Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

New roadmap provides expert guidance on how to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities

Major disparities exist along racial and ethnic lines in the United States for various medical conditions, but guidance is scarce about how to reduce these gaps. Now, a new "roadmap" has been unveiled to give organizations expert guidance on how to improve health equity in their own patient populations.

18 Jul 2012

PPAHS releases safety checklist that targets Patient-Controlled Analgesia

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), an advocacy group devoted to improving patient health and safety, today announced the release of a concise checklist that reminds caregivers of the essential steps needed to be taken to initiate Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) with a patient and to continue to assess that patient's use of PCA.

18 Jul 2012

Silymarin does not provide greater benefit for patients with chronic HCV infection

Use of the botanical product silymarin, an extract of milk thistle that is commonly used by some patients with chronic liver disease, did not provide greater benefit than placebo for patients with treatment-resistant chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Jul 2012

Normalizing weight helps girls with eating disorders improve essential fatty acid status

A study of teenage girls with eating disorders has shown that reduced essential fatty acid levels returned to normal once the girls increased their weight to a healthy level.

18 Jul 2012

Combination of obesity and vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of diabetes

The combination of obesity and vitamin D deficiency may put people at even greater risk of insulin resistance than either factor alone, according to new research from the Drexel University School of Public Health recently published early online in the journal Diabetes Care.

18 Jul 2012

Substance use linked to poor memory, reasoning in BD

The presence of comorbid substance use disorder is associated with significantly poorer visual memory and conceptual reasoning skills in patients with bipolar disorder, US study results show.

17 Jul 2012

Relationship between two biological risk factors for schizophrenia

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another.

17 Jul 2012

People with amnestic MCI more likely to die

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that people with a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease, have twice the risk of dying compared with cognitively normal people. Those with dementia have three times the risk.

17 Jul 2012

Studies provide evidence of connections between MCI and negative health outcomes

Two studies presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) in Vancouver provide evidence of connections between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and negative health outcomes – increased isolation and death.

17 Jul 2012

Gilead receives FDA approval for Truvada to reduce risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily oral Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), in combination with safer sex practices, to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk.

17 Jul 2012

Physician-targeted intervention could reduce depression in elderly

Older patients whose physicians take part in a practice audit and education-based intervention have reduced odds of depression and self-harm at 24 months – significantly so in the case of self-harm, show results of an Australian trial.

16 Jul 2012

Novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in brains of patients undergoing DBS

Mayo Clinic researchers have found a novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in the brains of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS). The groundbreaking insight will help physicians more effectively use DBS to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease, depression and Tourette syndrome.

16 Jul 2012

Studies describe ability of targeted exercise training on cognitive impairment and dementia

Four studies reported today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012) describe the ability of targeted exercise training to promote improved mental functioning and reduced risk for cognitive impairment and dementia in cognitively healthy older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

16 Jul 2012

Research roundup: Medication adherence, performance at community health centers

For people diagnosed with depression, it's important that they adhere to their medication regimen so that they avoid recurrent episodes. But because of Medicare's Part D coverage gap, financially burdened seniors might not take their prescriptions as recommended. This study looked at Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with depression in 2007.

14 Jul 2012

Migraine involves multiple symptoms that vary widely among sufferers

Almost everyone suffers from headache pain occasionally, but for 36 million Americans, intense, debilitating headaches accompanied by other neurological symptoms — also known as migraine syndrome — are a source of physical misery that can have a devastating effect on their quality of life. It is estimated that the medical expenses and loss of productivity caused by migraine costs Americans $20 billion annually.

14 Jul 2012

Psychotic depression now fulfills the criteria for a valid psychiatric syndrome

The number of studies reporting significant and clinically relevant differences between psychotic depression (PD) and non-PD has increased considerably over the past decades. This summary of the current evidence suggests that PD now fulfils the criteria for a valid psychiatric syndrome.

14 Jul 2012