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.

Developmental timing shapes fluoxetine’s effects on brain energy and mood behavior

Researchers have found that the timing of when fluoxetine (commonly known by its brand name, Prozac) is administered is vital in determining the impact it has on long-lasting mood behavior and accompanying changes in the prefrontal cortex.

7 Jul 2025

Can saffron treat Alzheimer’s and depression?

Saffron shows promise as a natural treatment for depression and cognitive decline, performing as well as standard drugs in clinical trials. However, more rigorous studies are needed before saffron can be recommended in mainstream psychiatric and dementia care.

26 Jun 2025

Genetic markers show promise in predicting mood disorder treatment outcomes

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Thought Leaders Invited Review, researchers have synthesized findings from dozens of studies examining how genetic markers for mood disorders influence treatment outcomes and clinical features across major psychiatric conditions.

24 Jun 2025

Statins show no additional benefit for depression treatment

Lipid-lowering medicines, known as statins, are prescribed in cases of high cholesterol levels, to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.

4 Jun 2025

Stress-induced sleep may hold the key to faster recovery

A new Neuron perspective reveals that stress can both disrupt and promote sleep, with specific brain circuits making stress-induced sleep a potential tool for recovery. This insight may lead to innovative approaches for building resilience and treating stress-related disorders.

25 May 2025

Researchers prolong ketamine’s antidepressant benefits to two months

Roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population is afflicted with major depressive disorder at any given time, and up to 20 percent will exhibit MDD symptoms over their lifetimes.

22 May 2025

Long-term antidepressant use linked to higher risk of withdrawal symptoms

People who have been taking antidepressants for more than two years are substantially more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms compared to short-term users when they come off the medication, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

21 May 2025

Mount Sinai researchers explore new depression treatment targeting brain’s potassium channels

A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder, according to two complementary papers published recently by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

21 May 2025

REM sleep suppression linked to longer survival in ALS patients

During REM sleep, the body enters a state of paralysis. This can pose a danger for patients with weakened diaphragms due to neuromuscular diseases.

21 May 2025

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

Ten-year data confirm exercise is a powerful tool against depression

Researchers review how exercise influences depression in otherwise healthy adults.

7 May 2025

Gut bacteria and metabolites reveal depression-linked patterns in older adults

A cross-sectional study of 400 older adults with metabolic syndrome reveals that individuals with depression have distinct gut microbiota and metabolite profiles. Eight bacterial genera and 15 fecal metabolites were significantly associated with depression, suggesting a gut-brain axis link.

29 Apr 2025

New research moves toward personalized treatment for depression

Depression involves a complex interplay of psychological patterns, biological vulnerabilities and social stressors, making its causes and symptoms highly variable.

23 Apr 2025

New approach speeds up personalized cancer treatment for young patients

A pan-Canadian team has developed a new way to quickly find personalized treatments for young cancer patients, by growing their tumors in chicken eggs and analyzing their proteins.

1 Apr 2025

Antidepressant use associated with higher risk of sudden cardiac death in all age groups

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) refers to an unexpected death of a person, believed to be caused by a heart-related issue. It occurs within one hour of the onset of symptoms in witnessed cases or within 24 hours of the person being last seen alive in unwitnessed cases.

31 Mar 2025