Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Electroconvulsive therapy releases opiate-like substances

Researchers used electricity on certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain to release an opiate-like substance that's considered one of the body's most powerful painkillers.

3 Jan 2013

Prenatal brain development may be important influence on psychiatric risk later in life

Some brain changes that are found in adults with common gene variants linked to disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism can also be seen in the brain scans of newborns.

3 Jan 2013

Bisexual men more likely to conceal their sexual orientation

Bisexual men are less likely to disclose and more likely to conceal their sexual orientation than gay men. In the first study to look at the mental health of this population, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that greater concealment of homosexual behavior was associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety.

3 Jan 2013

No significant link between SSRI use during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth, neonatal death

In a study that included nearly 30,000 women from Nordic countries who had filled a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription during pregnancy, researchers found no significant association between use of these medications during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death, after accounting for factors including maternal psychiatric disease, according to a study in the January 2 issue of JAMA.

1 Jan 2013

Bipolar subtypes have differing personality traits

Results from a Korean study show how personality trait patterns differ between patients with bipolar I and II disorder.

28 Dec 2012

Make palliative care available to Parkinson's patients

A modified version of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Scale is quick and effective at assessing patients with late-stage Parkinson's disease, and reveals that they have similar levels of symptoms as their peers with metastatic cancer, show study results from Canada.

28 Dec 2012

Ulcerative colitis impairs work capacity

Patients with ulcerative colitis have higher rates of sick leave or disability pension than the general population, show findings published in Gastroenterology.

28 Dec 2012

Group health approved for PCORI research awards to study care for back pain

Group Health has been approved for two research awards from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study ways to improve care for back pain and to connect patients with community resources. The projects are part of a portfolio of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research that addresses PCORI's National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda.

28 Dec 2012

Experiencing domestic violence may lead to mental health disorders

Men and women with mental health disorders, across all diagnoses, are more likely to have experienced domestic violence than the general population, according to new research from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, in collaboration with the University of Bristol. Previous studies into the link between domestic violence and mental health problems have mainly focused on depression, but this is the first study to look at a wide range of mental health problems in both male and female victims.

27 Dec 2012

Elevated C-reactive protein linked to psychological distress and depression

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory disease, appear to be associated with increased risk of psychological distress and depression in the general population of adults in Denmark, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Parkinson’s: an interview with Steve Ford, CEO of Parkinson’s UK

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that is caused when brain cells, that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, start to die.

24 Dec 2012

Comorbidity could alter joint arthroplasty prognosis

The long-term outcome of hip and knee arthroplasty may be significantly influenced by comorbidity, suggest results from a large register-based study of over 96,000 osteoarthritis patients.

22 Dec 2012

Pneumococcal disease risk increased in mental health patients

Patients with severe mental illness are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease, results from a UK study suggest.

22 Dec 2012

Bipolar subtypes have differing personality traits

Results from a Korean study show how personality trait patterns differ between patients with bipolar I and II disorder.

22 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Playing chicken on entitlements; 'Getting serious' about mental illness; Hospital labs devastated by Sandy

This is no time for a Grand Bargain, because the Republican Party, as now constituted, is just not an entity with which the president can make a serious deal. If we're going to get a grip on our nation's problems - of which the budget deficit is a minor part - the power of the G.O.P.'s extremists, and their willingness to hold the economy hostage if they don't get their way, needs to be broken. And somehow I don't think that's going to happen in the next few days (Paul Krugman, 12/20).

21 Dec 2012

Exercise and mental health: an interview with Professor Nanette Mutrie

Perhaps we should first of all clear up the definition of exercise. In public health terms it is more common to use the phrase ‘physical activity’ because this phrase encompasses all kinds of movement- indeed anything we do above sitting and resting levels.

21 Dec 2012

Study examines role of race and ethnicity in stem cell donation

New research examining the role of race and ethnicity in an individual's decision to become a donor for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) identifies several factors associated with varied participation rates in national donor registries across racial/ethnic groups. Results of this first-of-its-kind study are published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

21 Dec 2012

Study identifies mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain

New research from the University of Georgia identifies the mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain.

20 Dec 2012

Roundup: Calif. Report sets 10-year health goals; Conn. hospitals plead to stop cuts; Colo. lawmaker wants state universal health care on ballot

With the state facing rising medical costs and increasing rates of chronic disease, California health leaders issued a report Wednesday setting specific health targets to meet by 2022. The state's goals include reducing smoking rates, increasing vaccinations among children and improving depression screening and treatment. The report also describes ways to improve end-of-life care, by expanding palliative care at hospitals and hospice programs at home.

20 Dec 2012