People who suffer from debilitating neuropathic pain may get more relief and sleep better by combining two commonly-prescribed drugs. [More]

Combining antidepressant drugs with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) does a better job of reducing symptoms of severe depression and causes less memory loss than using ECT alone, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. [More]

A new study shows that antidepressant drugs which only affect serotonin, often used as first choice treatments, may not be best for depression in people with Parkinson's disease. [More]

The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic. [More]

Adding a medication to a standard treatment regimen for major depressive disorder in the elderly improves chances of recovery in those who do not adequately respond to the first-course therapy or who relapse from it, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. [More]

A drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an aid to smoking cessation appears effective both short- and long-term for smokers trying to quit, according to two reports in the August 14/28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. [More]

Smokers who try to quit using existing medications, such as nicotine patches or Zyban, are about twice as likely to succeed as those who don't use medication or are prescribed placebos during clinical trials. [More]

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat psychiatric illnesses and blood disorders in humans may protect the brain cells that die in people with Huntington's disease, possibly delaying the onset and slowing the progression of the disease. [More]

When used with a transdermal nicotine patch, nortriptyline—an antidepressant medication—may aid in smoking cessation, according to an article in the November 8 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. [More]

People who want to quit smoking have an improved chance of success if they receive long-term comprehensive drug and psychological interventions, according to a new study by UCSF researchers. [More]

People who want to quit smoking have an improved chance of success if they receive long-term comprehensive drug and psychological interventions, according to a new study by UCSF researchers. [More]