Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Disaster response strategies should address needs of people with disabilities and mental disorders

As hurricane season gets into full swing, mental health teams will be ready to respond and help survivors cope with possible devastation. Psychologists have analyzed decades of research and found that disaster response strategies should address the needs of the population affected, specifically those with disabilities and mental disorders.

24 Aug 2010

Researchers find new drug to treat circadian rhythm disorders

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

24 Aug 2010

Study finds post Katrina period increases mental health issues among children

Key findings documented in American Medical Association's Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 60% of children - as many as 20,000 - displaced by Katrina either have serious emotional disorders, behavioral issues and/or are experiencing significant housing instability.One-third of children are reported to have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, but fewer than 50% of parents were able to access needed professional services.Children post-Katrina are 4.5 times more likely to have serious emotional disturbance than children not affected by the disaster

23 Aug 2010

Hospira Japan receives approval for long term use of Precedex IV sedative

Hospira Japan Co., Ltd. today announced it has received an approval for the long-term (greater than 24 hour) use of the sedative "Precedex IV™200ug" (generic name: dexmedetomidine hydrochloride). This approval follows Hospira's first launches earlier this year of Precedex in Canada and in South Korea, important milestones for Hospira as the company continues to build the molecule's global presence.

23 Aug 2010

Beer psoriasis link for women and psoriasis plus depression

According to a new study, women who regularly drink beer may be increasing their risk of developing psoriasis – a disease of the skin. Light beer and wine are not associated with such a risk, the study says. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterised by itchy red scaly patches that most commonly appear on the knees, elbows and scalp or anywhere else in the body.

23 Aug 2010

Palliative care prolongs metastatic lung cancer patient’s life: Study

A precedent-setting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, August 19 demonstrates definitively that early referrals to palliative care prolongs life for patients living with metastatic lung cancer.

21 Aug 2010

Tasigna receives approval for chronic myeloid leukemia in Canada

Tasigna (nilotinib) capsules have been approved with conditions in Canada as a new therapy for patients with CML, in the chronic phase (first phase) of the disease. Patients must be resistant to or intolerant of at least one prior therapy, including (Pr)Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), an established standard of care.

20 Aug 2010

Educational intervention program encourages Latina women towards postpartum care

Latinas participating in an educational intervention program were two-and-a-half times more likely to seek postpartum care than were those who did not have access to a similar program, a new study finds.

20 Aug 2010

Study demonstrates association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that yoga may be superior to other forms of exercise in its positive effect on mood and anxiety. The findings, which currently appear on-line at Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, is the first to demonstrate an association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety.

20 Aug 2010

Study on fear of falling and its impact on risk of fall among older people

Fear of falling is likely to lead to future falls among older people, irrespective of their actual fall risk, finds a study published on bmj.com today.This indicates that measures of both actual and perceived fall risk should be included in fall risk assessments to help tailor interventions for preventing falls in older people, say the authors.

20 Aug 2010

Study finds ketamine restores connection in chronic stress affected brain cells

Yale researchers have discovered how a novel anti-depressant can take effect in hours, rather than the weeks or months usually required for most drugs currently on the market.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Chelsea Therapeutics announces new investigator to conduct phase II clinical study of Droxidopa

Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. announced that a new investigator-led phase II clinical study of Droxidopa, an oral synthetic precursor of norepinephrine, has been initiated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

20 Aug 2010

USPTO to issue reexamination certificate for Neuralstem's patent for neural stem cell technology

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it received notification that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has upheld the patentability, without amendment, of all claims in U.S. Patent No. 5,753,506 and intends to issue a reexamination certificate in due course. This patent describes methods of culturing and expanding neural stem cells.

19 Aug 2010

Maternal stress contribute to an elevated risk for depression in offspring: Research

For more than a century, clinical investigators have focused on early life as a source of adult psychopathology. Although the hypothesized mechanisms have evolved, a central notion remains: early life is a period of unique sensitivity during which experience confers enduring effects.

19 Aug 2010

Maternal stress associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in male offspring

18 Aug 2010

Brain trauma in sports associated with motor neuron disease, researchers find

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that they have provided the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, a neurological condition that affects voluntary muscle movements.

18 Aug 2010

$Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture$

Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture

An international study of more than 60,000 women has drawn new light on the relationship between osteoporosis and fractures.Scientists call for more to be done to identify and treat patients at the highest risk of fractures.Osteoporosis is more common in women who have fractured bones when they were younger and they experience a similar loss in health-related quality of life as those with arthritis, lung disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

18 Aug 2010

Moderate wine consumption associated with better cognitive performance

A large prospective study of 5033 men and women in the Troms- Study in northern Norway has reported that moderate wine consumption is independently associated with better performance on cognitive tests. The subjects (average age 58 and free of stroke) were followed over 7 years during which they were tested with a range of cognitive function tests.

18 Aug 2010

Iyengar yoga program improves quality of life for breast cancer patients

University of Alberta research fellow Amy Speed-Andrews has examined how a specialized Iyengar yoga program for women currently in treatment for breast cancer, and who have completed treatment, makes a difference in their recovery.

18 Aug 2010