Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

With shared decision making, patients and their clinicians collaboratively review the risks and benefits of available treatments options while also considering the patients' preferences and values.

10 Feb 2013

Weekend reading: Mental health discrimination; A doctor faces hard questions; Long-term outlook for health care jobs

"When I had cancer, I got cards and flowers," Karen Kangas' sign reads. "When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I got no cards and a pink slip." A picture of Kangas holding the sign hangs in the state Capitol complex, part of an exhibit called "Discrimination: A Roadblock to Recovery."

9 Feb 2013

Older adults with COPD more frequently use benzodiazepines

A popular class of drugs commonly used to treat sleep and mood symptoms continues to be frequently prescribed despite being known to have potentially life-threatening side effects.

9 Feb 2013

Self-reported feelings of well-being tend to increase with age

Psychological well-being has been linked to many important life outcomes, including career success, relationship satisfaction, and even health. But it's not clear how feelings of well-being change as we age, as different studies have provided evidence for various trends over time.

9 Feb 2013

Anxiety positively linked to physical activity in COPD patients

Higher levels of anxiety are associated with increased physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, US researchers report.

8 Feb 2013

Tai Chi associated with reduced falls among adult stroke survivors

Tai Chi may reduce falls among adult stroke survivors, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013.

7 Feb 2013

Basis of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy found

Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature.

7 Feb 2013

Migraine, epilepsy and genetics: an interview with Dr. Melodie Winawer

This work is the product of an extraordinary consortium called the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome project (EPGP). It is a consortium of 27 centres in the U.S. and internationally with several hundred physicians and staff who have worked together to enrol more than 4000 patients with epilepsy and their family members.

7 Feb 2013

Army Secretary urges soldier mental health resilience training

The step is part of an effort to improve the Army's coordination of mental health programs and to address increasing military suicide rates.

6 Feb 2013

Emotion regulation therapy benefits bipolar patients

Dialectical behavior therapy shows promise for the treatment of bipolar disorder, findings from a pilot study show.

6 Feb 2013

Teva initiates enrollment in AZILECT Phase IV clinical study for PD-MCI

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today enrollment of the first patient in the MODERATO study - a Phase IV clinical study designed to evaluate the effect of AZILECT (rasagiline tablets) on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI).

6 Feb 2013

Acute alcohol intoxication increases risk of suicide in American Indians

American Indians are at much greater risk of suicide after acute alcohol intoxication, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

6 Feb 2013

Location of altered brain metabolite levels found in bipolar I patients

Bipolar I disorder patients have increased phospholipid levels in the thalami and increased N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the left hippocampus compared with healthy individuals, a team of investigators has discovered.

5 Feb 2013

NeuroSigma receives third NIH grant to develop subcutaneous trigeminal nerve stimulation for DRE

NeuroSigma, Inc., a California-based medical device company, today announced it received a Notice of Award, for a Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

5 Feb 2013

Sleep disorders common in active duty military personnel

Researchers have found significant associations between service-related illnesses and a high rate of sleep disorders, particularly insomnia, in US military personnel.

4 Feb 2013

Study examines mental health of 376 Ugandan workers at 21 humanitarian aid agencies

Latest research points to the high risk for mental health problems among staff working in humanitarian organizations in northern Uganda, due in large part to their work environment.

3 Feb 2013

DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects AIDS patients

A team of scientists from Canada, Thailand and Morocco have found that DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects a significant percentage of AIDS patients. In a report appearing in the February 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, they describe how a network of steroid molecules found in the brain, termed "neurosteroids," is disrupted during HIV infection leading to brain damage.

2 Feb 2013

Book reviews psilocybin's potential in alleviating psychological distress in cancer patients

Improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers in recent years have led to a marked increase in patients' physical survival rates. While doctors can treat the physical disease, what is not well understood is how best to address the psychological needs of patients with cancer.

1 Feb 2013

Mental health in young people: an interview with Professor Colum Dunne

Ireland, and many other countries, is witnessing increases in problematic and complex youth mental health challenges. In Ireland, specifically, there has been a rash of high profile cases where young people have unfortunately not been able to deal with stress, bullying and other issues.

1 Feb 2013

Top-line results from Vanda's tasimelteon Phase IIb/III study on major depressive disorder

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced top-line results of the Phase IIb/III clinical study (MAGELLAN) in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), investigating the efficacy and safety of tasimelteon as a monotherapy in the treatment of patients with MDD.

31 Jan 2013