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.

Review assesses the efficacy of creatine as an add-on therapy for depression

Walk into any gym supplement aisle and creatine is there, sold by the tub to people chasing bigger muscles. It is one of the most studied compounds in sports science.

30 Jun 2026

Functional brain imaging can help guide accelerated TMS for depression

Mass General Brigham study suggests that functional brain imaging can help guide accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression.

24 Jun 2026

Probiotics help reduce depressive symptoms in older adults

In a pilot clinical trial published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that included older adults with depression receiving standard care, adding probiotic therapy produced modest but meaningful reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with adding a placebo.

17 Jun 2026

Grandparents can help counter growing children's mental health challenges

As more than 40% of American teenagers report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a leading child psychologist says grandparents and extended family have a vital role to play.

13 Jun 2026

Parkinson's drug may ease anhedonia in treatment-resistant depression

For many people who suffer from depression, the condition is not just about feeling down, but also about a loss of motivation and difficulty finding pleasure in activities they used to enjoy.

12 Jun 2026

Remote work explains part of the post-pandemic rise in mental distress

Researchers found that workers in remote jobs spent more time alone after the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced greater psychological distress than those in non-remote jobs. The effects were strongest among people living alone, suggesting that reduced everyday social contact may be an important cost of remote work.

10 Jun 2026

Large study uncovers brain network differences in bipolar disorder

New research from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has discovered subtle but widespread differences in the brain's communication networks in people with bipolar disorder, offering new insight into how illness severity and treatment may relate to brain wiring.

9 Jun 2026

New study identifies brain circuit behind TMS’s antidepressant effects

A circuit that runs from the prefrontal cortex near the front of the brain to a deeper brain structure called the insular cortex appears to mediate the antidepressant effects of a newer form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

9 Jun 2026

Antidepressants trigger opposite reactions in different groups of serotonin-producing brain cells

A new study has uncovered how antidepressants affect different groups of serotonin-producing brain cells in opposite ways, offering new insights into why selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can cause unpleasant side effects at the start of treatment but lead to symptom relief over time.

8 Jun 2026

Antidepressant drugs detected at potentially harmful levels in waterways

Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are among the conditions often treated with antidepressant drugs. Yet, up to 90% of these drugs pass through the body into wastewater.

3 Jun 2026

Ghrelin rises in depression despite obesity’s usual appetite-hormone suppression

Researchers found that both acylated and deacylated ghrelin were elevated in unmedicated adults with major depressive disorder and obesity compared with non-depressed adults with obesity. The cross-sectional findings suggest ghrelin-system dysregulation may be linked to depression in obesity, but larger longitudinal studies are needed to test whether ghrelin is a reliable biomarker.

27 May 2026

Special yoga intervention helps cancer survivors manage psychological side effects

University of Rochester Medicine is in the spotlight at a national meeting for a new discovery in integrative oncology: A special yoga intervention, the study shows, goes a step further than other side-effect therapies to improve four domains of physical and psychological side effects that most patients experience, including lifting mood and easing anxiety.

26 May 2026

Could blocking inflammation help treat difficult-to-treat depression?

A small proof-of-concept RCT found that tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor blocker, showed a non-significant but clinically suggestive pattern of improvement in difficult-to-treat depression linked to low-grade inflammation. The study found that baseline hs-CRP, rather than IL-6, may help identify patients most likely to respond, supporting larger trials of immune-targeted depression care.

22 May 2026

Anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab shows promise for difficult-to-treat depression

Immunotherapy could be a promising new treatment option for patients with difficult-to-treat depression. This is a key finding from a University of Bristol-led pilot randomised controlled clinical trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry today [20 May].

20 May 2026

Psilocybin offers fast-acting alternative to traditional antidepressants

A single dose of the psychedelic substance psilocybin can provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms – within just a few days. This is shown by the first randomised, double-blind study in Sweden of psilocybin for depression. The effect persisted for over three months, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

15 May 2026

Retinal stimulation via contact lenses effective as antidepressants in mice

Materials scientists have designed brain-stimulating contact lenses that are as effective as Prozac at treating depression in mice. The soft, transparent contact lenses have in-built electrodes that deliver mild electrical signals to the brain via the retina to stimulate specific brain regions associated with depression.

14 May 2026