Major Depressive Disorder News and Research

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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia (significant loss of interest or pleasure). The condition affects more than 15.7 million adults and approximately 3 million adolescents (aged 13 to 17 years) in the USA each year.

People with major depressive disorder have reduced arginine levels, study shows

People suffering from major depressive disorder, MDD, have reduced arginine levels, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. Arginine is an amino acid which the body uses to produce, e.g., nitric oxide.

21 Feb 2018

Study reveals the link between genetic variations and major psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder share common molecular characteristics, despite variations in gene expression.

9 Feb 2018

Depressive symptoms associated with poorer survival in patients with head and neck cancer

In a study of patients with head and neck cancer, even mild depressive symptoms were associated with poorer overall survival.

22 Jan 2018

Study identifies new target for treatment of depression

According to the World Health Organization more than three hundred million people worldwide are affected by major depressive disorder. Unfortunately, the antidepressants commonly used to treat them only work for 50% of the population.

18 Jan 2018

Research provides insights into mechanisms governing healthy longevity

Keio University Global Research Institute, Tokyo publishes the January 2018 issue of KGRI Research Frontiers that includes researcher video profiles of Keio University researchers and research highlights from high impact publications including 'Regenerative medicine needs collaboration in and out of science in order to face current and future challenges; ‘Does eating fish protect you from depression?’; ‘Insights into the molecular mechanisms leading to kidney dysfunction in diabetic patients’; and ‘Ageing to 100 and beyond: Insights from demographic, phenotypic and genetic studies.

12 Jan 2018

Metabolic Syndrome could make it harder for older adults to respond to antidepressant therapy

Researchers suspect that having Metabolic Syndrome makes it harder for older adults to respond to therapies for depression.

11 Jan 2018

C-Path receives FDA’s clinical outcome assessment qualification for SMDDS

Critical Path Institute's Patient-Reported Outcome Consortium announces its first clinical outcome assessment qualification from the US Food and Drug Administration for the Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder Scale.

18 Dec 2017

Researchers use new approach to identify casual mechanisms in depression

People with major depressive disorder have alterations in the activity and connectivity of brain systems underlying reward and memory, according to a new study by the University of Warwick.

12 Dec 2017

New method helps measure effect of one brain region on another in depression

People with major depressive disorder have alterations in the activity and connectivity of brain systems underlying reward and memory, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

6 Dec 2017

New study examines effects of gene variant on resting-state brain function in patients with MDD

A new study assessed the effects of a SLC6A15 gene variant on resting-state brain function in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), comparing the results with those in healthy individuals.

5 Dec 2017

Undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the country at risk for mental disorders

Nearly a quarter of Mexican immigrants who live near the California-Mexico border without legal authorization have a mental disorder, particularly depression or anxiety, according to a new study by Rice University.

30 Oct 2017

New analysis reveals insights into long-term effects of antidepressant drugs

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a new analysis discloses insights into the long term effects of antidepressant drugs. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is more often chronic or recurrent in clinical than in community samples.

24 Oct 2017

Seniors treated for depression experience comparable improvements as younger patients, study reveals

A new Cedars-Sinai study reveals that older adults being treated for depression experience comparable improvements in quality of life and functioning as do younger adults treated for the same condition.

26 Sep 2017

Study: Neurofeedback holds potential to treat people suffering from treatment-resistant depression

A small pilot study has indicated that neurofeedback - where patients concentrate on modifying their own brainwave patterns - has potential to treat many of the 100m people worldwide who suffer from Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD).

4 Sep 2017

Obesity and depression are entwined, yet scientists don’t know why

About 15 years ago, Dr. Sue McElroy, a psychiatrist in Mason, Ohio, started noticing a pattern. People came to see her because they were depressed, but they frequently had a more visible ailment as well: They were heavy.

11 Aug 2017

Study findings could lead to more effective and faster acting antidepressants

For people suffering from depression, a day without treatment can seem like a lifetime. A new study explains why the most commonly prescribed antidepressants can take as long as six weeks to have an effect. The findings could one day lead to more effective and faster acting drugs.

3 Aug 2017

EFMT technology results in greater reduction of major depressive disorder symptoms

A treatment for depression using Emotional Faces Memory Task (EFMT), a technology originally developed by two Mount Sinai researchers, resulted in a significantly greater reduction of major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms compared to a control group, according to initial clinical results presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Scientific Convention on May 19, 2017, in San Diego.

5 Jun 2017

Major Depressive Disorder News and Research

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