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.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer

A study in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer and confirmed that longer nocturnal wake episodes were associated with a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.

15 Oct 2008

Experts say heart patients should be screened for depression

The American Heart Association says heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health.

30 Sep 2008

Antidepressants can affect male fertility

Researchers in the United States have linked commonly used antidepressants to a reduction in some men's fertility.

25 Sep 2008

Sex differences found in response to common antidepressant

Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds. But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms.

31 Aug 2008

Potential new targets for antidepressants

The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. Thus, there is a significant need for new treatment mechanisms for depression. On that front, there has been mixed news as well.

27 Aug 2008

Antidepressants can affect a person's driving ability

A new study has raised serious concerns about how some people prescribed antidepressants are affected by the drugs.

18 Aug 2008

Antidepressants may impair driving ability

People taking prescription antidepressants appear to drive worse than people who aren't taking such drugs, and depressed people on antidepressants have even more trouble concentrating and reacting behind the wheel.

17 Aug 2008

How anti-depressants and cocaine interact with brain

In a first, scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center have described the specifics of how brain cells process antidepressant drugs, cocaine and amphetamines. These novel findings could prove useful in the development of more targeted medication therapies for a host of psychiatric diseases, most notably in the area of addiction.

28 Jul 2008

Study shows promising results in deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression

New data from a study of patients with treatment-resistant depression who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subcallosal cingulate region (SCG or Cg25) of the brain shows that this intervention is generally safe and provides significant improvement in patients as early as one month after treatment. The patients also experienced continued and sustained improvement over time.

21 Jul 2008

Wyeth and Impax settle Effexor XR patent case

Wyeth and Impax Laboratories Inc. today announced that all conditions of a settlement of the U.S. patent infringement litigation pertaining to Impax's proposed generic capsule formulation of Wyeth's Effexor XR antidepressant have been approved by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

17 Jul 2008

Variations in the serotonin transporter gene may determine who responds best to antidepressant

A new Mayo Clinic study shows that variations in the serotonin transporter gene could explain why some people with depression respond better than others to treatment with citalopram (Celexa), an antidepressant medication.

14 Jul 2008

Stopping drinking may lead to health problems including depression

Scientific evidence has long suggested that moderate drinking offers some protection against heart disease, certain types of stroke and some forms of cancer.

8 Jul 2008

Hunger hormone ghrelin increases during stress, may have antidepressant effect

New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center may explain why some people who are stressed or depressed overeat.

24 Jun 2008

Walgreen agrees to pay $35 million to settle allegations of improper medication switches for Medicaid beneficiaries

Walgreen has agreed to pay $35 million to settle allegations that the company improperly switched the form of generic medications prescribed to Medicaid beneficiaries to receive higher reimbursements from the program, the Hartford Courant reports (Levick, Hartford Courant, 6/5).

8 Jun 2008