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.

Study: Genetic mutation in mice elevates risk of stress-induced depression

Depression and schizophrenia can be triggered by environmental stimuli and often occur in response to stressful life events. However, some people have a higher predisposition to develop these diseases, which highlights a role for genetics in determining a person's disease risk.

6 Apr 2010

Bright light therapy box for SAD, depression, bipolar disorder and sleep problems

Alaska Northern Lights manufactures a bright light therapy box that aids in treating chronic health problems such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, bipolar disorder and sleep problems. Sufferers of SAD, a form of clinical depression, include up to 25 percent of those living in northern latitudes who experience varying degrees of SAD during winter months when there is less natural light. Night shift workers are also susceptible to SAD which affects over one third of the population, or about 10.8 million Americans.

31 Mar 2010

PMDD often misdiagnosed as major depression or other mood disorder

As science slowly, but continually, unravels the causes of disorders, it increasingly teases apart biological threads that, when spooled together, begin to take on the warp and weft of separate disorders.

31 Mar 2010

Clinical Data completes NDA submission for vilazodone

Clinical Data, Inc., today announced that the Company has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for vilazodone for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Vilazodone is a dual-acting potent and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist. The Company expects that the NDA submission, if accepted, will be subject to a standard review.

23 Mar 2010

Hercules Technology Growth Capital commits over $52.0M in structured debt financing

Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc., the leading specialty finance company providing venture debt and equity to venture capital and private equity-backed technology and life science companies at all stages of development, today announced that it has committed over $52.0 million in structured debt financing to new and existing portfolio companies.

19 Mar 2010

Moderating treatment response in depression: Role of personality factors

A study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics addresses the role of personality factors in moderating treatment response in depression.

8 Mar 2010

Study indicates GABA neurotransmitters could play a key role in major depressive disorder

The next advance in treating major depression may relate to a group of brain chemicals that are involved in virtually all our brain activity, according to a study published today in Biological Psychiatry.

2 Mar 2010

Study challenges psychiatrists' official diagnostic manual in preventing mistaken diagnoses of depression

A study in the March edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry senior-authored by Jerome C. Wakefield, a professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University with Mark Schmitz of Temple University and Judith Baer of Rutgers University, empirically challenges the effectiveness of psychiatrists' official diagnostic manual in preventing mistaken, false-positive diagnoses of depression.

25 Feb 2010

Fisher Wallace Cranial Stimulator prescribed to patients suffering from depression, anxiety and insomnia

Fisher Wallace Laboratories today announced that two psychiatry professors at Columbia University, Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Andres San Martin, have prescribed the Fisher Wallace Cranial Stimulator to more than 250 patients suffering from depression, anxiety and insomnia.

25 Feb 2010

Religious belief can reduce depression symptoms

Research suggests that religious belief can help protect against symptoms of depression, but a study at Rush University Medical Center goes one step further.

24 Feb 2010

Watson Laboratories files ANDA for generic Aplenzin ER in treatment of major depressive disorder

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc.- Florida, filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to market its 174 mg and 348 mg strength bupropion hydrobromide tablets prior to the expiration of patents owned by Biovail. Watson's 174 mg and 348 mg strength bupropion hydrobromide tablet products are generic versions of Biovail's Aplenzin™ ER, which is indicated for major depressive disorder.

23 Feb 2010

Study shows prevalence of depression among low-income urban mothers

More than half of low-income urban mothers met the criteria for a diagnosis of depression at some point between two weeks and 14 months after giving birth, according to a study led by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers and published online by the journal Pediatrics.

19 Feb 2010

Positive results from Naurex's Phase I clinical trial of GLYX-13 reported

Naurex Inc., a clinical stage company developing innovative treatments for depression and other CNS disorders based on its novel glycine site functional partial agonist (GFPA) NMDA receptor modulators, today reported positive top-line results from its Phase I clinical trial of lead compound GLYX-13.

10 Feb 2010

Women with low levels of income are susceptible to anxiety and depression after diagnosed with DCIS

A new analysis has found that women with medium or low levels of income are particularly susceptible to anxiety and depression after being diagnosed with the precancerous breast condition, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

8 Feb 2010

Acupuncture viable for treatment of depression during pregnancy

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings that show that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.

4 Feb 2010

FDA approves Labopharm's OLEPTRO antidepressant for MDD

Labopharm Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OLEPTRO(TM) (trazodone hydrochloride) Extended Release Tablets, a novel once-daily formulation of the antidepressant trazodone, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. OLEPTRO(TM) utilizes CONTRAMID(R), Labopharm's clinically validated technology that controls the release of active substances within oral medications.

3 Feb 2010

Study indicates majority of physicians are not following DSM-IV guidelines for major depressive disorder

A new study led by Mark Zimmerman, MD, of Rhode Island Hospital indicates that a majority of non-psychiatrist physicians and a substantial minority of psychiatrists reported that they often do not use the criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) when diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients. The study appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

3 Feb 2010

Genetic mutations may trigger suicidal behavior in depressed patients

Single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

Regular exercise and drinking tea may reduce depression in breast cancer patients

Breast cancer patients who exercise and drink tea on a regular basis may be less likely to suffer from depression than other patients, according to a new study led by Xiao Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Xiaoli Chen, M.D., a post-doctoral fellow, was first author of the study published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

28 Jan 2010

Seroquel XR's FDA approval does not change Decision Resources' earlier antipsychotics market forecast

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant approval of AstraZeneca's Seroquel XR for adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder will not change Decision Resources' market forecast for the indication. As previously forecasted, Seroquel and Seroquel XR will garner nearly one quarter of antipsychotics sales as adjunctive treatments for major depressive disorder in 2013 in the world's major pharmaceutical markets.