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.

Study establishes direct link between morphine abstinence and depressive-like symptoms

Opiate abuse is a chronic disorder and maintaining abstinence represents a major challenge for addicts.

1 Feb 2011

Patients with chronic depression can benefit from pioneering neurosurgical treatment

Pioneering neurosurgical treatment, a world first in Bristol, which very accurately targets brain networks involved in depression, could help people who suffer with severe and intractable depression.

25 Jan 2011

FDA approves Clinical Data's Viibryd for major depressive disorder

Clinical Data, Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vilazodone HCl tablets, to be marketed under the brand name Viibryd™, for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).

24 Jan 2011

PGxHealth receives FDA approval for Viibryd tablets to treat major depressive disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Viibryd tablets (vilazodone hydrochloride) to treat major depressive disorder in adults.

24 Jan 2011

Health Canada approves Labopharm's OLEPTRO for treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

Labopharm Inc. today announced that Health Canada's Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) has approved OLEPTRO, a novel once-daily formulation of the antidepressant trazodone, for the symptomatic relief of Major Depressive Disorder in adults.

21 Jan 2011

Antidepressant medication reduces frequency and severity of menopausal hot flashes

Women who were either in the transition to menopause or postmenopausal experienced a reduction in the frequency and severity of menopausal hot flashes with the use of the antidepressant medication escitalopram, compared to women who received placebo, according to a study in the January 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Jan 2011

Study elaborates relationship between obesity and MDD-R, long-term use of ADs

This study demonstrates that patients using antidepressants continuously, mostly serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors, show significantly more overweight and obesity than those using them intermittently or not at all.

18 Jan 2011

6.3% of surgeons report suicidal thoughts

As many as one in 16 surgeons reported having suicidal thoughts in the previous year, but few sought help from a mental health clinician, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Jan 2011

Stigma remains over Major Depressive Disorder

Despite there being 39.1 million people suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) across the seven major markets, only one third of patients will seek help from a physician, finds latest research from independent analyst Datamonitor.

11 Jan 2011

CeNeRx commences TriRima Phase II trial for treatment resistant depression

CeNeRx BioPharma, today reported that it has initiated a Phase II trial of its new formulation of TriRima, the company's novel antidepressant in development as monotherapy for treatment resistant depression.

7 Jan 2011

Study: Antibiotics can provide long-lasting relief to patients with irritable bowel syndrome

A ground-breaking antibiotic therapy developed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is the first potential drug treatment to provide irritable bowel syndrome patients with long-lasting relief of their symptoms even after they stop taking the medication, according to a study published in the Jan. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

6 Jan 2011

Bright light therapy for the aged depressed: Study

A new study shows that exposure to bright light may ease symptoms of depression in elderly people. The researchers tried three weeks of bright light therapy using specially designed light boxes and saw that it improved symptoms of depression by as much as 54% in older adults with depression. The light therapy also improved sleep and optimized levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and often targeted by antidepressant drugs. This is the first study of its kind to show a beneficial effect of bright light therapy on treating depression in the elderly with non-seasonal major depressive disorder.

5 Jan 2011

Bupropion and varenicline help curb cigarette craving

The smoking cessation medications bupropion and varenicline may both be associated with changes in the way the brain reacts to smoking cues, making it easier for patients to resist cravings, according to two reports posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

Depression and diabetes linked to increased risk of death from heart disease in women

Depression and diabetes appear to be associated with a significantly increased risk of death from heart disease and risk of death from all causes over a six-year period for women, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

Labopharm monetizes future royalty payment stream for RYZOLT through subsidiary

Labopharm Inc. today announced that, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Labopharm Europe Limited, it has monetized the expected future royalty payment stream for RYZOLT(TM) (once-daily tramadol).

3 Jan 2011

General anesthesia's similarities with and differences from sleep and coma

The use of general anesthesia is a routine part of surgical operations at hospitals and medical facilities around the world, but the precise biological mechanisms that underlie anesthetic drugs' effects on the brain and the body are only beginning to be understood. A review article in the December 30 New England Journal of Medicine brings together for the first time information from a range of disciplines, including neuroscience and sleep medicine, to lay the groundwork for more comprehensive investigations of processes underlying general anesthesia.

30 Dec 2010

Clue to the blues that come with the flu

Vanderbilt University researchers may have found a clue to the blues that can come with the flu - depression may be triggered by the same mechanisms that enable the immune system to respond to infection.

21 Dec 2010

Antidepressants may have adverse effect on elders when prescribed for the first time

More than half of older Americans who were prescribed antidepressants for the first time were already taking a medication that could adversely interact with the antidepressant, according to a new study from Thomson Reuters.

17 Dec 2010

Omega-3 EPA or combination of EPA and DHA provide clear antidepressant benefits

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago completed a review of previously published research on antidepressant benefits of Omega-3 essential fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The review comprised a meta-analysis of 15 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in patients with depression and results were presented at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

16 Dec 2010

Medication for depression ended before recommended time

Swedish women's use of antidepressants is twice as high as that of Swedish men. However, among both female and male new users, one fifth fills only one prescription. "This can be an indication of choices being made to end treatment before the recommended time," says researcher Karolina Andersson Sundell at the Nordic School of Public Health.

10 Dec 2010