Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Review article looks at recent research about insomnia among American soldiers

Various behavioral treatment options are helping to treat the sleeplessness experienced by one in every two American soldiers who have been deployed in recent military operations. So says Dr. Adam Bramoweth of the Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and Dr. Anne Germain of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US.

17 Oct 2013

New England publishes results of phase III clinical trial of ABRAXANE for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Celgene International Sàrl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation , today announced the results of the MPACT phase III clinical trial of ABRAXANE® in combination with gemcitabine were published online in the October 16th edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Oct 2013

SAGE Therapeutics obtains $20M Series B financing from two investors

SAGE Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines to treat central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announced a $20 million Series B financing from investors ARCH Venture Partners and Third Rock Ventures, bringing the total raised to $57.8 million since launch in 2011.

16 Oct 2013

Proper sleep helps maintain a healthy lifestyle

Three new studies show just how critical it is for adults to seek treatment for a sleep illness and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

16 Oct 2013

Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic patients less likely to experience metabolic syndrome remission

The impact of bariatric surgery on risk factors for cardiovascular disease depends on a variety of factors, including the type of surgery, sex of the patient, ethnic background, and pre-surgery body mass index, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Annals of Surgery.

16 Oct 2013

Support structures do little to alleviate depressive symptoms among mothers of low-income families

Being married or having the support of neighbors to rely on does little to alleviate the symptoms of depression associated with economic hardship often experienced by poor mothers. With these findings, published in Springer's American Journal of Community Psychology, Sharon Kingston of Dickinson College in the US challenges the growing perception that marriage and other forms of interpersonal support can buffer the negative effects of poverty.

16 Oct 2013

Genetics professor turns accidental discovery into a way to study TBI

Faced with news of suicides and brain damage in former professional football players, geneticist Barry Ganetzky bemoaned the lack of model systems for studying the insidious and often delayed consequences linked to head injuries.

16 Oct 2013

Mindfulness-based intervention leads to drop in blood pressure

Blood pressure is effectively lowered by mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients with borderline high blood pressure or "prehypertension." This finding is reported in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Oct 2013

Ghrelin hormone released during chronic stress may predispose people to PTSD

About a dozen years ago, scientists discovered that a hormone called ghrelin enhances appetite. Dubbed the "hunger hormone," ghrelin was quickly targeted by drug companies seeking treatments for obesity - none of which have yet panned out.

16 Oct 2013

Sexual dysfunction ‘ignored in COPD’

Researchers say that physicians should address sexual issues in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a matter of course, after finding that over three-quarters of men with the condition have some level of erectile dysfunction.

15 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Marketplaces' 'technical foibles' may keep young people from coming back; health law may be ushering in era of narrow networks

The encouraging view is that the overwhelming number of visitors to the site indicates high demand for insurance in the new system. That's critical, because the more people who participate, the better the system works. The danger is that the technical foibles since Oct. 1 will discourage people from coming back, particularly the young and healthy customers the system needs to keep rates reasonable. With some big deadlines approaching, the Obama administration needs to fix the bugs, and fast. People who need insurance from the federal marketplace have until mid-December to buy coverage that begins Jan. 1. If enrollment figures aren't robust by then, the new health-care system will have a problem even bigger than a frustrating Web (10/11).

15 Oct 2013

Modeling, identifying predictors of Parkinson's disease with stem cells

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute has entered into a partnership with the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative to build resources for studying Parkinson's disease to accelerate new treatments. Sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, PPMI is a landmark effort to identify and validate biomarkers of Parkinson's disease.

15 Oct 2013

Binge drinking during pregnancy linked to negative emotions

Researchers in Norway found that negative affectivity is linked to light alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy. Results published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, a journal of the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology, show 16% of women had light alcohol use in the first trimester and 10% in the second trimester.

15 Oct 2013

Clinical depression common in elderly men with LUTS

A study of Chinese elderly men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms shows that they are significantly more likely to experience clinical depression than men with milder symptoms.

14 Oct 2013

Blood test can help predict which bipolar patients will benefit from Ketamine

Researchers have discovered how to determine which bipolar patients will benefit from Ketamine, a treatment commonly used for depression and pain relief, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2013 annual meeting.

14 Oct 2013

Non-hormonal chronic pain treatment reduces moderate-to-severe hot flashes

Menopausal women suffer from half as many hot flashes after receiving a non-hormonal chronic pain treatment, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2013 annual meeting.

14 Oct 2013

Psychological interventions reduce deaths, cardiovascular events in patients with heart disease

Psychological interventions halve deaths and cardiovascular events in heart disease patients, according to research from Athens, Greece, presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013.

12 Oct 2013

Behavioral therapy may help patients with kidney failure who struggle with depression

Behavioral therapy provided chair-side to kidney failure patients while they're undergoing dialysis may help fight depression and improve patients' quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

12 Oct 2013

Research finding may offer targets for treating feelings of unsteadiness

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have pinpointed a site in a highly developed area of the human brain that plays an important role in the subconscious recognition of which way is straight up and which way is down.

11 Oct 2013

Study: Depression in Parkinson's patients may reflect impaired striatal dopamine function

According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, up to 60% of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit mild to moderate depression, which is often underdiagnosed.

11 Oct 2013