Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Effectiveness of psychosocial treatments for bipolar disorder

This is a follow up study to one released last Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine on the effects of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Both studies, called STEP-BD, were funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

4 Apr 2007

Intensive psychotherapy most effective for treating bipolar depression

Patients taking medications to treat bipolar disorder are more likely to get well faster and stay well if they receive intensive psychotherapy, according to results from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

4 Apr 2007

Less children and teens taking antidepressants

The number of children and teenagers prescribed antidepressant medications appears to have decreased following public warnings about suicidal behavior potentially associated with the drugs, according to a report published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Apr 2007

Ropinirole reduces "off" time in Parkinson's

Parkinson disease patients taking the drug, ropinirole 24-hour prolonged release significantly reduced their daily "off" time in which Parkinson's symptoms like tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking difficulty return as drugs wear off, according to a study published in the April 3, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Apr 2007

Call for improved screening for dating violence

Even though dating violence is common amongst teens, less than a quarter of U.S. child and adolescent psychiatrists report consistently screening for it, a new study finds.

4 Apr 2007

Significant gaps in knowledge about mental disorders in the Asia-Pacific region

While ANZ mental health researchers have an outstanding record of collaboration and publishing internationally, most of this activity relates to rich countries in North America and Europe. "

4 Apr 2007

Common questions about irritable bowel syndrome

Will adding fiber to my diet bring relief? Are dairy products really off limits? Is there a way to actually diagnose what I have, or is it all in my head?

4 Apr 2007

Intensive therapy helps in battle against bipolar disorder

New results from the largest federally funded bipolar study ever conducted show that patients who receive psychotherapy in addition to medication get better faster from bipolar disorder's debilitating depression and stay better longer, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher involved in the study.

4 Apr 2007

Substantial need for mental health services in the general population

First large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it.

3 Apr 2007

What makes a simple biological clock tick?

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has analyzed the simplest known biological clock and figured out what makes it tick.

3 Apr 2007

Chronic reading problems and depression appear to be related, especially among low-income children

A new study done by researchers at the University of Delaware and West Chester University of Pennsylvania found that low-income children who take part in reading assistance programs in fifth grade are more depressed, anxious, and withdrawn than their peers, especially when they have chronic reading problems.

3 Apr 2007

We need to balance out our intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids

A new study suggests that people whose diets contain dramatically more of one kind of polyunsaturated fatty acid than another may be at greater risk for both clinical depression and certain inflammatory diseases.

3 Apr 2007

FDA discourages consumers from purchasing Accutane online

FDA last week launched a Web page aimed at discouraging consumers from purchasing the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, on the Internet, Dow Jones/Marketwatch reports.

2 Apr 2007

About 50% of people fail to take medication as directed

USA Today on Thursday examined how multiple studies have shown that only about half of people with chronic conditions in the U.S. and other developed countries continue to take medication as directed.

2 Apr 2007

Total sleep time affects morning testosterone levels

The testosterone levels of healthy men decline as they get older. As sleep quality and quantity typically decrease with age, objectively measured differences in the amount of sleep a healthy older man gets can affect his level of testosterone in the morning, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

Fragmented sleep increases spontaneous pain in women

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women

2 Apr 2007

Playing in the dirt to counter depression

Treatment of mice with a "friendly" bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.

2 Apr 2007

Treatment options for bipolar disorder

For depressed people with bipolar disorder who are taking a mood stabilizer, adding an antidepressant medication is no more effective than a placebo (sugar pill), according to results published online on March 28, 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2007

Role of emotions in how patients feel arthritis pain

How does the brain process the experience of pain? Thanks to advances in neuroimaging, we now know the answer lies in a network of brain structures called the pain matrix.

30 Mar 2007

Circadian genes may be involved in bipolar disorder

Disrupt the gene that regulates the biological clocks in mice and they become manic, exhibiting behaviors similar to humans with bipolar disorder, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

25 Mar 2007