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.

Combination approach could be more effective to treat fibromyalgia pain

Queen's University researcher Ian Gilron has uncovered a more effective way of treating fibromyalgia, a medical condition characterized by chronic widespread pain typically accompanied by fatigue, as well as sleep, mood and memory problems.

14 Jul 2016

Scientists reveal how manipulating novel target in the brain could lead to new therapies for depression

Northwestern Medicine scientists have shown how manipulating a novel target in the brain using gene therapy could lead to new treatments for depression.

12 Jul 2016

Non-drug solutions for postpartum depression: an interview with Dr David Brock & Christopher Thatcher

Postpartum depression (PPD) is reported to occur in 10-15% of delivering women with an estimated 400,000 women affected annually in the US. It is the most common complication of childbirth and is a significant public health concern.

11 Jul 2016

MOOD-HF supports lack of antidepressant efficacy in HF patients

Escitalopram influences neither depressive symptoms nor medical outcomes when compared with placebo in patients with heart failure and depression, show the MOOD-HF findings.

29 Jun 2016

Mayo Clinic highlights potential merits of individualizing treatment for patients taking antidepressants

Mayo Clinic is highlighting the potential merits of using precision medicine in prescribing antidepressants. Details appear in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

21 Jun 2016

Most antidepressants are ineffective at treating children and teens, study shows

The majority of antidepressants prescribed to treat children and teenagers with major depression are ineffective and may even be unsafe, warn researchers.

9 Jun 2016

New experimental drug may prevent stress damage in the brain

Chronic stress can make us worn-out, anxious, depressed--in fact, it can change the architecture of the brain.

31 May 2016

New understanding of neurotransmitter transporter mechanism gives hope for treating depression, addicition

When nerve cells have to communicate with each other in our brains, it involves release of small signal molecules, the so-called neurotransmitters, which act as chemical messengers in specific points of contact between nerve cells, called synapses.

27 May 2016

Study assesses trends in antidepressant prescribing for depression

In a study appearing in the May 24/31 issue of JAMA, Jenna Wong, M.Sc., of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and colleagues analyzed treatment indications for antidepressants and assessed trends in antidepressant prescribing for depression.

25 May 2016

ANK3 and other genes may play key role in affecting mood, stress and longevity

The visible impacts of depression and stress that can be seen in a person's face -- and contribute to shorter lives -- can also be found in alterations in genetic activity, according to newly published research.

24 May 2016

Understanding potential of illicit drug ketamine in treating depression

Advancing the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders is a principal goal of neuroscientists. As mental disorders are the leading cause of disabilities worldwide, it is concerning that there are few effective therapeutics on the market due to the lack of knowledge regarding pathophysiology.

19 May 2016

Mouse model of depression can help better understand how ketamine functions

New research demonstrates the effectiveness of ketamine to treat depression in a mouse model of the disease and brings together two hypotheses for the cause of depression.

19 May 2016

Study demonstrates effectiveness of NeuroStar TMS Therapy System in women with postpartum depression

An unfortunate fact facing mothers in the U.S. is that postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbirth. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of women who give birth each year – or roughly 600,000 women – experience postpartum depression symptoms.

18 May 2016

Magic mushroom compound may offer potential new way for antidepressant research

Psilocybin – a hallucinogenic compound derived from magic mushrooms – may offer a possible new avenue for antidepressant research, according to a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry today.

17 May 2016

Repeat, low-dose ketamine infusions may quickly reduce suicidal thoughts in depressed outpatients

Repeat intravenous treatment with low doses of the anesthetic drug ketamine quickly reduced suicidal thoughts in a small group of patients with treatment-resistant depression.

11 May 2016

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy more beneficial without antidepressant drugs

An investigation published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics indicates that mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is most helpful when antidepressant drugs are not used.

10 May 2016

Formal mental health therapies offer little relief from postpartum depression for low-income mothers of color

Health care providers and human service agencies often manage postpartum depression with formal mental health treatments and antidepressant therapies, but for new, low-income mothers of color these interventions often provide little relief from the mood disorder that sometimes follows childbirth, according to a new study led by a University at Buffalo researcher.

5 May 2016

High-intensity exercise, group activity reduce depression among older dementia patients

Both a high-intensity functional exercise programme and a non-exercise group activity, conducted among older care facility residents with dementia, reduced high levels of depressive symptoms. However, exercise had no superior effect on depression, according to a dissertation from Umea University.

3 May 2016

Exposure to SSRI during gestation increases chances of adolescent offspring depression

A study to be published in the May 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) reports that use of certain antidepressants during pregnancy can result in offspring depression by early adolescence.

28 Apr 2016

MBCT could be effective treatment to prevent recurrence of depression

The largest meta-analysis so far of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression has found that MBCT is an effective treatment option that can help prevent the recurrence of major depression. The study used anonymised individual patient data from nine randomized trials of MBCT. It suggests that for the millions of people who suffer recurrent depression it provides a treatment choice and an alternative or addition to other approaches such as maintenance anti-depressants.