Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Exercise doesn't stop the clock on aging, but it seems to slow it down

Evidence continues to mount that exercise provides many benefits to help people look and feel younger. The March issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource offers a recap of the many benefits of regular exercise.

6 Mar 2008

Integrin beta3 protein yields clues to autism

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin - a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety.

6 Mar 2008

Rimonabant weight-loss drug might fight alcoholic fatty liver

The cannabinoid receptors best known for delivering the psychological effects of marijuana also explain the connection between chronic alcohol use and a buildup of fat in the liver, according to a report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

6 Mar 2008

Cause of depression and anxiety unknown not chemical

The theory that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance is often presented in the media as fact even though there is little scientific evidence to support it, according to a new study co-authored by a Florida State University visiting lecturer.

4 Mar 2008

Does depression lead to stroke?

Psychological distress, but not depression, may increase the risk of stroke, according to a study published in the March 4, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Mar 2008

Low testosterone levels linked to depression in older men

Older men with lower free testosterone levels in their blood appear to have higher prevalence of depression, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Mar 2008

Depression linked to subsequent pregnancy in black teens

African American adolescent mothers who have symptoms of depression may be more likely to have a subsequent pregnancy within two years of giving birth, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Mar 2008

Dementia diagnosis brings relief, not depression

When it comes to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, what you don't know may not kill you, but knowing the truth as soon as possible appears to be the better approach - one that may improve the emotional well-being of both patients and their caregivers, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

4 Mar 2008

Clinical depression raises risk of death for heart attack patients years after attack

Depressed heart attack patients have a higher risk for sudden death in the months following a heart attack.

4 Mar 2008

Tossing and turning at night...well so are over 50 million Americans

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has found that as many as 10 percent of adults are not getting enough rest or sleep every night.

4 Mar 2008

Depression in older men linked to low testosterone

Australian researchers are suggesting that older men who have lower levels of the male sex hormone testosterone in their blood, may be more prone to depression.

4 Mar 2008

FDA approves PRISTIQ for the treatment of adult patients with major depressive disorder

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PRISTIQ (desvenlafaxine), a structurally novel, once-daily serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), to treat adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Mar 2008

Brain differences between women and men

What was once speculation is now being confirmed by scientists: the brains of women and men are different in more ways than one.

1 Mar 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SEROQUEL XR for treatment of major depressive disorder

AstraZeneca has announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for once- daily SEROQUEL XR (quetiapine fumarate) Extended-Release Tablets to seek approval for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) as monotherapy, adjunct therapy, and maintenance therapy in adult patients.

1 Mar 2008

Music may help ease symptoms of depression

Music therapy might help ease the symptoms of depression, though its effectiveness as a stand-alone intervention is not certain, according to a recent review of five small studies.

28 Feb 2008

UCLA to study health care disparities affecting minorities

The UCLA Department of Family Medicine, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a group that will study health care disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases.

28 Feb 2008

Possible brain basis for parental instinct

Why do we almost instinctively treat babies as special, protecting them and enabling them to survive? Darwin originally pointed out that there is something about infants which prompts adults to respond to and care for them which allows our species to survive.

28 Feb 2008

Antidepressants only benefit some

A new study published today in PLoS Medicine suggests that antidepressants only benefit some, very severely depressed patients.

27 Feb 2008

Depressed teens respond well to combination therapy

More than half of teenagers with the most debilitating forms of depression that do not respond to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) show improvement after switching to a different medication combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and their colleagues in a multicenter study have found

27 Feb 2008

Adding therapy helps adolescents with depression not responding to SSRIs

For adolescents with depression not responding to an initial treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI; a class of antidepressant drugs), switching medications and adding cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in an improvement in symptoms, compared to just changing medications, according to a study in the February 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Feb 2008