Depression

Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life.

Clinical Depression: Diagnosis, Causes & Treatment

Depression is a clinical condition that, contrary to popular opinion, cannot simply be overcome with time and it needs to be treated.

Situational Depression: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Treatment Options for Children with Depression

The Science Behind the Winter Blues: Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder

Causes of Depression

Symptoms of Depression

How is Depression in Children Diagnosed?

Depression in children

Can Depression and Anxiety Occur Together?

Link Between Chronic Illness and Depression

Treatment of Depression

Depression Diagnosis

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Prisoner Depression and Low Mood

Food Insecurity and Depression

Contributing Factors to Post-Adoption Depression

How Can I Tell if My Child is Depressed?

Antidepressants and Weight Changes

Intrusive Thoughts and Depression

5 Facts You May Not Know About Depression

Depression and Sleep Length

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

How Does Your Diet Affect Depression?

Genes and Depression

Ghrelin and Depression

Latest Depression News and Research

University of Ottawa study links heart attacks with brain damage

A new study led by a team from the University of Ottawa takes a major step forward in understanding how a heart attack can dramatically reshape brain function and trigger neurological effects, from depression and anxiety to different types of cognitive decline.

22 May 2026

Brain scans find no evidence of widespread inflammation in long COVID

A new brain imaging study has found no evidence of widespread brain inflammation in patients suffering from prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Instead, the most severe long COVID symptoms were associated with increased brain activity in regions involved in mood and emotion.

22 May 2026

How screen time, stress, and nicotine trap young adults in poor sleep

Among the younger part of the population, sleep problems, anxiety, and depression are widespread and growing issues.

22 May 2026

Could blocking inflammation help treat difficult-to-treat depression?

A small proof-of-concept RCT found that tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor blocker, showed a non-significant but clinically suggestive pattern of improvement in difficult-to-treat depression linked to low-grade inflammation. The study found that baseline hs-CRP, rather than IL-6, may help identify patients most likely to respond, supporting larger trials of immune-targeted depression care.

22 May 2026

Research show worsening health trends for post-1946 generations

Younger generations appear to be experiencing poorer health earlier in life than previous generations, according to a review of studies comparing national birth cohort datasets involving tens of thousands of people across the UK born since 1946.

22 May 2026

Disrupted sleep rhythms may increase dementia risk through impaired waste clearance

Why are conditions such as chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, fragmented sleep, and aging all associated with a higher risk of dementia? In a new review piece in Science, University of Rochester Medicine neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, proposes that many of these seemingly different conditions may converge on the same biological problem: disruption of a sleep-dependent brain rhythm that helps clear waste from the brain.

22 May 2026

Researchers find no meaningful health impacts from wind energy turbines

A joint research paper involving work from the University of Pittsburgh has found that, despite some public concern, turbines used to produce wind energy are not responsible for any detectable adverse health outcomes.

21 May 2026

Machine learning lifestyle coaching helps reduce major depressive symptoms

More than 21% of U.S. adults experience depression, greatly impacting their quality of life. Many people with mild‑to‑moderate depression can improve their symptoms by adjusting daily habits like sleep, exercise, diet and social interaction, according to Jyoti Mishra, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

21 May 2026

First-of-its-kind pregnancy hormone test reveals why female IBD patients face severe symptom flares

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which comprises the inflammatory conditions Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects about 1.6 million Americans, many of whom cannot be effectively treated.

21 May 2026

Key neural circuit helps the brain “change gears”

Most people have experienced the feeling: switching from one task to another, only to find the brain momentarily stuck in the old mode of thinking. Sometimes, even after realizing a strategy no longer works, the mind keeps returning to it anyway.

21 May 2026

Anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab shows promise for difficult-to-treat depression

Immunotherapy could be a promising new treatment option for patients with difficult-to-treat depression. This is a key finding from a University of Bristol-led pilot randomised controlled clinical trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry today [20 May].

20 May 2026

Plant-based eye drops harness photosynthesis to heal dry eyes

What if your eyes could use light to heal themselves? Drawing inspiration from how plants harness sunlight, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) are pioneering a revolutionary treatment for dry eye disease.

20 May 2026

Aerobic exercise mitigates nanoplastic damage in female zebrafish

Using female zebrafish as a model, researchers have found that aerobic exercise may influence various connections in the body to lessen the damaging health impacts of environmental nanoplastics.

20 May 2026

How food and alcohol cues leave different signatures in the brain

Food and alcohol cues appear to engage partially distinct EEG oscillatory patterns, with food cues linked mainly to increased delta activity and alcohol-related processing showing alpha and delta differences in key contrasts. The effects were strongest in participants with relatively higher AUDIT scores, but neural changes were small and subjective cue responses were more robust.

20 May 2026