with major depressive disorder, but the transition to antidepressants isn't always smooth.

7 Sep 2016

New article examines why some individuals exhibit stress-resilient characteristics

Adapting to Stress: Understanding the Neurobiology of Resilience, an article recently published in Behavioral Medicine, examines the way our bodies, specifically our brains, become "stress-resilient."

2 Sep 2016

Study examines link between PTSD and cognitive impairment in WTC responders without head injury

New research published by the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring confirms the connection between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive impairment - in this case, among those who helped with search, rescue and cleanup efforts following the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) attacks.

30 Aug 2016

HIV-infected adults with MDD more likely to experience heart attack, study shows

Among more than 26,000 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults, those with major depressive disorder (MDD) were more likely to experience a heart attack than those without MDD, according to a study published online by JAMA Cardiology.

24 Aug 2016