Antidepressant News and Research

RSS

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.

New neurons may take over six months to mature

New neurons take more than six months to mature in adult monkeys and that time is likely even longer in humans, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the University of Illinois, and Pennsylvania State University.

8 Jun 2011

Women with higher leptin levels have fewer symptoms of depression

Women who have higher levels of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin have fewer symptoms of depression, and this apparent inverse relationship is not related to body mass index (BMI), a new study finds.

7 Jun 2011

Dr. Reddy’s launches generic ARICEPT, EFFEXOR XR and FEMARA in the US

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories today announced that it has launched three products in the US market.

6 Jun 2011

GP journal focuses on mental health

Australian Family Physician, the flagship journal of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), features a range of clinical, viewpoint and research articles focusing on key issues in general practice today. The June 2011 edition focuses on mental illness and includes the following feature articles.

6 Jun 2011

Paxil and Pravachol in combination cause unexpected increase in blood glucose levels

A widely used combination of two common medications may cause unexpected increases in blood glucose levels, according to a study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University and Harvard Medical School. Researchers were surprised at the finding because neither of the two drugs - one, an antidepressant marketed as Paxil, and the other, a cholesterol-lowering medication called Pravachol - has a similar effect alone.

26 May 2011

HealthPartners prescribes walking or exercise for patients with depression

Giving pedometers to patients screened for depression, HealthPartners Medical Group (HPMG) is prescribing walking or exercise in addition to medication and/or therapy as an effective tool in helping patients with depression.

17 May 2011

Otsuka Pharmaceutical reports OPC-34712 Phase 2 trial results in major depressive disorder

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (OPC) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (OPDC) today announced results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of OPC-34712, a novel D2 dopamine partial agonist investigational product.

16 May 2011

Genetic link for depression found: Study

Researchers have for the first time confirmed a specific genetic link to depression, according to new evidence published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Monday. This finding was made independently by research teams in the UK and US, is expected to lead to a better biological understanding of the condition and eventually to more effective antidepressants.

15 May 2011

Naurex announces completion of $18 million Series A financing

Naurex Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative treatments to address unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology, today announced the completion of an $18 million Series A financing led by Adams Street Partners and Latterell Venture Partners.

11 May 2011

Successful treatment of depression in mothers improves behavior of children

Children whose mothers are successfully treated for depression show progressive and marked improvement in their own behaviors even a year after their moms discontinue treatment, new UT Southwestern Medical Center-led research shows.

10 May 2011

Study: Dual medications do not hasten recovery from depression

Taking two medications for depression does not hasten recovery from the condition that affects 19 million Americans each year, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a national study.

3 May 2011

Scientists identify new risk gene variant for depression

Max Planck scientists uncover surprising genetic links. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich have compared the genomes of a total of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world and identified a new risk gene variant for depression.

28 Apr 2011

New study reveals a novel gene linked with major depression

A new study reveals a novel gene associated with major depression. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for major depression and may guide future therapeutic strategies for this debilitating mood disorder.

28 Apr 2011

Common painkillers decrease effectiveness of antidepressants: Study

According to a latest study, antidepressants like Prozac and Aspirin do not mix. Researchers found that painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen appear to decrease the effectiveness of a popular class of antidepressants that includes Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro and Zoloft and Celexa.

26 Apr 2011

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce effectiveness of widely used antidepressant medications

Scientists at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at The Rockefeller University, led by Paul Greengard, Ph.D., and Jennifer Warner-Schmidt, Ph.D., have shown that anti-inflammatory drugs, which include ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen, reduce the effectiveness of the most widely used class of antidepressant medications, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, taken for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders.

26 Apr 2011

Study: Women use more medications during pregnancy

Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard School of Public Health, have reported widespread and increasing medication use among pregnant women.

26 Apr 2011

Supreme Court to weigh drug confidentiality laws

Marketing to doctors using prescription records bearing their names is an increasingly contentious practice, with three states, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, in the vanguard of enacting laws to limit the uses of a doctor's prescription records for marketing.

25 Apr 2011

Individuals on SSRIs still exhibit depressive symptoms

Even people who show a clear treatment response with antidepressant medications continue to experience symptoms like insomnia, sadness and decreased concentration, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found after analyzing data from the largest study on the treatment of depression.

25 Apr 2011

Research sheds light on molecular movements of neural transporters

A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.

25 Apr 2011

Severely obese adolescents no more likely to be depressed

According to a new study, severely obese adolescents are no more likely to be depressed than normal weight peers. The study, which has been released online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, did find that white adolescents may be somewhat more vulnerable to psychological effects of obesity.

22 Apr 2011