Major Depressive Disorder News and Research

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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia (significant loss of interest or pleasure). The condition affects more than 15.7 million adults and approximately 3 million adolescents (aged 13 to 17 years) in the USA each year.

Weighted blanket intervention reduces insomnia severity

Weighted blankets are a safe and effective intervention in the treatment of insomnia, according to Swedish researchers who found that insomnia patients with psychiatric disorders experienced reduced insomnia severity, improved sleep and less daytime sleepiness when sleeping with a weighted chain blanket.

23 Sep 2020

Study highlights the need for new strategies to treat patients with treatment-resistant depression

Clinical trials happen in a highly controlled setting and while they are extremely useful in gathering robust information about drugs and how they work, there are many more variables that might affect how a drug works in a real-life setting outside of clinical trials e.g. different patient populations and environments.

21 Sep 2020

Scientists investigate how psychedelic drugs interact with brain cells at the molecular level

Psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline cause severe and often long-lasting hallucinations, but they show great potential in treating serious psychiatric conditions, such as major depressive disorder.

18 Sep 2020

First clinical trial launched to test psilocybin therapy for depression in cancer patients

The first clinical trial to test the safety and feasibility of psilocybin therapy with simultaneous administration and one-on-one patient support to treat depression in cancer patients was launched today by Maryland Oncology Hematology at the Aquilino Cancer Center at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center.

16 Sep 2020

Non-invasive test of brain function could predict treatment response in depressed teen girls

The risk of developing major depressive disorder (MDD) surges during adolescence-particularly for girls. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be an effective treatment, but only about half of girls diagnosed with depression show significant improvement.

16 Sep 2020

Measuring heart rate changes to detect depression risk

For the first time doctors have shown that measuring changes in 24-hour heart rate can reliably indicate whether or not someone is depressed.

11 Sep 2020

Feeling anxious and depressed? You’re right at home in California.

It's official, California: COVID-19 has left us sick with worry and increasingly despondent. And our youngest adults — ages 18 to 29 — are feeling it worst.

26 Aug 2020

Older adults with pre-existing depression exhibit resilience to stress during COVID-19

A study involving older adults with pre-existing major depressive disorder living in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, and St Louis found no increase in depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Aug 2020

Older adults with pre-existing depressive disorder exhibited resilience during COVID-19 pandemic

19 Aug 2020

Genetic variation influencing chromatin states associated with neuropsychiatric disorders

A new study led by NorthShore University HealthSystem and the University of Chicago took a novel approach to identifying SNPs influencing the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar and major depressive disorder, the institutions announced today.

4 Aug 2020

Anti-inflammatory Tetracycline activity may modulate COVID-19 severity

The current COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), seems to attack the human airway epithelium primarily. In severely affected patients, the illness progresses to hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The latter is treatable mainly by supportive management.

30 Jul 2020

Individuals exposed to early life stress more likely to develop youth-onset depression

A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), published by Elsevier, reports that individuals exposed to early life stress (ELS) were more likely to develop a major depressive disorder (MDD) in childhood or adolescence than individuals who had not been exposed to ELS.

15 Jul 2020

McLean Hospital study compares the costs and benefits of esketamine

A paper authored by researchers from McLean Hospital has determined that esketamine, a nasal spray to treat severe depression, is currently too expensive for widespread use.

13 Jul 2020

Magstim acquires Electrical Geodesics, Inc. (EGI) product portfolio

Magstim, the global leader in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), today announced an agreement to acquire the product portfolio of Electrical Geodesics, Inc. (EGI) from Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology.

From Magstim Inc. 6 Jul 2020

Study shows changes in brain dynamics at rest following a relationship breakup

During a person's life, the experience of a stressful life event can lead to the development of depressive symptoms, even in a non-clinical population.

21 Jun 2020

Researchers examine parental history of suicidal behavior in young children

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for persons ages 10-24. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), youth suicide rates have nearly tripled from 2007 to 2017.

12 Jun 2020

Fish oil may be an effective treatment for depression, study shows

A study published in Molecular Psychiatry shows that patient-derived adult stem cells can be used to model major depressive disorder and test how a patient may respond to medication.

11 Jun 2020

Effects of chronic stress associated with increased inflammatory signaling within brain circuits

Anxiety and depression are significantly heightened during times of great stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

4 Jun 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has worsened pre-existing mental health conditions

With over 6.26 million cases and 375,000 deaths in just five months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused great fear and devastation in many parts of the world. Many studies show that, generally, there has been an accompanying increase in fear, anxiety, and depressive symptoms during this period. Now, a new study published on the online preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 shows that patients with a history of mental ill-health often underwent a worsening of their symptoms with the onset of the pandemic.

1 Jun 2020

Schizophrenia related to abnormal fatty metabolism in the brain

Researchers discovered a brain deficiency in people with schizophrenia that could lead to development of new drug therapies.

28 Apr 2020