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.

Research examines effects of antidepressant use on health of mother and child

The use of antidepressants during pregnancy has no long term neurodevelopmental or behavioural effects on the child, however they may be associated with an increased risk of postpartum haemorrhage, suggests the findings from three studies published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

16 Sep 2015

New findings on amitriptyline drug could help develop antidepressants with novel mechanisms

Researchers in Japan have shown that several different classes of antidepressants increase early growth responses in astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells, which could help develop new treatments.

16 Sep 2015

Antidepressants can increase depression, mood cycling in rapid-cycling bipolar disorder patients

In patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, antidepressants can increase incidents of depression and mood cycling. Rif S. El-Mallakh, M.D., director of the Mood Disorders Clinical and Research Program at the University of Louisville, along with Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., of Tufts University and other researchers, conducted the first randomized clinical trial that analyzes how modern antidepressants affect patients with rapid-cycling (RC) bipolar disorder (BD).

15 Sep 2015

Interpregnancy intervals may increase autism risk, shows Kaiser Permanente study

Second-born children who are conceived sooner than two years or later than six years after the arrival of their older sibling have a substantially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Pediatrics.

14 Sep 2015

NIH-funded study may help predict treatment response in older adults with depression

Treating depressed individuals and figuring out who will and won't respond to antidepressants is mostly trial and error — much to the frustration of patients and the health care providers who treat them.

11 Sep 2015

Comprehensive review looks at safety, efficacy of treatment options for premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that causes major disruption in several areas of life for many women. Many treatment options have been proposed, but which are most effective? A comprehensive review of the evidence, including specific treatment guidelines, is presented in the September Journal of Psychiatric Practice, published by Wolters Kluwer.

9 Sep 2015

Common antidepressant can help stroke patients improve movement and coordination

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have added to evidence that a commonly prescribed antidepressant called fluoxetine helps stroke victims improve movement and coordination, and possibly why.

2 Sep 2015

FDA approves MagVenture MagVita TMS Therapy system for treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

On July 31, 2015 the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the MagVita TMS Therapy system for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adult patients who have failed to receive satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode.

28 Aug 2015

Repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation can reduce frequency of nighttime bedwetting

Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, causes distress in children and young adults, as well as for their parents or caregivers. The causes are not fully understood and there may be both physiological and psychological components to the condition. In a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers report that repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation (rSMS) can reduce the frequency of nighttime bedwetting and improve quality-of-life for sufferers.

24 Aug 2015

New prescription smoking-cessation drug not helping smokers quit

The introduction of a new prescription smoking-cessation aid, varenicline, in 2006 has had no significant impact on the rate at which Americans age 18 and older successfully quit smoking, according to a study led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

18 Aug 2015

Prion protein could play a role in depression

The discovery of antidepressant drugs in the 1950s led to the first biochemical hypothesis of depression, known as the monoamine hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that an imbalance of certain brain chemicals is the key cause of depression.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers analyze inclusion/exclusion criteria used in antidepressant efficacy studies

Mark Zimmerman, M.D., a clinical researcher at Rhode Island Hospital, and his team analyzed the criteria used in antidepressant efficacy studies (AETs) and learned that the inclusion/exclusion criteria for AETs have narrowed over the past five years so that the most patients are excluded. The research was published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

13 Aug 2015

IQWiG dossier assessment finds no added benefit for vortioxetine in depression

Vortioxetine (trade name: Brintellix) has been approved since December 2013 for the treatment of depression in adults, but did not become actually available before May 2015. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from the dossier because it contained no data evaluable for the assessment.

12 Aug 2015

FDA accepts sNDA to review Brintellix clinical trial data for treatment of major depressive disorder

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for review to add clinical data regarding the effect of Brintellix (vortioxetine) on certain aspects of cognitive function in adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to the current product label.

11 Aug 2015

Benefits and risks of taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy

Treating maternal psychiatric disorder with commonly used antidepressants is associated with a lower risk of certain pregnancy complications including preterm birth and delivery by Caesarean section, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. However, the medications -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs -- resulted in an increased risk of neonatal problems.

4 Aug 2015

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Numerous genes that regulate the activity of a neurotransmitter in the brain have been found to be abundant in brain tissue of depressed females. This could be an underlying cause of the higher incidence of suicide among women, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

31 Jul 2015

IUPUI researchers receive NIH grant to study effect of depression treatment on cardiovascular disease

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers led by Jesse Stewart of the School of Science, have received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct the first randomized controlled trial to determine whether depression treatment can help prevent the development of cardiovascular disease.

31 Jul 2015

Psychotropic medication use widespread among older adults, new study finds

Older Americans receive prescriptions for mental health medications at more than twice the rate that younger adults do, a new study finds.

31 Jul 2015

Diagnosing psychiatric disorder may not be as important as prescribing effective treatment

Nailing the diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder may not be important in prescribing effective treatment, according to Mark Zimmerman, M.D., a clinical researcher at Rhode Island Hospital. His opinion editorial was published online today in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

24 Jul 2015

Study reveals potential new therapeutic target for depression treatment

Increasing the levels of a signaling molecule found in the brain can positively alter response to stress, revealing a potential new therapeutic target for treatment of depression, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers said.

22 Jul 2015

Antidepressant News and Research

Further Reading

Research examines effects of antidepressant use on health of mother and child

New findings on amitriptyline drug could help develop antidepressants with novel mechanisms

Antidepressants can increase depression, mood cycling in rapid-cycling bipolar disorder patients

Interpregnancy intervals may increase autism risk, shows Kaiser Permanente study

NIH-funded study may help predict treatment response in older adults with depression

Comprehensive review looks at safety, efficacy of treatment options for premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Common antidepressant can help stroke patients improve movement and coordination

FDA approves MagVenture MagVita TMS Therapy system for treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

Repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation can reduce frequency of nighttime bedwetting

New prescription smoking-cessation drug not helping smokers quit

Prion protein could play a role in depression

Researchers analyze inclusion/exclusion criteria used in antidepressant efficacy studies

IQWiG dossier assessment finds no added benefit for vortioxetine in depression

FDA accepts sNDA to review Brintellix clinical trial data for treatment of major depressive disorder

Benefits and risks of taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

IUPUI researchers receive NIH grant to study effect of depression treatment on cardiovascular disease

Psychotropic medication use widespread among older adults, new study finds

Diagnosing psychiatric disorder may not be as important as prescribing effective treatment

Study reveals potential new therapeutic target for depression treatment

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