Depression

Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life.

Clinical Depression: Diagnosis, Causes & Treatment

Depression is a clinical condition that, contrary to popular opinion, cannot simply be overcome with time and it needs to be treated.

Causes of Depression

How Does Your Diet Affect Depression?

Depression Diagnosis

Genes and Depression

Symptoms of Depression

Treatment of Depression

Depression in children

How Can I Tell if My Child is Depressed?

How is Depression in Children Diagnosed?

Treatment Options for Children with Depression

Contributing Factors to Post-Adoption Depression

See more featured articles »

Ghrelin and Depression

Prisoner Depression and Low Mood

Intrusive Thoughts and Depression

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

Depression and Sleep Length

Link Between Chronic Illness and Depression

Situational Depression: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Can Depression and Anxiety Occur Together?

Antidepressants and Weight Changes

Latest Depression News and Research

Psychological and physical impacts of childhood sexual abuse are closely tied, shows study

A new Canadian study reveals that the psychological and physical effects of childhood sexual abuse are closely tied.

22 Sep 2020

Fertility treatment suspensions during COVID-19 has a negative impact on mental health

The suspension of fertility treatments due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a variety of psychological impacts on women whose treatments were cancelled, but there are several protective factors that can be fostered to help in the future, according to a new study by Jennifer Gordon and Ashley Balsom of University of Regina, Canada, published 18 September in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

22 Sep 2020

People with severe dementia are unaware of COVID-19 outbreak, indicates study

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has substantially affected patients with dementia and their caregivers.

21 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

Type 1 diabetes is associated with increased risk of falls

New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year (21-25 September), shows that having type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with a 33% increase in the risk of falls compared with the general population, while having type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a 19% increased risk of falls.

21 Sep 2020

Evidence-based approaches improve employment outcomes after spinal cord injury

Researchers at Kessler Foundation authored a new article, "Employment after spinal cord injury," (DOI: 10.1007/s40141-020-00266-4), published by Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports on May 24, 2020.

19 Sep 2020

U.S. adults experienced increased mental health issues as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed

U.S. adults increasingly experienced symptoms associated with acute stress and depression as COVID-19 cases and deaths skyrocketed between mid-March and mid-April 2020, according to a study of more than 6,500 people from three large, nationally representative cohorts.

19 Sep 2020

Rising stress and depressive symptoms linked to pandemic-related losses, media consumption

Experiencing multiple stressors triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic – such as unemployment – and COVID-19-related media consumption are directly linked to rising acute stress and depressive symptoms across the U.S., according to a groundbreaking University of California, Irvine study.

19 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

Study finds potential target for migraine therapy

Migraines affect millions of people worldwide, often lasting days and severely disrupting lives. More than simply super-intense headaches, some migraines actually result from pathological excitation of neurons in the brain.

17 Sep 2020

Study: Elevated adverse mental health conditions are associated with COVID-19

Social isolation. Financial worries. They're two unfortunate realities causing great anxiety for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also may raise the risk of death by suicide.

17 Sep 2020

Children who experience neglect are more likely to have teen pregnancy

Children who experience neglect are seven times more likely than other abuse victims to have a teen pregnancy say University of Queensland researchers.

17 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

Physical diseases increase risk of being hospitalized with depression

Patients with a first-time depression diagnosis have an increased risk of the disease worsening and requiring hospitalization, if they have previously been treated for a physical disease at a hospital.

16 Sep 2020

Researchers develop protein-based biosensor for multiplex imaging of neurotransmitter

In 2018, Lin Tian and her team at UC Davis Health developed dLight1, a single fluorescent protein-based biosensor. This family of highly specific sensors detects dopamine, a hormone released by neurons to send signals to other nerve cells.

16 Sep 2020

Researchers receive NIH grant to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on heart disease patients

A University of Illinois Chicago research study on how to improve care for heart disease patients struggling with hopelessness has been supplemented by the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, to determine whether the study intervention called "Heart Up!" limits the negative impact of COVID-19 shelter-in-place and physical distancing measures on health outcomes.

16 Sep 2020