Depressive Disorder News and Research

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GLP-1 receptor agonists improve mood and metabolic health in adults with mental illness

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) can lead to significant weight loss and improve blood sugar control in adults with severe mental illness, as well as having positive effects on mood, well-being, and quality of life in those both with and without mental illness, according to a systematic review of the available evidence being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May).

11 May 2025

Eating disorders affect all races and genders on college campuses

What does a person with an eating disorder look like? The picture may not be as clear-cut as many people think.

8 May 2025

Norwegian study shows teens who move more cut their depression risk

Norwegian researchers found that increasing physical activity in adolescence reduces future depression risk, especially from ages 14 to 18. Within-person analysis showed that higher activity protected against depressive symptoms, while sedentary time had no such effect.

6 May 2025

Ultra-processed foods increase risk of anxiety and depression, study shows

A large UK Biobank study linked ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption to increased risks of anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, and other mental health outcomes. A metabolomic signature associated with UPF intake partially mediated these relationships, especially in adults under 60.

5 May 2025

High certainty and large rewards boost motivation in formerly depressed individuals

New research shows that individuals who have recovered from depression are generally less willing to exert effort to pursue potential rewards compared to those who have never experienced depression, unless the rewards are large and highly likely.

1 May 2025

Study illuminates a general principle of neural processing in the brain’s serotonin system

Our lives are filled with binary decisions – choices between one of two alternatives. But what's really happening inside our brains when we engage in this kind of decision making?

25 Apr 2025

Study: Mental health providers often miss bulimia diagnosis

When presented with a vignette describing the behaviors and characteristics of a patient with disordered eating, only a quarter of mental health providers who participated in a new study were able to correctly diagnose bulimia nervosa.

1 Apr 2025

Novel PET imaging method quantifies brain inflammation enzyme

A novel PET imaging approach can effectively quantify a key enzyme associated with brain inflammation, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

28 Mar 2025

AI-powered therapy chatbot shows significant mental health benefits

Dartmouth researchers conducted the first clinical trial of a therapy chatbot powered by generative AI and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants' symptoms, according to results published March 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine AI.

27 Mar 2025

The Colorado psychedelic mushroom experiment has arrived

Colorado regulators are issuing licenses for providing psychedelic mushrooms and are planning to authorize the state's first "healing centers," where the mushrooms can be ingested under supervision, in late spring or early summer.

24 Mar 2025

Eating ultra-processed foods harms your gut—here’s how inflammation takes hold

Ultra-processed foods disrupt gut microbiome balance, causing inflammation, reduced microbial diversity, and increased gut permeability. This microbiome imbalance contributes to chronic diseases including diabetes, IBD, cancer, and neurological disorders.

6 Mar 2025

Researchers assess how isolation and alcohol exposure alter ketamine intake

Ketamine can effectively treat depression, but whether depressed patients with alcohol use disorder can safely use ketamine repeatedly remains unclear clinically.

24 Feb 2025

Exploring the link between cholestasis and depression

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. The prevalence of depressive-like behavior is significantly higher in patients with cholestatic liver disease, leading to a notable reduction in the quality of life.

23 Feb 2025

Exploring ketamine's potential in the fight against treatment-resistant depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with a significant proportion of patients (10-20%) progressing to treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

19 Feb 2025

Psychedelic treatments show promise for treating PTSD and depression

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is leading ground-breaking clinical research that has the potential to transform treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.

14 Feb 2025

Study identifies novel enhancers linked to neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuropsychiatric disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent. Given their complex and multifactorial pathogenesis, there is an urgent need for effective and targeted therapies that can improve patients' quality of life.

13 Feb 2025

Acoustic voice signals aid in identifying comorbid anxiety and depression

It's no secret that there is a mental health crisis in the United States. As of 2021, 8.3% adults had major depressive disorder (MDD) and 19.1% had anxiety disorders (AD), and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these statistics.

4 Feb 2025

People with alcohol use disorder and depression report high pleasure from drinking

A new study from the University of Chicago Medicine reveals that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure when intoxicated, similar to drinkers who do not have depression.

4 Feb 2025

Study aims to explore structural alterations in the brains of people with bipolar disorder

A new study, led by USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI), will explore structural alterations in the brains of people with bipolar disorder (BD), a chronic mental illness with one of the highest rates of attempted suicide - and for which no biological tools currently exist to guide diagnosis or treatment.

29 Jan 2025

New genomic insights could transform bipolar disorder treatment

Study published in Nature identifies nearly 300 genomic regions associated with bipolar disorder, and 36 key genes involved in the disease.

23 Jan 2025