Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Good sleep routine tips from people who sleep well

The survey showed that the events of the evening have an impact on the night ahead. Surveyors found that a good sleeper ensure they have at least two hours and seven minutes 'down time' before hitting the bed. The average person will watch at least an hour and three quarters of television, opting for soap operas or comedy quiz shows. And when going to bed, Brits have another 20 minutes rest time before finally falling asleep at 10:26pm.

4 Mar 2012

Inconsistent results from ACS and depression studies

Although it is still suggested that acute coronary syndrome patients with first and new-onset depression are at particularly increased risk of worse prognosis, the inconsistent results from the studies included in this systematic review show that there is no consistent evidence to support such statements.

3 Mar 2012

SK Biopharmaceuticals' YKP3089 receives Korea Drug Development Fund

South Korean pharmaceutical company SK Biopharmaceuticals announced that the lead drug, YKP3089, from its drug development program for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, has been awarded funding from the Korea Drug Development Fund to support clinical development for the next three years.

3 Mar 2012

Researchers identify mechanism by which cannabis affects working memory

A deterioration of working memory is observed in people who consume drugs containing cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis leaves and buds. A team led by Giovanni Marsicano in collaboration with a team led by Xia Zhang, has recently identified the mechanism by which these substances affect working memory.

3 Mar 2012

Sleep improves with age dispelling age old myth

A new study dispels the age old belief that sleep doesn’t get more difficult with age. The study shows that sleep quality tends to improve the older people got, with adults in their 80s getting better sleep than any other age group surveyed. The new study was published in the journal Sleep.

2 Mar 2012

Poor sleep alters immune system response to stress in older adults

Older adults who sleep poorly have an altered immune system response to stress that may increase risk for mental and physical health problems, according to a study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher.

2 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Romney's evolution on abortion; The birth of the HIV epidemic

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. In the story he tells, he had an epiphany, a flash of insight, and committed himself thereafter to protecting life. But that isn't what happened. The real story of Romney's conversion - a series of tentative, equivocal, and confused shifts, accompanied by a constant rewriting of his past - paints a more accurate picture of who he is.

2 Mar 2012

Poor neighborhoods linked with worse chronic pain for young adults

Living in a poor neighborhood was linked with worse chronic pain for young adults, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System, but young black patients faced difficulties with pain management no matter where they lived.

2 Mar 2012

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep, a new survey of more than 150,000 Americans shows. In fact, subjective sleep quality seems to improve over a lifetime, with the fewest complaints coming from people in their 80s.

1 Mar 2012

Inhibitory effect of serotonin 1A receptor is extremely small in people with depression

Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have, for the first time, investigated the influence of the serotonin system on the default mode network (DMN) in the human brain and discovered that, in people with depression, the inhibitory effect of the serotonin 1A receptor is extremely small. This means, says Siegfried Kasper, Head of the University Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, that affected patients "are virtually never able to be mentally calm".

1 Mar 2012

Hawaii bags “Happiest State” award for third year in a row

After an assessment of health and well-being of Americans in 2011 – known as Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, it was found that among the 50 U.S. states, Hawaii, with a score of 70.2, tops the list with the highest level of well-being. This is the third year in a row that Hawaii has come in first.

29 Feb 2012

Sleeping pills may raise risk of death: Study

According to a U.S. study, people who take certain prescription sleeping pills even once in a while may be up to five times more susceptible to early death. In the U.S., an estimated six per cent to 10 per cent of adults used the drugs in 2010.

29 Feb 2012

D-serine improves depressed rats' brain plasticity and memory

During depression, the brain becomes less plastic and adaptable, and thus less able to perform certain tasks, like storing memories. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now traced the brain's lower plasticity to reduced functionality in its support cells, and believe that learning more about these cells can pave the way for radical new therapies for depression.

29 Feb 2012

Mantra-based meditation shows promise against age-associated cognitive impairment

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital determined that mantra-based meditation can have a positive impact on emotional responses to stress, fatigue and anxiety in adults with memory impairment and memory loss.

29 Feb 2012

Silver Hill Hospital announces opening of Chronic Pain and Addiction Center

Silver Hill Hospital, the nationally recognized psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, CT, announces the opening of the Chronic Pain and Addiction Center, an intensive residential treatment program for patients with pain who have become addicted to opioid medications.

28 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec receives FDA approval for two separate dosing innovations to treat MS

Today Biogen Idec announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two separate dosing innovations designed to improve the treatment experience for patients receiving once-a-week AVONEX for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

28 Feb 2012

Gedeon Richter and Forest Labs' cariprazine Phase III trials on schizophrenia meet primary endpoint

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Gedeon Richter Plc. today announced positive top-line results in 2 Phase III clinical trials of cariprazine (RGH-188) for the treatment of acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2012

Childhood adversity may lead to epigenetic changes in glucocorticoid receptor gene

In a look at how major stressors during childhood can change a person's biological risk for psychiatric disorders, researchers at Butler Hospital have discovered a genetic alteration at the root of the association.

28 Feb 2012

Older women with recurrent pain more likely to develop depression, obesity

Women age 50 and older who experience worsening pain with aging also have a higher risk for depression, obesity and declining physical function, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain, the peer-review publication of the American Pain Society.

28 Feb 2012

Study finds subtle cognitive deficits in women treated with CMF chemotherapy

Dutch investigators have reported that women who received CMF chemotherapy (a combination regimen including the drugs cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil) for breast cancer between 1976 and 1995 scored worse on cognitive tests than women who never had cancer.

28 Feb 2012