Antidepressant News and Research

RSS

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.

PharmaDirections congratulates Orexigen on FDA Advisory approval for Contrave

PharmaDirections congratulates Orexigen Therapeutics on achieving FDA Advisory Board approval for their anti-obesity drug Contrave™. PharmaDirections is proud to have been Orexigen's pharmaceutical development partner and to have developed and produced the first Contrave™ product to undergo full clinical development.

10 Dec 2010

Rexahn presents data from Serdaxin Phase IIa study at 49th ACNP Annual Meeting

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, today announced the presentation of data from its proof of concept study with lead CNS compound Serdaxin® at the 49th American College of Neuropsychopharmacologists (ACNP) Annual Meeting, held in Miami Beach, FL, December 5-9, 2010 at the Fountainbleau Resort.

9 Dec 2010

Euthymics announces EB-1010 Phase II data for major depressive disorder at ACNP meeting

9 Dec 2010

Euthymics's EB-1010 effective in treatment of major depressive disorder: Study

Euthymics Bioscience, Inc. today will present Phase II clinical data demonstrating that its lead product candidate EB-1010, a next-generation antidepressant, is effective for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) based on multiple standard measures of outcome for depression. EB-1010 also improved measures of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of MDD, which is characterized by the inability to experience pleasure.

9 Dec 2010

Omega-3 fatty acids have antidepressant properties: Study

A new analysis of the effects of omega-3 essential fatty acids offers the hope of enhanced treatment options for tens of millions of people with depression. Two critical omega-3 essential fatty acids available from certain food or nutritional supplements but not manufactured by the body—Eicosapentenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) — play a role in optimal brain functioning and have antidepressant benefits that have not been fully recognized.

8 Dec 2010

Psychotic depression: the reason for treatment failure with antidepressants

A new study shows that patients with depression who also have psychotic-like symptoms, feelings of being persecuted, or believing others are plotting against them or hearing voices are less likely to respond to antidepressants. The study also showed that bipolar disorder does not appear to be associated with treatment resistance in patients with depression as believed earlier.

7 Dec 2010

Contrave, new weight loss pill gets FDA panel nod

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel yesterday recommended the approval of Orexigen Therapeutics’ weight loss drug Contrave. This is the first time a weight loss drug has received the nod. The vote went 13 to 7 for Contrave’s approval and 11 to 8, with an abstention that additional studies be conducted on heart risks. Although experts agree to risks they believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Although the FDA is not compelled to go with the panel’s recommendation, it more often than not does. The FDA will deliver its verdict by Jan. 31 2011.

7 Dec 2010

Breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen anxious to have CYP2D6 genetic test

While the medical community continues to debate the benefits of CYP2D6 genetic testing for women on the breast cancer treatment tamoxifen, patients using the medication are anxious to have the tests. According to a new survey of more than 700 women with breast cancer currently taking tamoxifen, almost 80 percent of respondents would choose to have a genetic test that determines CYP2D6 genotype, yet only 14 percent of these women have been tested. CYP2D6 is an enzyme that influences how well the body processes tamoxifen into its more active form.

7 Dec 2010

Frisky old men - still keen and active: Sex study

According to the latest Australian study, men at 75 and older have not said good bye to their sex lives yet. They found that nearly one third of these older men were sexually active at least once a year -- including about 1 in 10 men aged 90 to 95. Many of these men have agreed that they would want more of sex and those not sexually active are blaming health issues, low testosterone or lack of partners. The findings appear in the Dec. 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

6 Dec 2010

Quit smoking to lift mood: Study

The latest research has shown that quitting smoking not only helps ease depression, but also increases the level of happiness. Researchers at Brown University studied 236 men and women in total who were trying to quite smoking. They looked at physical as well as mental impact of kicking the habit on these people.

5 Dec 2010

Quitting smoking eases symptoms of depression

Quitting smoking is certainly healthy for the body, but doctors and scientists haven't been sure whether quitting makes people happier, especially since conventional wisdom says many smokers use cigarettes to ease anxiety and depression. In a new study, researchers tracked the symptoms of depression in people who were trying to quit and found that they were never happier than when they were being successful, for however long that was.

3 Dec 2010

New brain imaging technique can trace effects of SYN115 drug in Parkinson's disease

Neuroscientists using a new brain imaging technique could see an investigational drug for Parkinson's disease get into a patient's brain and affect blood flow in several key structures, an indicator the drug may be effective.

1 Dec 2010

CAMH neuroscientists develop novel protein peptide for targeted treatment of depression

Neuroscientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have developed a protein peptide that may be a novel type of highly targeted treatment for depression with a low side-effect profile. Depression affects one in ten Canadians at some time in their lives and is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

30 Nov 2010

FDA warning leads to decrease in antidepressant prescribing for young patients

An FDA warning regarding increased suicide risk in children and teens taking antidepressant drugs has led to an overall decrease in antidepressant prescribing for young patients, reports a study in the November issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

24 Nov 2010

VYTORIN reduces major vascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease

In a new investigational study of VYTORIN, the cholesterol-lowering medicine from Merck, VYTORIN 10/20 mg reduced the incidence of first major vascular events defined as non-fatal heart attacks or cardiac death, stroke or any revascularization procedure by a highly statistically significant 16.1 percent compared to placebo, Study of Heart and Renal Protection study involved more than 9,000 patients who, on average, had advanced or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD)

22 Nov 2010

Naurex's antidepressant shares efficacy mechanisms with NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine

Naurex Inc., a company developing innovative treatments to address unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology, today reported that data presented at Neuroscience 2010 show that GLYX-13, its clinical-stage candidate for the treatment of depression, shares key mechanistic features associated with the antidepressant efficacy of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine.

18 Nov 2010

Neuralstem files NSI-189 IND with FDA for Phase I safety trials for major depression

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin two Phase I safety trials to test NSI-189, its first small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depression. NSI-189 is a proprietary new chemical entity discovered by Neuralstem that stimulates new neuron growth in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is believed to be involved in depression.

18 Nov 2010

New animal research identifies factors that may play key roles in depression

New animal research has identified factors, such as the stress response and immune system, that may play important roles in depression. Scientists have also found that the regulation of nerve cell signals influences depression in animals, and that new drug combinations may more effectively treat it. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.

17 Nov 2010

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Optivia Biotechnology Inc., a leading provider of in vitro transporter assay services, today announced that the company and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an innovative system for characterizing the role transporter proteins play in the disposition of drugs by the liver.

16 Nov 2010

Labopharm receives notice about Activis' ANDA for OLEPTRO

Labopharm Inc. today announced that on November 11, 2010 it received notice from Actavis South Atlantic LLC advising that Actavis has submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval to market 150 and 300 mg generic versions of OLEPTRO (trazodone hydrochloride extended-release 150 and 300 mg tablets) in the United States.

15 Nov 2010