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.

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.

15 Jun 2021

Common antidepressant drugs help the immune system to attack tumors in mice

A class of drug called monoamine oxidase inhibitors is commonly prescribed to treat depression; the medications work by boosting levels of serotonin, the brain's "happiness hormone."

10 Jun 2021

Study highlights surging trends in prescriptions and costs of antidepressants

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have warned there is an urgent need for the country's mental health interventions to create strategies optimizing the use of antidepressants after conducting a study which has highlighted an alarming rise in relation to usage and costs.

3 Jun 2021

Study explains why it is difficult to withdraw from certain antidepressants

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are a step closer to discovering why it is so difficult for people to withdraw from some antidepressant medications.

28 May 2021

Lactate has antidepressant effect in mice, shows study

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Neuroscientists from Synapsy - the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research into Mental Illness - based at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and Lausanne University (UNIL) have recently demonstrated that lactate, a molecule produced by the body during exercise, has an antidepressant effect in mice.

28 May 2021

Novel compound similar to psychedelic drug can reverse effects of stress in mice

A novel compound similar in structure to the psychedelic drug ibogaine, but lacking its toxic and hallucinogenic effects, has been found to rapidly reverse the effects of stress in mice.

26 May 2021

Study provides an overview of neonatal withdrawal signs following late in utero exposure to SSRIs

Neonatal withdrawal signs have been documented in newborns of mothers treated with antidepressants and are known as a cause of neonatal morbidity.

19 May 2021

Neuroimaging technology used to study how brain stimulation works for treatment of depression

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, was FDA approved in 2008 as a safe and effective noninvasive treatment for severe depression resistant to antidepressant medications. A small coil positioned near the scalp generates repetitive, pulsed magnetic waves that pass through the skull and stimulate brain cells to relieve symptoms of depression.

4 May 2021

New genetically encoded sensor helps detect drugs of abuse

A genetically encoded sensor to detect hallucinogenic compounds has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Named psychLight, the sensor could be used in discovering new treatments for mental illness, in neuroscience research and to detect drugs of abuse. The work is published April 28 in the journal Cell.

29 Apr 2021

Study highlights the shortage of evidence for safe withdrawal from antidepressants

A new study has highlighted that while much is known about the ever increasing uptake of antidepressant medications around the world, there is very little evidence on safe and effective approaches to discontinuing treatment.

22 Apr 2021

MIND Institute study of anxiety in children with ASD has now expanded to offer online treatment

It's now easier than ever to take part in a study that includes treatment for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the UC Davis MIND Institute's Autism Center of Excellence.

20 Apr 2021

Psychedelic drugs may work in multiple ways in the brain

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have shown that psilocybin—the active chemical in “magic mushrooms”— still works its antidepressant-like actions, at least in mice, even when the psychedelic experience is blocked.

13 Apr 2021

Antidepressant exposure in the womb may increase offspring's risk of affective disorders

Major depressive disorder is highly prevalent, with one in five people experiencing an episode at some point in their life, and is almost twice as common in women than in men.

12 Apr 2021

Tapeworm infection drug blocks SARS-CoV-2 damage in the lungs

New research published in the journal Nature found the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs resulted in abnormal pneumocytes and spike protein-mediated cell fusion. Their findings also showed that TMEM16F protein activation induces cell fusion. Therefore, drugs inhibiting the TMEM16F/Anoctamin6 calcium-activated ion channel, such as niclosamide, could serve as potential treatments for reducing the severity of COVID-19 infection.