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.

Women and older adults at increased risk of dangerous drug interactions

A new study led by researchers at Indiana University has found that women and older adults who use multiple prescription drugs are significantly more likely to be prescribed pills whose combination produces dangerous side effects.

12 Aug 2019

Exercise and increased physical activity are effective for prevention, treatment of depression

Exercise training and increased physical activity are effective for both prevention and treatment of depression, concludes a research review in the August issue of Current Sports Medicine Reports, official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

12 Aug 2019

Evidence shows ketamine is not opioid and can treat depression easily

Ketamine’s reputation as an antidepressant is restored; it’s not an opioid.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 1 Aug 2019

Resveratrol shows promise for anxiety and depression

A new study has shown that the compound resveratrol found in red wine demonstrates stress relieving effects in anxiety and depression. This could be due to resveratrol’s ability to control an enzyme in the brain that is liked to stress say the researchers from the University at Buffalo in collaboration with Xuzhou Medical University in China.

29 Jul 2019

Plant compound found in red wine displays anti-stress effects

Like to unwind with a glass of red wine after a stressful day? Don't give alcohol all the credit.

26 Jul 2019

Obstructive sleep apnea may be one reason for treatment-resistant depression

When someone is depressed and having suicidal thoughts or their depression treatment just isn't working, their caregivers might want to check to see if they have obstructive sleep apnea, investigators say.

23 Jul 2019

Researchers report how a popular antidepressant drug could rewire the brain

Prozac, the trade name for the drug fluoxetine, was introduced to the U.S. market for the treatment of depression in 1988.

10 Jul 2019

Individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions

A new study in marmoset monkeys suggests that individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions, providing new insights that could help in the development of personalized therapies to tackle anxiety and depression.

3 Jul 2019

Antidepressant treatment leads to impaired empathy regarding perception of pain

Antidepressant treatment, not only depression per se, can lead to reductions in behavioral and neural responses to pain empathy

18 Jun 2019

Weighing risks and benefits of antidepressant medication for older adults

Depression is a common and serious problem for older adults. Some 15 to 20 percent of people aged 65 and older who live independently deal with symptoms of major depressive disorder.

12 Jun 2019

FDA overlooked red flags in drugmaker’s testing of new depression medicine

Ketamine is a darling of combat medics and clubgoers, an anesthetic that can quiet your pain without suppressing breathing and a hallucinogenic that can get you high with little risk of a fatal overdose.

11 Jun 2019

NIH funds clinical trials to assess applicability of genomics for treating chronic diseases

The National Institutes of Health will fund clinical trials to assess the benefits, applicability and efficacy of applying genomic medicine interventions to improve management of diseases such as high blood pressure, depression and chronic pain.

6 Jun 2019

Diabetes drug reduces anxiety-like behaviors in mice

The antidiabetic medication metformin reduces anxiety-like behaviors in male mice by increasing serotonin availability in the brain, according to a study published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 4 Jun 2019

Is it a feminist right to want more sex? One company thinks a pill is the answer

Studies have never defined a "normal" level of sexual desire. Despite that, there's a website and an online quiz to help you decide if you've got a problem. Called "Right to Desire," it brands libido as a feminist "right," and its home page offers the defiant, in-your-face prompt: "Yes, I want my desire back."

11 May 2019

Finnish researchers discover gene mutation that reduces fear, anxiety and increases social interaction

Finnish researchers at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oulu have discovered of a new type of gene mutation that reduces fear and anxiety, and increases social interaction.

3 May 2019

Researchers find potential link between autism and antidepressant use during pregnancy

An international team led by Duke-NUS Medical School has found a potential link between autistic-like behavior in adult mice and exposure to a common antidepressant in the womb.

30 Apr 2019

Researchers use nitrous oxide to unravel rapid function of antidepressant mechanisms

Ketamine is commonly used in emergency medicine as an anesthetic drug. Later it was discovered to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects, but the mechanisms by which ketamine alleviates depression are still unknown.

29 Apr 2019

Scientists develop maps of two melatonin receptors vital for sleep, other biological processes

An international team of researchers used an X-ray laser at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to create the first detailed maps of two melatonin receptors that tell our bodies when to go to sleep or wake up and guide other biological processes.

26 Apr 2019

Researchers identify ketamine-induced neural changes responsible for remission of depression

Researchers have identified ketamine-induced brain-related changes that are responsible for maintaining the remission of behaviors related to depression in mice -- findings that may help researchers develop interventions that promote lasting remission of depression in humans.

12 Apr 2019

Workings of ketamine in depressive illness decoded

Researchers have now found the exact mechanism of how the drug works in the brains of individuals with depression and can keep the symptoms down for more than a week.