Antidepressant News and Research

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Antidepressants are medicines that treat depression. Your doctor can prescribe them for you. They can improve your mood, sleep, appetite and concentration. It may take several weeks for them to help. There are several types of antidepressants. You and your doctor may have to try several before finding what works best for you.

Antidepressant Prozac could offer the first treatment for atrophic macular degeneration

An antidepressant best known as Prozac could offer the first treatment for the leading cause of blindness among people over 50, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

21 Oct 2021

Post-COVID depressive symptoms respond well to antidepressants, study shows

The COVID pandemic has led to a significant increase in mental health problems. Now, in some good news, a pilot study has shown that depressed patients who have suffered from COVID respond better to standard antidepressants than do people who have not had COVID.

4 Oct 2021

Existing drug used to treat constipation may boost people's ability to think more clearly

The development of drugs to treat cognitive problems in patients with mental illness may be a step closer after a team of researchers discovered that an existing drug - used to treat constipation - may be able to boost our ability to think more clearly.

4 Oct 2021

Depressed adolescents' brains give a muted reaction to distressing images, research finds

Scientists have measured brain activity in young people with and without depression, and found that the brains of depressed adolescents give a muted reaction to distressing images.

3 Oct 2021

Study finds genetic link between driving convictions, accidents and everyday behavior

A new long-term psychological study of drivers has found an association between driving convictions, accidents and everyday behavior such as eating junk food or alcohol consumption.

3 Oct 2021

UVA researchers identify 14 genes that cause obesity

Promising news in the effort to develop drugs to treat obesity: University of Virginia scientists have identified 14 genes that can cause and three that can prevent weight gain. The findings pave the way for treatments to combat a health problem that affects more than 40% of American adults.

1 Oct 2021

Researchers explore the clinical use of intravenous infusions of ketamine to treat depression

Depression is the most common mental illness as well as the number one cause of disability among people between the ages of 15 and 44. And for millions of sufferers, antidepressants have literally saved lives that could otherwise have been lost to suicide.

29 Sep 2021

Discovery of genes opens the door to new treatments for obesity

Promising news in the effort to develop drugs to treat obesity: University of Virginia scientists have identified 14 genes that can cause and three that can prevent weight gain.

22 Sep 2021

Drug accumulation alters gut bacterial metabolism and composition

In a research paper recently published in the journal Nature by Klünemann et al. (September 8th, 2021), the interaction of 15 diverse drugs with 25 common strains of gut bacteria is investigated, revealing 70 bacteria-drug interactions that include 29 entirely novel mechanisms not yet reported.

15 Sep 2021

Study finds accumulation of common therapeutic drugs by gut bacteria

Common medications can accumulate in gut bacteria, a new study has found, altering bacterial function and potentially reducing the effectiveness of the drug.

8 Sep 2021

Smoking cessation more likely to improve mood in heart attack survivors

Smokers with depression at the time of a heart attack who quit smoking are more likely to improve their mood than those who continue the habit. That's the finding of research presented at ESC Congress 2021.

27 Aug 2021

Allopregnanolone exerts persistent antidepressant effects by altering brain states

New research led by neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine suggests the prolonged antidepressant effects of allopregnanolone, a neuroactive steroid used therapeutically to treat postpartum depression, may involve the ability of the compound to modify communication in an area of the brain important for mood and emotion regulation.

18 Aug 2021

Study finds cognitive safety of ketamine and esketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression

Used for the treatment of depression that does not respond to standard antidepressant medications, the anesthesia drug ketamine – and the related drug esketamine, recently approved for depression treatment – has no important adverse effects on memory, attention, or other cognitive processes, concludes a systematic review of medical research in the September/October issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

12 Aug 2021

Novel mechanistic insights on how ketamine exerts antidepressant effects

The discovery that the anaesthetic ketamine can help people with severe depression has raised hopes of finding new treatment options for the disease.

10 Aug 2021

Study finds dramatic decreases in antibiotic dispensing for children during the pandemic

As children made fewer visits to health facilities and engaged in social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation measures, a smaller number of them also received prescription drugs, a new study suggests.

20 Jul 2021

Antidepressants may lower risk of death, complications in people with diabetes and depression

People with diabetes and depression who take antidepressants may have a lower risk of death and of serious diabetes complications, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

14 Jul 2021

Antidepressants taken during pregnancy do not increase risk for autism spectrum disorder

Women with depression and other mood disorders are generally advised to continue taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy.

24 Jun 2021

New AI software shows promise to prevent relapse of severe mental illness

New AI software developed by researchers at Flinders University shows promise for enabling timely support ahead of relapse in patients with severe mental illness.

15 Jun 2021

Treatment-resistant depression relieved by laughing gas

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Chicago have found that a single, one-hour treatment involving the inhalation of a mixture of oxygen and the anesthetic drug nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, can improve symptoms of depression in people resistant to treatment.